The King’s Silence: Yo Gotti’s Legacy Shattered by Allegations of Brother’s Role in Young Dolph’s $100,000 Bounty Plot

In the streets of Memphis, a city rich with musical legacy, a rivalry between two of its biggest rap figures—Yo Gotti and Young Dolph—escalated far beyond music, pride, or competition. It became a deadly, years-long war that reached its tragic climax with the cold-blooded assassination of Young Dolph in November 2021. Now, with court proceedings exposing shocking details of the conspiracy and a cycle of retaliatory violence claiming more lives, the narrative has shifted, placing the silent weight of the tragedy squarely on the shoulders of one man: Yo Gotti.

The Spark: A Rejected Handout and a Title Violation

To understand the 2021 murder, one must go back to 2014, when the beef first ignited. Young Dolph, born Adolf Thornton Jr., was an independent force, building his Paper Route Empire without handouts. Yo Gotti, already established as a Memphis kingpin, tried to recruit the rising star to his Collective Music Group (CMG). Dolph’s rejection—a decision to bet on himself—was perceived by Gotti’s circle as a monumental slight.

The tension turned toxic in 2016 when Dolph dropped his debut album with the title, King of Memphis—a direct and public violation of Gotti’s self-proclaimed position. Dolph later revealed the rejection was rooted deeper than business: he’d witnessed Gotti “downplay” and “throw under the bus” his own CMG artists, like Zilla and Starito, to try and persuade Dolph to sign. This, Dolph stated, was “some snake sh*t,” an early “red alert” about Gotti’s lack of loyalty.

From Diss Tracks to 100 Shots

The beef quickly moved from subliminal tracks to real-life violence. The timeline of attacks reads like a movie script:

• February 2017: Dolph’s SUV was riddled with over 100 rounds in Charlotte, North Carolina. He survived only because his vehicle was bulletproof. Gotti-associated artists, including Black Youngsta, were investigated, though charges were later dropped due to lack of evidence.

• September 2017: Dolph was shot multiple times outside the Lowe’s Hollywood Hotel in Los Angeles, requiring emergency surgery. The location was the same hotel where Yo Gotti was reportedly posted up, though Gotti was never charged.

Dolph’s response was pure defiance: he released the album Bulletproof with the track “100 Shots,” turning his near-death experience into a brazen flex. Yet, despite the life-or-death reality, Gotti publicly downplayed the severity, portraying himself as a rejected mentor in a 2017 interview, insisting, “Me and homie never had one argument… I was actually helping them.”

The Execution at the Cookie Shop

The simmering violence exploded on November 17, 2021. Young Dolph was in his hometown for a turkey giveaway, a gesture of community support that defined his legacy. He stopped at a local Black-owned business he frequently promoted, Makeda’s Homemade Butter Cookies.

Surveillance footage captured the horror: a white Mercedes-Benz pulled up, and two masked shooters, later identified as Justin Johnson (an aspiring rapper who went by Straight Drop) and Cornelius Smith, opened fire in broad daylight. The autopsy confirmed Dolph was hit at least 22 times in an execution-style hit. In a moment of sheer bravery, Dolph’s brother, Marcus Thornton, was at the scene and immediately began shooting back, hitting both assailants before they fled—but it was too late to save Dolph.

The $100,000 Bounty and Gotti’s Brother

The subsequent investigation led to the arrests of the two shooters and an alleged orchestrator, Hernandez Govan. However, the most explosive revelations emerged during the trial proceedings in 2024:

• The Bounty: State witness Cornelius Smith (one of the shooters who copped a plea deal) testified that Anthony “Big Jook” Mims, Yo Gotti’s own blood brother and a major figure in CMG, allegedly put out a $100,000 bounty on Young Dolph’s head.

• The Motive: Prosecutors alleged the hit was tied directly to the CMG–Paper Route Empire beef, with Big Jook allegedly offering the bounty to secure Johnson’s signing to CMG. Smith claimed he and Johnson were promised $40,000 each, with Govan receiving a $10,000 cut for setting it up. Smith only ever received $800 of the promised money.

Justin Johnson was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole. However, in a shocking twist, alleged orchestrator Hernandez Govan was acquitted in 2025, leaving a massive, open question about who truly masterminded the plot.

The Cycle of Violence and the Silence

The tragedy did not end with Dolph’s death. The feud claimed Gotti’s own blood:

• The Retaliation: On January 13, 2024, just over two years after Dolph’s murder, Big Jook was gunned down in an assassination-style killing outside a Memphis restaurant during a repass for a family member. No one has been charged, but the streets widely speculate it was retaliation for Young Dolph’s murder.

• The Aftermath: The cycle of violence continued with several other deaths speculated to be connected to the broader rivalry, including a person of interest in the Dolph case and the brother of Black Youngsta.

Throughout all these devastating developments—the trial revelations, the bounty allegations against his brother, and his brother’s subsequent murder—Yo Gotti has maintained complete public radio silence.

This silence is deafening. The man who previously rushed to defend himself against any accusation of involvement in the 2017 shootings has said nothing about his brother’s alleged central role in a murder-for-hire plot.

In the court of street opinion, Gotti’s refusal to address the pain, the loss, and the allegations of his own brother’s complicity has spoken volumes louder than any music or defense. His silence has been widely interpreted as an acknowledgment of the street’s verdict on guilt and responsibility, permanently intertwining his legacy with the death of his rival.

The beef between Yo Gotti and Young Dolph is over, ended not by peace, but by bullets and a devastating cycle of violence that cost two families their sons. The music that could have been made, the collaboration that could have elevated Memphis hip-hop, is a loss that the hip-hop community—and the city of Memphis—will never forget.