Coming on the scene with stern club bangers and cold punch lines, Memphis-b… Read Full Bio ↴Coming on the scene with stern club bangers and cold punch lines, Memphis-based rapper Young Dolph became a local hero with a series of mixtapes before breaking nationwide around 2014. Since then, he frequently landed in Billboard with albums like 2020's Top Five-charting Rich Slave and two Dum and Dummer releases with Key Glock, as well as single collaborations with Megan Thee Stallion, O.T. Genasis, and others.

Born Adolph Thornton, Jr. in Chicago, Dolph debuted in 2008 with the mixtape Paper Route Campaign. Subsequent releases like The Weed Album and South Memphis Kingpin brought him to 2012, when he dropped the first in a successful series of mixtapes dubbed High Class Street Music . By the time High Class Street Music 4 and the Preach single dropped in 2014, Dolph was working with major-label producers including Drumma Boy and Zaytoven. Both provided tracks for his 2016 debut LP, King of Memphis, which featured no guest artists, and debuted at number 49 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.

A trio of mixtapes followed, ending withm Rich Crack Baby. The album entered the Billboard 200 upon release and included guest appearances by Boosie Badazz, 2 Chainz, Wale, T.I., Gucci Mane, and 21 Savage. Another mixtape, Gelato, followed in early 2017, containing the Yo Gotti diss track Play wit Yo' Bitch as well as tracks featuring Migos, Wiz Khalifa, and Lil Yachty. Dolph's second studio album,Bulletproof, was released in April of 2017 and reached the Top 40 of the Billboard 200. Mere months later, he issued Thinking Out Loud, which featured guest spots by DRAM, Gucci Mane, 2 Chainz, and Ty Dolla $ign. The album was another success, hitting number 16 on the Billboard 200.

In early 2018, Dolph issued the EP Niggas Get Shot Everyday, following up later that year with the Key Glock collaboration Major (feat. Key Glock) and the solo track By Mistake The full-length Role Model appeared later in the year and became Dolph's highest-charting album to date, hitting number 15 on the Billboard 200. One year later, Dolph joined frequent collaborator Key Glock for 2019's Dum and Dummer, the pair's first collaborative mixtape. Dolph's seventh studio album, Rich Slave, arrived in August 2020 and found him addressing issues of racism and inequality in America. Included on the album were guest appearances by Megan Thee Stallion, Key Glock, and G Herbo. In 2021, Dolph and Glock reunited for Dum and Dummer 2, followed promptly by PAPER ROUTE iLLUMINATi, a showcase album for Dolph's Paper Route Empire label. Young Dolph died on November 17, 2021 after he was shot while visiting a bakery in Memphis en route to a Thanksgiving turkey giveaway. He was 36 years old.