MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Young Dolph grew up riding his bike and playing basketball in a Memphis, Tennessee, neighborhood and later built a rap career that included ownership of an independent music label, Paper Route Empire.
He became beloved locally for his charitable works: donations to local high schools, paying rent and covering funeral costs for others, Thanksgiving turkey giveaways.
He was in Memphis to hand out turkeys to families at a church when a visit to his favorite cookie shop near his childhood home turned into an event that shocked the city and the entertainment world. Young Dolph, whose real name was Adolph Thornton Jr., was gunned down in a daylight ambush on Nov. 17, 2021.
Nearly three years later, a trial in the 36-year-old rapper’s killing is scheduled to begin Monday. Justin Johnson has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and is scheduled to face a jury from the Nashville area after a defense attorney argued that intense media coverage and social media attention would make it hard to seat a jury from Memphis.
Another man, Cornelius Smith Jr., also was charged with first-degree murder. He is not scheduled for trial on Monday, said his lawyer, Michael Scholl. Smith also has pleaded not guilty.
Young Dolph’s family and friends have been patiently awaiting a trial and are praying for justice for the father of two children, said Carlisa Brown, his older sister.
“We want everyone involved to get what they deserve,” she said in a phone interview. “It was a very senseless murder.”
On the day the rapper was shot, two men got out of a stolen Mercedes-Benz and fired shots into Makeda’s Homemade Cookies before fleeing, authorities say. As they searched for the suspects, police released photos taken from surveillance video that captured two men getting out of a Mercedes and firing into the store.
After more than a month on the run, Johnson was captured in January 2022 in Indiana. Smith was arrested on an auto-theft warrant involving the Mercedes.
Authorities have not released a suspected motive. Two other men also have been charged in the shooting.
Hernandez Govan has pleaded not guilty to organizing the killing. Jermarcus Johnson pleaded guilty in June 2023 to three counts of serving as an accessory after the killing by helping Smith and Justin Johnson, his half-brother.
Jermarcus Johnson acknowledged helping the two shooting suspects communicate by cellphone while they were on the run from authorities and helping one of them communicate with his probation officer. Jermarcus Johnson has not been sentenced.
Right after the shooting, the bakery turned into a makeshift memorial for Young Dolph, with fans praying in the parking lot and writing messages of condolences and love on plywood covering the shot-out windows. The bakery closed for months but has since reopened.
He also was honored by the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA during a game. Murals of the rapper were painted around the city. A neighborhood street was named after him.
Known for his depictions of tough street life and his independent approach to the music business, he began his career by releasing numerous mixtapes, starting with 2008′s “Paper Route Campaign,” and multiple studio albums, including his 2016 debut “King of Memphis.” He also collaborated on other mixtapes and albums with fellow rappers Key Glock, Megan Thee Stallion, T.I., Gucci Mane, 2 Chainz and others.
He had three albums reach the top 10 on the Billboard 200, with 2020′s “Rich Slave” peaking at No. 4.
Young Dolph’s desire to be an independent entrepreneur led him to create Paper Route Empire, his sister said.
“He didn’t want to be confined and put in a box, like when you get on some of these other labels,” Brown said. “It was about having something of his own, something that he built and made, that he could ultimately use to help impact other people.”
Born in Chicago, Young Dolph came to Memphis with his three siblings when they were young. His parents were struggling with addiction, so they moved to be close to their grandmother.
“We had a fun childhood, and my brother always had an independent, big brother type of mentality,” Brown said. “My sister and I, we are the oldest, but he always had that leader-type role, like ‘I’m a protector, I’m going to protect you.’”
He was an artistic kid who liked to draw and hang out in Castalia Heights, a working class neighborhood that sometimes showed Young Dolph a gritty side of Memphis that he later portrayed in his music, Brown said.
“He wasn’t that type of boy that you see standing on corners, and all that kind of stuff, but he was definitely street smart,” she said.
Young Dolph’s legacy not only lies in his music, but also in his charitable works, including the IdaMae Family Foundation, named after his grandmother. The charity holds an annual Day of Service in his honor.
“Our grandmother was the one people would call on to ask for help, and of course, she would go do it,” said Brown, the foundation’s president. “It is something that is innate in us, to be able to just help people and give to people. It’s just something that came naturally. It came out of the kindness of his heart.”