In a stunning courtroom revelation that sent shockwaves through the hip-hop community, one of the accused triggermen in the murder of rapper Young Dolph delivered a chilling confession, laying bare a dark conspiracy allegedly orchestrated by figures connected to rap mogul Yo Gotti. Cornelius Smith, facing a lifetime behind bars, not only admitted to his role in the brutal 2021 slaying but claimed the entire hit was a murder-for-hire plot, with the order coming directly from the highest echelons of a rival camp. His testimony has painted a grim picture of a feud that devolved from professional jealousy into a bloody street war, leaving a trail of death and devastation that continues to haunt the city of Memphis.

The confession has become the centerpiece of a sprawling legal case, pulling back the curtain on the violent underbelly of the music industry. Smith, looking directly at the evidence, identified himself in the horrifying surveillance footage that captured the final moments of Young Dolph’s life. On November 17, 2021, two masked men ambushed the rapper inside Makeda’s Homemade Butter Cookies, a beloved local bakery. They fired a barrage of bullets, striking him 22 times and ending the life of a man who had proudly proclaimed himself the “King of Memphis.”

According to Smith, the assassination was not a random act of violence but a meticulously planned execution. He alleged that the hit was ordered by Big Jook, the older brother of Yo Gotti, and that Gotti himself was the ultimate mastermind behind the conspiracy. The motivation, Smith claimed, was simple and cold: money. He spoke of “trying to get some money,” revealing that he and the other alleged shooter, Justin Johnson, were promised $40,000 each to carry out the murder. This testimony pointed to a larger criminal enterprise, one where Hernandez Govan, another defendant, acted as the middleman who orchestrated the logistics of the hit. Prosecutors now allege that Big Jook had placed a staggering $100,000 bounty on Young Dolph’s head.

The roots of this deadly conflict trace back to 2014, when a rising Young Dolph made a fateful decision to turn down a record deal from Yo Gotti’s label, Collective Music Group (CMG). Dolph, fiercely independent, chose to forge his own path with his label, Paper Route Empire (PRE). This professional slight was compounded in 2016 when Dolph released his debut album, provocatively titled “King of Memphis.” In a city where Yo Gotti had long been considered the reigning monarch of its rap scene, this was a direct and undeniable challenge.

What began as a war of words soon escalated into real-world violence. Diss tracks were exchanged, social media became a battleground for taunts and threats, and the conflict spilled onto the streets. In 2017 alone, Dolph survived two separate attempts on his life. First, his SUV was riddled with over 100 bullets in Charlotte, North Carolina, an attack he miraculously survived thanks to the vehicle’s bulletproof paneling. Months later, he was shot multiple times in a Hollywood altercation, leaving him critically injured but alive. These brushes with death became a part of his legend, immortalized in his music and his defiant public persona.

But on that fateful November afternoon, his luck ran out. The ambush at Makeda’s was swift and merciless. Smith described the chaos of the moment, admitting to shooting through the bakery’s glass window with the clear intention of hitting Dolph. The violence did not end there. During the shootout, Young Dolph’s brother, Marcus, who was with him, reportedly returned fire, injuring both Smith and Johnson in the process.

The aftermath of the murder plunged Memphis into a new era of fear and retaliation. Justin Johnson, far from lying low, seemed to revel in the notoriety. Just five days after the killing, he released a song titled “Stepped On,” a brazen move that prosecutors labeled a “calculated flex.” In the music video, he wore a chain adorned with the acronym for Paper Route Empire, a direct taunt to his fallen rival’s camp. He also allegedly received an offer that intertwined his violent actions with career ambitions: a record deal with CMG in exchange for eliminating Young Dolph.

As the legal process slowly churned forward, the streets began to deliver their own form of justice. On September 26, 2024, Justin Johnson was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for his role in the murder. Cornelius Smith and Hernandez Govan are still awaiting their trials. But outside the courtroom, the cycle of vengeance was spinning violently out of control.

Big Jook, the man Smith accused of ordering the hit, was shot and killed outside a Memphis restaurant on January 13, 2024, in what was widely believed to be a retaliatory strike. His death was just one in a series of revenge killings that targeted individuals associated with the anti-Dolph faction. The violence claimed the lives of comedian Darien Demun Childs and others connected to the street crew “Straight Drop.” In this bloody saga, Young Dolph’s cousin and protégé, Key Glock, emerged as the de facto leader of the alleged revenge campaign, channeling his grief and rage into a silent, unwavering mission for retribution.

The story of Young Dolph’s murder is a modern tragedy, a cautionary tale about how artistic rivalry, when mixed with ego, money, and street credibility, can create a combustible environment where lives are treated as disposable. It has left families shattered, a community scarred, and a music scene grappling with the devastating consequences of a war that has no winners. The bullets that ended Young Dolph’s life did not bring an end to the conflict; they were merely the opening shots in a new, even bloodier chapter that continues to cast a long, dark shadow over the city of Memphis.