Young Dolph

Adolph Robert Thornton Jr. (July 27, 1985 – November 17, 2021), better known by his stage name Young Dolph, was an American rapper.

Young Dolph
Young Dolph in 2017
Born	Adolph Robert Thornton Jr. (1985-07-27)July 27, 1985 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.[1]
Died	November 17, 2021(2021-11-17) (aged 36) Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
Cause of death	Murder (gunshot wounds)
Other names	Dolph Gabbana Flippa Paper Route Frank [2]
Occupations	Rapper songwriter
Years active	2006–2021
Spouse	Mia Jaye m.
Children	2
Relatives	Key Glock (cousin-by-marriage) Juice WRLD (second cousin)
Musical career
Genres	Hip hop gangsta rap Memphis rap
Labels	Paper Route Empire 1017 Brick Squad
Website	www.youngdolph.com

Biography

In February 2016, Dolph released his first studio album, King of Memphis. It peaked at number 49 on the Billboard 200 chart.^[3][4] He was featured on O.T. Genasis' hit single "Cut It". The song peaked at number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Dolph was shot multiple times outside of a local retail store in Los Angeles on September 26, 2017. He received multiple gunshots wounds which upon being hospitalized were being treated as non-life threatening. A few hours later, Young Dolph was being treated under critical condition.^[5]

Murder

On November 17, 2021, Thornton Jr. was gunned down while at a cookie store in Memphis, Tennessee. He was 36 years old.^[6]

Four people were arrested. 23-year-old Justin Johnson, 32-year-old Cornelius Smith, 27-year-old Shundale Barnett, and 43-year-old Hernandez Govan.^{[7][8][9][10]}

In June 2023, Jemarcus Johnson agreed to a plea deal to plead guilty to three counts of accessory after-the-fact to have the conspiracy to murder charge dropped from his charges. Johnson is expected to testify against the others at the other suspects upcoming trials.^[11]

On September 26, 2024, a judge found Justin Johnson guilty on all counts and sentenced him to life in prison.^[12] Both Smith and Govan still await trail. ^[13][14]