Young Dolph: what was rapper’s beef with Yo Gotti, Blac Youngsta and Soulja Boy?

In the days before his death, Soulja Boy and Young Dolph were seen exchanging jabs on social media
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US rapper Young Dolph was shot dead in his hometown of Memphis on Wednesday (17 November) at the age of 36.

As news of his death broke, many are asking questions about his feuds with fellow rappers Yo Gotti, Blac Youngsta and Soulja Boy.

This is everything you need to know.

What was his beef with Yo Gotti?

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Dolph famously had a feud with fellow Memphis rapper Yo Gotti, following the release of his debut album called King of Memphis - a title that Gotti reportedly used to refer to himself.

In 2016, Dolph hinted that Gotti wasn’t a fan, tweeting: “Bra went from bein my #1 fan and wanting to sign me to bein my BIGGEST HATER.”

Dolph claimed that Gotti had wanted to sign him to his label, but Dolph turned him down.

Young Dolph performing during the Astroworld Festival 2019 (Photo: SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AFP via Getty Images)Young Dolph performing during the Astroworld Festival 2019 (Photo: SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AFP via Getty Images)
Young Dolph performing during the Astroworld Festival 2019 (Photo: SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AFP via Getty Images)

The pair would take hits at each other in interviews, and they eventually released diss tracks against the other.

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In February 2017, Dolph dropped a diss track against Gotti called Play Wit Yo B**ch. Two weeks later, Dolph released a video for the track featuring a Gotti look alike - the next day, his SUV was targeted with gunfire.

Later that year, Dolph was shot outside of a Loews Hollywood hotel in LA, where Gotti’s entourage was staying. Corey McClendon, 43, was arrested near the location of the shooting but was later released.

Gotti and McClendon have a past together as, in 2010, the pair turned themselves in to police after a shooting occurred in a Memphis club car park following an argument between Gotti and OG Boo Dirty, another local rapper.

Gotti was never named as a person of interest in Dolph’s Loews Hollywood shooting.

Yo Gotti at an event in Miami, 2018 (Photo: Sean Zanni/Getty Images for Diesel)Yo Gotti at an event in Miami, 2018 (Photo: Sean Zanni/Getty Images for Diesel)
Yo Gotti at an event in Miami, 2018 (Photo: Sean Zanni/Getty Images for Diesel)
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Speaking to the Breakfast Club radio show 2017, Gotti said that there was no fued between him and Dolph.

He said: “Me and homie never had one argument - ever in life. We never touched each other ever in life, we never exchanged no money ever in life.

“The fact is, I’m the biggest rapper from Memphis, I help a lot of rappers from Memphis. I don’t know, I can’t really think about what it is.”

How was Blac Youngsta involved?

Blac Youngsta, real name Sammie Marquez Benson, also a rapper, is signed with Yo Gotti’s label Collective Music Group (CMG).

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He first gained Gotti’s attention with the release of his breakout hit Heavy in 2015. Gotti then appeared on a remix of the song - this is when Gotti signed Youngsta to his label.

As Dolph and Gotti exchanged jabs, Youngsta took to Instagram to post a video threatening to “smack the s**t” out of Dolph.

On 16 May 2017, Youngsta surrendered himself to the police on charges relating to the shooting of Dolph. Youngsta and his associates were alleged to have fired over 100 bullets into Dolph’s SUV.

Youngsta maintained his innocence before turning himself in. According to arrest records, he and his associates were each charged with six counts of discharging a weapon in an occupied dwelling or moving vehicle and felony conspiracy, but later in the month these charges were dropped.

Blac Youngsta at the 2018 BET Awards in 2018  (Photo: Leon Bennett/Getty Images)Blac Youngsta at the 2018 BET Awards in 2018  (Photo: Leon Bennett/Getty Images)
Blac Youngsta at the 2018 BET Awards in 2018 (Photo: Leon Bennett/Getty Images)
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Dolph said that the reason he survived the shooting was because his SUV was fitted with bulletproof panels.

Youngsta would go on to release a song called Birthday in which he references the shooting, and alleges that Dolph had had him framed.

He raps: “How you gonna go and shoot your own truck up and play dead for the night / And then press charges on me and tell the police I did that s**t / Now the feds say I’m a menace / This is for all the young n****s innocent.”

In the song Youngsta also says: “Adolph Thornton [Dolph’s real name] wanna see me dead and gone.”

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In an interview after the shooting, Dolph said that he had “no clue” as to who shot at him.

What was his feud with Soulja Boy?

In the days prior to Dolph’s death, he and Soulja Boy were making headlines due to their ongoing feud.

On 10 November, Dolph hit out at Soulja Boy on Instagram, saying: “How da f**k I’m an independent artist and getting 100rax plus for a show?

“How da f**k @keyglock got more cars & ice than you & your CEO?”

Soulja Boy at the 2019 BET Social Awards  (Photo: Paras Griffin/Getty Images for BET)Soulja Boy at the 2019 BET Social Awards  (Photo: Paras Griffin/Getty Images for BET)
Soulja Boy at the 2019 BET Social Awards (Photo: Paras Griffin/Getty Images for BET)
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Soulja Boy responded to Dolph’s comments, claiming he was a liar and that he is “really 100% independent no cap”.

In an Instagram video, Soulja Boy calls out Dolph by name, stating: “Man, Young Dolph, if you don’t get your b***h a*s artist out my m***f**** DM.”

He went on to reference Dolph’s past shooting incidents, saying “ain’t you the n***a getting popped and shot at all the time?”

A week prior to Dolph’s death, Soulja Boy went on an Instagram live to chat to his fans.

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After one person mentioned Dolph, Soulja Boy said: “Man, stop playing, I’ll put a [$100,00] ball on this n***a head. N***a ain’t ever play with me, last n***a that played with me I shot him. I don’t do the shoot get shot at, I’ll do the shooting at n****as.

“I’ll bet a $100,000 this n***a won’t give me an address how about that. Look, I got $100k cash. Look, DM the address and you can have all this in my hand how about that.”

After rapper Trouble called out Soulja Boy for releasing a song after Dolph’s death, Soulja Boy wrote, in a now deleted tweet, that Trouble “could be next”.

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