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.

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.