MEMPHIS, Tennessee — Family, friends and fellow artists remembered Young Dolph on what would have been his 37th birthday Wednesday.
Dolph, a Memphis native whose real name was Adolph Thornton Jr., was shot and killed on November 17, 2021, at Makeda’s Cookie on Airways Boulevard.
It has been about nine months since the murder of Memphis rapper Young Dolph and two men, Cornelius Smith, and Justin Johnson have been indicted in the rapper’s murder.
"So yesterday, tomorrow, and especially today my family and I will celebrate the man affectionately known as Daddy in our home and Dolph to the world," Dolph's finance Mia Jaye said. "we forever love you."
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The record label Empire took to Twitter to commemorative the rapper saying "we want to commemorate what he stood for as a poet, a person, and a proud son of Memphis."
In honor of the late rapper’s legacy, the company released his first posthumous single entitled “Hall of Fame”. The single was available on all music streaming platforms at noon today.
Although he was born in Chicago, he grew up in Memphis and identified as a Memphian through and through.
In interviews, Dolph would repeatedly credit his success to Memphis and its people.
“Ain’t nothing like family,” Dolph said in an interview in 2018. “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.”