Megan Thee Stallion leads tributes after Young Dolph shot dead (2024)

What we know so far

Rapper Young Dolph, real name Adolph Robert Thornton, Jr., has reportedly been shot and killed during an incident in Memphis.

Details about what happened are still emerging but you can read a round up of all the latest developments from my colleague Sam Moore here.

Elizabeth Aubrey17 November 2021 20:11

Death reportedly confirmed by law enforcement officials

The death of Young Dolph was reportedly confirmed by “three independent law enforcement sources” to US news outlet Fox13.

An eyewitness at the scene, Maurice Hill – the owner of the shop where the shooting happened – also spoke to Fox13 about the incident.

He told the news outlet his employees at Makeda’s Butter Cookies had told him that the young rapper walked into the store to buy cookies. Someone then allegedly drove up and shot and killed him around 1 p.m. on Wednesday at the bakery, which is located in South Memphis.

The rapper’s Lamborghini could be sat in the parking lot of the bakery when news crews arrived.

You can see some images from the scene here:

Elizabeth Aubrey17 November 2021 20:19

Memphis Police confirm they’re dealing with a shooting incident

On Twitter, Memphis police confirmed that they were responding to a shooting incident at “2370 Airways”, which is the location of Makeda’s Butter Cookies where the incident was said to have taken place.

The tweet read: “Officers are on the scene of a shooting at 2370 Airways. One male victim was located and was pronounced dead. No suspect info is available at this time. The victim will be identified once the next of kin notification has been completed.”

At this time, no official confirmation as arrived as to the identity of the victim, which reports are saying are rapper Young Dolph.

Elizabeth Aubrey17 November 2021 20:28

Young Dolph had been a victim of previous shootings

Young Dolph had been a victim of shootings in the past.

Back in 2017, the rapper was hit by gun shots in Hollywood for which he required hospitalisation. He suffered three bullet wounds which needed surgery.

In the same year, his SUV was reportedly shot at over 100 times while he was in Charlotte, NC.

Elizabeth Aubrey17 November 2021 20:38

Fans lamenting the loss of a “hugely talented" rapper

While official confirmation has not yet come directly from the police themselves, three independent law enforcement officials have reportedly confirmed the death of Young Dolph to news outlet Fox13.

In the interim, fans online have been lamenting the loss of a “hugely talented” rapper.

Dolph, who had 4.4m followers on Instagram, released his debut studio album King of Memphis in 2016.

The album peaked at number 49 on the Billboard 200 chart. He followed up this with second album Rich Slave, which featured the single “RNB” with Megan Thee Stallion, in August 2020.

Dolph was crowned ‘The King of Memphis’ and went on to release collaborations with Gucci Mane and Migos; his feature on “Cut It” by O.T. Genasis was a global hit.

He also made minor headlines for the release of his mixtape Bulletproof, which was created in response to reports of his SUV being shot at 100 times in Charlotte, North Carolina in 2017.

Elizabeth Aubrey17 November 2021 21:04

Rapper opened up about being a target in 2018

Young Dolph spoke to The Guardian in 2018 about being a target for a shooting, just one year after he was shot outside a store.

“I’ve been targeted since I was 17, 18, 19,” he told the publication at the time. “I just knew that I was good.”

You can read that interview in full here.

Elizabeth Aubrey17 November 2021 21:22

Rapper opened up about being a target in 2018

Young Dolph spoke to The Guardian in 2018 about being a target for a shooting, just one year after he was shot outside a store.

“I’ve been targeted since I was 17, 18, 19,” he told the publication at the time. “I just knew that I was good.”

You can read that interview in full here.

Elizabeth Aubrey17 November 2021 21:22

Young Dolph’s cousin was Juice WRLD

Young Dolph’s cousin was Juice WRLD, who died of a drug overdose at the age of 21 on 8 December 8 2019.

You can read The Independent’s full obituary to Juice WRLD here.

Elizabeth Aubrey17 November 2021 21:38

Here’s everything we know so far

Here’s everything we know so far about the incident today in Memphis, where rapper Young Dolph has reportedly been shot and killed.

Elizabeth Aubrey17 November 2021 21:52

Watch our video report here

You can also see a video report of everything we know so far about the rapper’s reported death here:

Elizabeth Aubrey17 November 2021 22:07