Long Live Dolph | How Young Dolph gave back to Memphis

In 1860, Memphis became the sixth-largest city in the South. After the Civil War, the city did not have as hard a time recovering as other southern cities, though challenges existed. 

During Reconstruction, Black communities began flourishing in South Memphis.

In 1866, those flourishing communities underwent an unrivaled tragedy in the city's history. 

The Memphis Race Riot, also known as the Memphis Massacre of 1866, started after a shooting between a white police officer and a Black Civil War veteran, who fought for the Union.

Mobs of white Memphians and police officers marched through Black neighborhoods, killing Black residents and destroying buildings. After three days of bloodshed, 46 Black people were killed, 75 were injured, 100 were robbed and five Black women were raped.

Every church and school in Memphis’ Black community was also burned to the ground, along with 91 homes.

This horrific event forced Black people to move east, creating the first Black neighborhood in America: Orange Mound. 

The Mound thrived for nearly a century before the "white flight".

After desegregation in the 1960s, Black families began busing their kids to schools on the predominantly white sides of town.

To keep things segregated without breaking the law, white Memphians created private schools and nested into the neighborhoods we call the suburbs. The city took a financial hit, but it didn't last forever.

In 1947, the Soulsville neighborhood got a historically Black college, Lemoyne-Owen College. Ten years later, music brought life back to South Memphis.

Stax Records drove economic success in South Memphis with major recordings from artists like Otis Redding, Sam & Dave and Booker T. & the M.G.’s.

"Music has been a push specifically in the black community," said Tonya Dyson, Executive Director of the Memphis Slim Collaboratory, "we can just really start with the civil rights movement, and how artists that's artists, like the Staple Singers saying, you know, respect yourself... you had Otis Redding and Aretha Franklin, all singing about respect... that type of music was able to drive us and push the needle forward."

The music reflected the times. The protests of the late 1960s led Stax owners to temporarily close the studio. They lost their masters, fought to get them back, then “reinvented" the label. 

However, they were not able to recover financially despite the classic hit theme song for the movie "Shaft" by Isaac Hayes. South Memphis wound up in yet another money pit. Since Stax Recording label, there hasn't been much financial success in South Memphis.

From 1980-1986, 17.1% percent of deaths involved cocaine. 39% of homicides during the same time, involved the drug as well. The crack-cocaine epidemic had a lasting impact on Memphis.  

That impact hit the home of a young Adolph Thornton Jr.  

Neither of Young Dolph's parents were in the picture; both were addicted to drugs. In their absence, his grandmother, Ida Mae, stepped up.

"She... would carry those boys, Young Dolph and his brothers," said Mareno Myers, Vice President of the IdaMae Foundation and Young Dolph's cousin. "She would lug them boys to Bible Church three, four times a week. You know what I mean?"

Family members credit Ida Mae with instilling philanthropy into Dolph's life.  

Typically, we hear philanthropy and think large donations to major crisis, but oftentimes it's in the little things neighbors do for neighbors, family does for family, and friends do for friends. 

"IdaMae was the one who drove the big Lincoln. She was a little lady. She [took]…the other elderly people to their doctor's appointments to the grocery store, or to anything they had going on anything that they had go to church," Moreno said, recalling IdaMae's community focus. 

IdaMae helped everyone she was capable of reaching.  

Young Dolph is well known for his annual turkey drives in Memphis and Chicago. When Dolph and his aunt, Rita Myers, decided to launch the IdaMae Foundation in his grandmother's honor, that dream became bigger.  

Aunt Rita was big on keeping a close knit circle, so it's no surprise to learn that the entire board consist of family members. 

Dolph shared in his aunt's and grandmother's drive for philanthropy. On top of other programs, Dolph talked to high school seniors about what happens after they graduate, and how he got to be where he was in life.

All of these programs were rooted in a love for his community. A love Young Dolph's grandmother instilled in him, his siblings, and cousins. Through consistency and discipline, Ida Mae created memories her grandkids will cherish forever.  

While Aunt Rita passed in May 2022, the foundation said they will never forget the groundwork put into building part of the Thornton family legacy.  

In an effort to keep Ida Mae's, Aunt Rita's, and Young Dolph's philanthropic efforts alive, the organization will continue moving forward to help communities in Memphis and Chicago.

However, in losing Dolph and Aunt Rita, the foundation hasn't gotten as much done as they hoped.

"The short term goals for us, I would say is to get through this year," Myers said. "...we've had, we had one heck of a year with back to back, you know, griefs from my brother, to my aunt Rita, to now us trying to find a way to keep pushing in the midst of that moving forward." 

Despite their grief, they're looking toward the long-term. In the future, they want to partner with other non-profits to combat violence.

Before Paper Route Empire became known to the world, people simply knew Young Dolph as Adolph Thornton, Mane Mane or Paper Route Frank. More so, they knew Dolph for his hustle. 

Despite doubt and questions, Young Dolph persevered, developing a well-insulated business . Everything Paper Route Empire does, Paper Route Empire owns.  

Young Dolph had finesse when it came to making money. We've seen it happen with several black men in the music industry: Jay Z with RocNation, Dr. Dre with Death Row Records or Little Wayne with Young Money.  

These icons cover the East Coast & West Coast, but there's something unique about Memphis' southern sound. 

Dolph and his producers often included a Memphis staple in their beats, the snares. While the sound wasn't new, his approach to the industry was.  

"Dolph was completely self-made as far as creating his own label with young PRE," Tonya Dyson said. "It was a total self-made label never had major you know, outside of distribution through Empire never had any type of major money. He was a self-made man."

In the music industry, ownership is everything. PRE owned all of its music.

Before Paper Route Empire became known to the world, people simply knew Young Dolph as Adolph Thorton, Mane Mane or Paper Route Frank. Moreso, they knew Dolph for his hustle. 

