Young Dolph

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

Adolph Robert Thornton Jr. was born on July 27, 1985, in Chicago, Illinois.

When he was two years old, his family moved to Memphis, Tennessee.

He had two sisters and two brothers; he and rapper Juice Wrld were second cousins.

Thornton was mostly raised by his grandmother, Ida Mae; his parents experienced addictions to crack cocaine, and as a child, he would only see them every few weeks.

Thornton said that the community he was from in South Memphis, many of his peers were raised by their grandmothers due to the issues experienced by their parents.

He described initially recognizing his grandmother as "the meanest motherfucker in the world", explaining "I didn't get that shit at the time. ... All the shit she was telling you, you get to seeing that shit when you hit about 15", saying that when he approached that age he began utilizing her teachings throughout his life to be more independent.

As a teenager, Thornton attended Hamilton High School, being a barber on the side from the ages of 12 to 15.

From the ages of 16 to 17 and onward, he turned to the streets for a means of income.

He recollected about the only time his grandmother caught him, saying "Grandma [was] right there, [I'm] trying to stuff all this shit in my pants, but I got on shorts...she just start [sic] yelling and screaming. She the only person I cared about, what she say, what she think about me..."

His grandmother often did not allow Thornton to have friends visit their home, but on occasion let homeless friends stay with the family.

On March 5, 2008, Thornton's grandmother died after a prolonged battle with lung cancer.

In 2008, due to encouragement from his friends, Young Dolph released his first mixtape Paper Route Campaign.

Seeing its local popularity, he decided to fully invest himself into rap.

Two years later, he formally established his label Paper Route Empire in 2010, an independent record label inspired by the likes of Master P and Baby, and subsequently released his first mainstream mixtape Welcome 2 Dolph World that same year, hosted by Atlanta DJ DJ Scream with features from 8Ball & MJG, 2 Chainz (then known as Tity Boi), and in-house artists Tim Gates and Money Makkin Murda.

With the release of mixtapes High Class Street Music and High Class Street Music 2 in 2011, Young Dolph began to develop his own rap flow, shifting away from a style similar to Memphis rappers Three 6 Mafia and 8Ball & MJG instead to a personal style described as "vociferous" with a "magnetic delivery and uniquely deep voice".

In 2012, Young Dolph released the mixtapes A Time 2 Kill and Blue Magic on April 12 and November 14, respectively.

The former's title was inspired by the movie of the same name, and the latter's title inspired by the movie American Gangster.

Following multiple collaborations along with a personal connection with Atlanta trap rapper Gucci Mane, Young Dolph released the collaboration mixtape EastAtlantaMemphis on March 15, 2013, with features from Young Scooter and Big Bank Black.

On May 13, 2013, he released the third installment of the High Class Street Music series, Trappin' Out a Mansion. On October 15, 2013, Young Dolph released South Memphis Kingpin, with the song "South Memphis" achieving high popularity.

On April 15, 2014, Dolph released Cross Country Trappin.

On July 8, 2014, Young Dolph released the fourth installment of the High Class Street Music series, American Gangster.

This mixtape included the song "Preach", which received nationwide fame, as well as features from Gucci Mane, 2 Chainz, Fiend, Trinidad James, Shy Glizzy, Trae tha Truth, Problem, and Cap 1.

He first garnered mainstream attention for his guest appearance on O.T. Genasis' 2015 single "Cut It", which peaked at number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100.

On February 24, 2015, Young Dolph released the fifth and final installment of the High Class Street Music series, The Plug Best Friend.

It included features from 2 Chainz, Shy Glizzy, and Peewee Longway, as well as a remix of "Preach" featuring Rick Ross and Jeezy.

On June 30, Dolph released a collaboration album with Gucci Mane and Peewee Longway titled Felix Brothers.

On July 28, 2015, Dolph released mixtape 16 Zips with features from T.I., Slim Thug, Paul Wall, Jadakiss, and fellow Paper Route artist Jay Fizzle.

In September 2015, Young Dolph was featured on O.T. Genasis's double platinum hit single "Cut It".

On October 8, 2015, Young Dolph released Shittin on the Industry, an 11-song mixtape including the hit single "Get Paid".

The following year, he released his debut studio album King of Memphis (2016), which peaked at number 49 on the Billboard 200.

In February 2016, he released his debut album King of Memphis under his independent Paper Route Empire label, which peaked at number 49 on the Billboard 200.

Other Memphis rappers (including Yo Gotti and Gotti-affiliated Blac Youngsta) took offense at the album title, with Blac Youngsta leading an armed group attempting to find Young Dolph in Memphis and releasing a diss track, "SHAKE SUM (Young Dolph Diss)" in response.

In 2017, Young Dolph released a diss track against Yo Gotti titled "Play Wit Yo' Bitch", prompting Yo Gotti to release a response song.

Two weeks later, in February 2017, Young Dolph released a music video for "Play Wit Yo' Bitch".

The next day, his vehicle was the target of gunfire in Charlotte, North Carolina, while in town for a performance at the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association tournament.

His car was reportedly shot over 100 times but was outfitted with bulletproof panels, and no one was hurt.

His fifth album, Rich Slave (2020) peaked at number four on the chart.

Young Dolph founded the independent label Paper Route Empire, through which he signed fellow Memphis rapper Key Glock.

On November 17, 2021, he was shot and killed in his hometown.