Rapper Young Dolph fatally shot at Tennessee Cookie Shop

Assassinations and killings of rappers seem to be more prevalent than ever. In a latest, rapper Young Dolph was shot and killed Wednesday at a cookie shop in his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee, and a search is underway for the shooter, authorities said.

Police tweeted that they had no information to release about a possible suspect in the shooting, which took place at Makeda’s Cookies near Memphis International Airport.

“The tragic shooting death of rap artist Young Dolph serves as another reminder of the pain that violent crime brings with it,” Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland said in a statement.

The Daily Memphian newspaper reported that Young Dolph’s cousin, Mareno Myers, said the rapper had been in town since Monday visiting an aunt who has cancer and was also giving out Thanksgiving turkeys.

“He was inside (Makeda’s), and somebody just rolled up on him and took his life,” Myers said.

Just last week, the cookie shop posted a video on Instagram of the rapper promoting the store’s cookies, saying he returns to the store whenever he is in Memphis.

Like the Los Angeles rapper Nipsey Hussle, who was killed in 2019, Young Dolph had been admired by many in the industry for his independent approach to the music business. His Paper Route Empire label retained control over his music.

The 36-year-old rapper was born in Chicago as Adolph Thornton Jr., and moved to Memphis when he was 2, according to The Commercial Appeal.

He released 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.

It is the fourth high-profile shooting in the Memphis area in the past two months. Others include a school shooting in which a 13-year-old student wounded a classmate, the fatal shooting of two postal employees by a third postal worker who then killed himself, and a mass shooting at a Kroger grocery store in the Collierville suburb that left two people dead, including the shooter, and more than a dozen wounded.

May his soul rest in peace.