Young Dolph Net Worth, Biography, Age, Career, Earnings

Young Dolph, who was born Adolph Robert Thornton Jr, was an influential American rapper, songwriter, and independent record executive. He had gradually risen to prominence in the mid-2010s thanks to his gritty, streetwise lyrics. He also founded his own label ‘Paper Route Empire (PRE)’ in 2010 to maintain control over his music. 

However, fame did not stay very long as he was tragically killed at the young age of 36 on 17th November 2021 in a targeted shooting. To this day, Dolph remains a symbol of hip-hop music and independence, and a well-known businessman thanks to his net worth.

Biography Overview

Adolph Robert Thornton Jr. was an American rapper, songwriter and record executive who hailed from Chicago in Illinois. He is the founder of Paper Route Empire and has oftentimes collaborated with Gucci Mane. He died tragically on 17th November 2021.

Young Dolph Net Worth

Young Dolph’s net worth, at the time of his death in November 2021, was estimated to be around $2 million. This figure, which is cited by several sources, reflects his earnings from many sources. He had earned from independent music releases, tours, and, of course, his Paper Route Empire label. 

As part of his posthumous estate growth, his estate’s value has reportedly expanded to a whopping $22.5 million. This is due to his ongoing streaming royalties, music catalog licensing, real-estate rentals, and more.  His annual posthumous income ranges anywhere between $1.5 million to 2 million, and is driven by billions of streams on music platforms like Spotify and Apple Music.

Early Life and Education

Young Dolph, who was born as Adolph Robert Thornton Jr, in Chicago, Illinois, had to face a challenging early life that was marked by family hardships. He, however, relocated to Memphis in Tennessee when he was just 2 and grew up in the tough neighbourhood of Castalia Heights, South Memphis.

His parents were struggling with crack cocaine addiction, and because of this they were not fit to take care of young Adolph, so his grandmother, Ida Mae, took him in along with his two sisters, two brothers. Interestingly, he was a second cousin to the renowned rapper Juice Wrld. 

However, his early childhood circumstances fostered early independence in him, along with resilience and street smarts. This later would credit him with a strong mindset towards life.

In terms of his education, he attended Hamilton High School in Memphis and graduated in 2003. As a teenager, Aolph worked as a barber when he was 12 and continued till he was 15. However, he turned to street hustling by the time he was 16-17 to earn more income. It is interesting to note that he had skipped college entirely and focused on immersing himself in the Memphis rap scene post-high school.

Career

Career Beginnings

Adolph was encouraged by friends, just as he was already interested in getting on with the rap scene in the early-mid 2000s.  He dropped his debut mixtape ‘Paper Route Campaign’ in 2008 and sold copies from his car in South Memphis. This built momentum and local buzz. He then founded PRE in 2020, as he was inspired by Master P. He then released ‘Welcome 2 Dolph World’ which featured top artists like 2 Chainz and 8Ball. He dropped more mixtapes like High Class Street Music series,A Time 2 Kill, Blue Magic, and South Memphis Masquerade. These mixtapes honed his deep-voice and street-authentic style of rapping. He even rejected a CMG deal from Yo Gotti to stay independent in his music.

Breakthrough and Peak Albums

By the time it was 2015 or so, he had already gotten national exposure with his feature on O.T. Genasis’ ‘Cut It’ which went up to number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100. He also released the mixtape ‘Shittin on The Industry’, and his debut album ‘King of Memphis’ in 2016 peaked at number 49 on Billboard 200. This led to the rise of rivalries with other local rappers like Blac Youngsta over the title which was a little suggestive for them. He went on to sign cousin Key Glock to PRE in 2017 and released hits like ‘Major’, and albums like ‘Bulletproof’, ‘Role Model’, and ‘Dum and Dummer’ with Key Glock. He released Rich Slave in 2020, which peaked at number 4 on the Billboard list. 

Dolph was also famously known to reject a $22 million Epic Records deal, wherein he prioritized master ownership. By 2021, PRE already had a roster that generated millions annually, with Dolph’s Catalog exceeding 1 billion streams. His motivational tracks like ‘Preach’ inspired independents to walk the same path.

Business Ventures – PRE

Dolph had always wanted to remain an independent artist, and he founded the ‘Paper Route Empire,’ which was his biggest business venture. It started as a platform for Dolph’s mixtapes like ‘Welcome 2 Dolph Worl,d’ but it evolved into a full independent label. The distribution partnerships allowed direct fan access via streaming, tours, and physical sales. Dolph earned $100K+ per show over various gigs in a year.

After his death, the current CEO, DaddyO, released compilations like Long Live Dolph and more. His other ventures included Memphis real estate rentals for passive income.

Philanthropy and Social Work

Dolph was known to engage in low-key social work and host annual Thanksgiving turkey giveaways in South Memphis. He would distribute thousands of meals to the underprivileged families and support local youth via school supply drives and community events. This reflected his roots in Castalia Heights, and it earned genuine praise amid his street image.

Young Dolph Death

Young Dolph was fatally shot on 17th November 2021 when he was just 36, outside of Makeda’s Homemade Butter Cookies in South Memphis. This was a spot that he frequently visited without the presence of bodyguards.

The Incident 

Footage from surveillance cameras showed that it captured Dolph and his brother Marcus Thornton exiting a Corvette and entering the local renowned bakery at around 1 pm, wherein Dolph was on his phone. He was also selecting cookies, probably for someone on the phone, and around this time, two gunmen arrived in a Mercedes-Benz C-Class just a few seconds later. They fired into the store in broad daylight, and struck Dolph several times with 22 gunshot wounds to the head, neck, torso, and back.  He succumbed to these injuries, and this was ruled a homicide case by the Shelby County Medical Examiner.

Crowds gathered for hour,s and this prompted the police to secure the area amid fears of unrest.

Prior Feuds 

Dolph had been attacked before. In fact, he had survived several attacks including one wherein he got shot over 100 times in his SUV in Charlotte (2017). Interestingly, this is what inspired him to release ‘100 Shots’. He also survived a Los Angeles hotel shooting. The killing stemmed from prior rivalries between his PRE and Yo Gotti’s CMG label. This was after Dolph rejected their offers and released diss tracks.

Legal Proceedings

After his death, legal proceedings took over the case of Dolph’s death. Justin Johnson and Cornelius Smith were identified as the shooters. Johnson was convicted of first-degree murder in September 2024 and received a life sentence without parole.

Smith testified to the hit, and claimed that he received $800K payment plus an extra $50K from ‘Big Jook’ – Yo Gotti’s brother. ​

Personal Life

Young Dolph never kept his personal life in the spotlight. He focused publicly on his career, and also only on family loyalty. He also never married, but was in a long-term partnership with Mia Jaye, with whom he had twins – Tre Tre and Ari Tre in 2016. He was often seen crediting Mia for grounding him amid his career demands and street risks. Dolph was seen as deeply devoted to his children and prioritized their security and future via trusts tied to his PRE empire.

Conclusion

Over the years, Young Dolph was a talented and fearless music artist. He had a rough early life but he grew from there and made a name for himself. His fierce intention of wanting control of his own music made enemies which ultimately claimed his life. However, knowing that he had created enmity with other stars like Yo Getti, and subsequently releasing diss tracks in their tribute – shows courage. Young Dolph, although, was not married, he was a family man and was very protective of his family. Years after his death, he is remembered and his PRE estate is gradually building despite his net worth of $5 million in 2021. Today, his empire is worth $22.5 million thanks to music catalogs, real estate, PRE, merchandise, and more.

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