Despite doubt and questions, Young Dolph persevered, developing a well-insulated business . Everything Paper Route Empire does, Paper Route Empire owns.  

Young Dolph had finesse when it came to making money. We've seen it happen with several black men in the music industry: Jay Z with RocNation, Dr. Dre with Death Row Records or Little Wayne with Young Money.  

These icons cover the East Coast & West Coast, but there's something unique about Memphis' southern sound. 

Dolph and his producers often included a Memphis staple in their beats, the snares. While the sound wasn't new, his approach to the industry was.  

"Dolph was completely self-made as far as creating his own label with young PRE," Tonya Dyson said. "It was a total self-made label never had major you know, outside of distribution through Empire never had any type of major money. He was a self-made man."

In the music industry, ownership is everything. PRE owned all of its music.

Young Dolph made it a point to support those who supported him.   

One Friday afternoon in 2018 at Duke University, two student employees at a campus coffee shop were playing Young Dolph while they worked.

"...the VP of Student Affairs at the time, he was in line, and when he got up to the line, he started talking about the song, you know, the song get played, that was playing. I had no clue was playing," said Britni Brown, one of the coffee shop employees. 

Brown and the other employee working were fired, but their story went viral.

Young Dolph reached out to the two employees, invited them to Rolling Loud in Miami and gave them each $20,000 until they got a new job.

In 2019, Timothy Fletcher won Young Dolph's "Major" challenge, a viral trend to make the best video using Dolph's song of the same name.

Fletcher had the option of $30,000 or a Dodge Charger Hellcat. He took the money, but their relationship didn't end there.

Fletcher is a Type 1 diabetic. When he was fighting for his life in the hospital, Dolph reached out.

"...Dolph called me and asked what was wrong because he's seen my posts on Instagram," Fletcher recalls. "He told me stay on top of it. Man, like, that's crazy. I don't even know what to say like this is crazy..."

In 2020, Dolph gifted a Texas fan with a Lamborghini for winning a raffle tied to his highest charting album "Rich Slave".

Ida Mae instilled values in Young Dolph that he in turn shared with the next generation. Michael "Money Paid Mike" Perry is the prime example of how that legacy lives on. 

He raps about loving yourself, your family and your community. He said Dolph inspired that.  

Money Paid Mike won the 2022 Atlanta Kidz Choice Awardz-Song of the Year for his song, "Long Live Dolph". Young Dolph's parents went to support Mike's success. 

Mike began rapping at two-years-old, but he didn't start taking it serious until he was four. He started showing up in paper route videos, like Young Dolph's platinum single, "Major". 

He and his mom say the moment, is an unforgettable one.  

"She said Dolph just wanted you to be in his new "Major" video. I'm like what?" said Perry. "She had told me that he wanted me to be in his new "Major" video. Boom. You know, I got ready."

Years later, on November 17, 2021, Money Paid Mike lost his friend.

Once the news settled, Mike knew he wanted to do more to honor Dolph. He created a Paper Route coloring book, highlighting Dolph's empire and sharing lessons he picked up from the legend.  

It's only up from here for Money Paid Mike who's standing on the shoulders of his mother, the Memphis Hip-Hop Female Hustler of the year, KimCoCo. 

Hip-Hop historians say they're the first mom & son to win Hip-Hop awards in the same year.  

The hustle and drive it takes to build a business comes from within. It comes from wanting better for yourself and those around you. Young Dolph knew there was more for him beyond South Memphis.  

Community was crucial to him. Just days before one of four Paper Route holiday turkey drives, Dolph was killed.  

Kia Shine, Rap Hustlers CEO and herself a rapper, said rapping has become a dangerous job.

 "The enemy comes to kill, steal, and destroy. If you are up, you have to move a certain way," Shine said. "Anything can happen to anybody any given day anywhere."

While working on this special honoring Dolph, the nation lost another rapper, Migos member Takeoff.

This death triggered the mother of Young Dolph's children, Mia Jaye. 

In an Instagram post she said she's prepared to change the narrative and is disappointed "in our people" and our culture for continuing to feed into negative stereotypes. 

Jaye vows to "no longer participate in creating music that push negative agendas to black youth," and said "money will no longer determine" what she uses her "God-given gift for."   

"I just hate that a guy like Dolph couldn't just go grab the cookies, gas up and slide out. I hate that," Kia Shine said. 

Young Dolph's lasting legacy continues to live on in Memphis, as more artists are blazing trails in the Bluff City. 

This week, Memphis rapper GloRilla received a Grammy nomination for her single "F.N.F." after being named the Best Breakthrough Artist at the BET Hip-Hop awards.

In the spirit of Dolph's philanthropy, the rapper donated $25,000 to her old school, MLK Prep Academy - $12,500 towards senior dues and $12,500 towards the music department.

GloRilla said she wants to inspire the students at MLK Prep and let them know that their dreams are achievable.

"I want them to know that anything they put they mind to is possible. Long as they got a dream, they just gotta reach for the stars. And whatever they put their mind to doing, whatever they work for, they can do, and they can get,” she said.

Dolph's IdaMae Foundation continues to give back to several communities, including Memphis, during Dolph Day of Service November 17. 

In Memphis, the foundation will serve lunch, give free haircuts, and provide free winter kits consisting of coats, blankets, socks, and gloves at the Hospitality Hub from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

"The spirit of Young Dolph Day encourages anyone in any city to give back to their community - no act of service is too small," The foundation said in a press release.

The foundation will also provide free haircuts and serve dinner in Atlanta that day.

While Young Dolph's life was tragically cut short one year ago Thursday, his legacy lives on in the city he always called home. 

As tributes to the late rapper continue to pour in, his home city of Memphis will always remember him.

Long Live Dolph.