Young Dolph

Young Dolph’s tragic death yesterday was not only a loss for the music community, but also for his hometown of Memphis. FOX13 Memphis noted yesterday, “Young Dolph is well known for handing out turkeys around Thanksgiving in Memphis through the Memphis Athletic Ministries charity, speaking to school children, and donating money to his former high school Hamilton High School.” Furthermore, his annual Thanksgiving turkey giveaway was apparently supposed to take place yesterday afternoon at 2 p.m., FOX13’s Joey Sulipeck reported.

Dolph’s turkey giveaways in previous years took place at Memphis Athletic Ministries, the website for which notes it “exists to coach, grow, and lead the youth of Memphis by helping them discover their identity in Christ and their purpose in the community.”

During his 2018 giveaway, Dolph told Memphis’ ABC24, “This is the holidays. There’s more to it than just giving away turkeys. I’m here to flood the area and the city with positive vibes.” He added, “Ain’t nothing like family. When you come to Memphis, you get the family vibe. All of my partners, friends, they’re from my neighborhood. Everyone here is for the support, and it’s really just about capturing the positive vibe around the holidays.”

Jermia Jerdine, a beneficiary of the event, also noted, “He just able to give back to others. That really means something to this community. One thing he strives to do is to give back and be a blessing to others.”

In 2019, ABC24 noted that that year’s turkey giveaway was the rapper’s fifth.

The music world was met with some tragic news this afternoon when it was confirmed that Memphis rapper Young Dolph died at 36 years old. It was reported that the rapper was shot while visiting one of his favorite businesses in his hometown, Makeda’s Butter Cookies, with TMZ noting, “Dolph went into the store and a vehicle pulled up, firing through a front window and striking the rapper.”

Dolph’s career had been enjoying a steady rise since releasing his 2016 debut album King Of Memphis. In recent years, he found his way into the top 10 of the Billboard 200 chart with multiple releases: The two albums he made with Key Glock, Dum And Dummer and Dum And Dummer 2, both peaked at No. 8, while 2020’s Rich Slave rose all the way to No. 4.

Beyond that, he had also collaborated with people like Megan Thee Stallion, Lil Yachty, and Gucci Mane. So, he had some friends in the music industry, and as his peers learn about his passing, they are sharing reactions to it on social media.

Check out some posts about Dolph’s passing from folks like Megan Thee Stallion, Chance The Rapper, and Lil Yachty below.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Young Dolph (real name Adolph Robert Thornton, Jr.) is dead after being shot in his Memphis hometown today (November 17). He was 36 years old.

Reports starting surfacing on social media this afternoon, with one of the earliest coming from ABC13 Memphis’ Jeremy Pierre, who shared photos of the crime scene and reported, “On the scene of a shooting on Airways. I’m hearing Memphis rapper Young Dolph may be a victim in the shooting. Shooting happened at Makeda’s Cookies.” FOX13 Memphis later reported that “three independent law enforcement sources confirmed” the rapper died in the shooting.

FOX13 also reports that Maurice Hill — owner of Makeda’s Butter Cookies, where the shooting took place — noted that his employees said Dolph walked into the store and bought cookies before somebody drove up and fatally shot him. FOX13 further notes that at the crime scene, “a massive crowd gathered around, some people laying on the ground in tears.”

Makeda’s was apparently one of Dolph’s favorite places in Memphis: On November 10, the Makeda’s Instagram page shared a video of Dolph outside the store and captioned it, “Young Dolph says every time he comes home he has to stop by Makedas Cookies.”

The Memphis rapper had steadily been increasing his profile in recent years. His highest-charting album is 2020’s Rich Slave, which achieved a peak at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 chart. His latest album, a joint project with Key Glock called Dum And Dummer 2, peaked at No. 8. Aside from Glock, Dolph has also collaborated with artists like Megan Thee Stallion, Lil Yachty, and Gucci Mane. His highest placement on the Hot 100 chart was his feature on OT Genasis’ 2015 single “Cut It,” which peaked at No. 35.

This summer, the rapper announced he was retiring but then changed his mind, saying, “I can’t do it, real talk. I can’t do. It’s like I’m the spokesperson for all of the street n****s and all of the n****s that’s on some independent sh*t […] and really come in the game on some sh*t… The n**** that really want to do this sh*t, like, I don’t really wanna tie myself to no major label — do this sh*t on my own. I’ma hustle this sh*t. I’ma grab that.”

Dolph was fresh off a performance at this year’s Rolling Loud New York festival at the end of October.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.