Memphis Rapper Young Dolph Shot & Killed in His Hometown
Young Dolph, one of the most successful independent rappers in hip-hop, was killed in Memphis. He was only 36 years old.
Memphis rapper Young Dolph was shot and killed in his hometown on Wednesday, November 17th. The rapper was only 36 years old.
According to Fox13 Memphis, Dolph, real name Adolph Robert Thornton, Jr., walked into Makeda’s Butter Cookies — where he was a frequent customer — to buy some cookies at around 1pm local time. As he was leaving, someone came up to him in a vehicle and started shooting at him while in the car. (There has been no new information about the shooter released by authorities.)
Bankroll Freddie, a rapper from Arkansa that has worked with Dolph in the past, went to Instagram to confirm the news, posting a post on Stories.
As the news spread, Dolph’s contemporaries and collaborators — including Megan Thee Stallion, Gucci Mane, and the Migos — spread RIP messages and memories.
R. I.P. to my friend Dolph this broke my heart
— Gucci Mane (@gucci1017) November 17, 2021
I am sooo sick rn I am in disbelief! Praying for his family and friends ! Rest In Peace to my friend a true legend dolph 🙏🏾
— TINA SNOW (@theestallion) November 17, 2021
God bless Dolph 🕊 Real independent Memphis rapper born in chicago. loved by millions of ppl. Always showed love everytime I seen him this is tragic God bless his family man
— Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) November 17, 2021
DAMN! This One Hurt 😞
RIP DOLPH! 🙏🏾 🙏🏾— QuavoYRN (@QuavoStuntin) November 17, 2021
Damn R.I.P DOLPH PRAYER FOR YA KIDS AND FAMILY SMH
— OFFSET (@OffsetYRN) November 17, 2021
𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗜𝗻 𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿, @YoungDolph 🙏🏾🕊. 𝗪𝗲 𝗮𝘀 #Earthizens 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿. 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿. pic.twitter.com/VlfanrDjPC
— PUBLIC ENEMY (@PublicEnemyFTP) November 17, 2021
RIP DOLPH
— Aminé (@heyamine) November 17, 2021
I ALWAYS give flowers to the living, Dolph is one of the only ppl to make me go harder believe it or not, my fuckin FAV 😔 this Tweet was 4yrs ago https://t.co/1O3ADW0zow
— WESTSIDEGUNN (@WESTSIDEGUNN) November 17, 2021
Sending love to the family ,friends, & fans of @YoungDolph
Rest in power young Brother. I pray your children and family are covered and lifted up by the almighty.
🙏🏾🌹— LLCOOLJ (@llcoolj) November 17, 2021
LONG LIVE DOLPH
Only person to ever pull up to the cave with a fleet of cars and made sure to shake every single persons hand he met. Legendary artist and person.
— kennybeats (@kennybeats) November 17, 2021
I am in disbelief. This one really hurts. Rest In Peace Dolph
— SHELLEY fka DRAM (@shelleysaid) November 17, 2021
This isn’t the first time Dolph has been targeted in a shooting. In 2017, he was shot multiple times outside a sneaker store in Hollywood, California. Before that, he was inside a car that was shot at over 100 times, in Charlotte, NC. (Rival rapper Blac Youngsta was hit with charges over the shooting but they were eventually dropped.)
For the last five years, Dolph has been one of the most successful independent rappers working in hip-hop. Since his 2016 debut, King of Memphis, the rapper was known for being consistent, dropping multiple projects a year. Young Dolph’s last album was Dum and Dummer 2 with fellow rapper and cousin Key Glock. Dolph’s last solo release was Rich Slave in 2020, which debuted at no. 4 on the Billboard albums chart.
Young Dolph leaves behind two children, a son and a daughter.
