Hitman who gunned down rapper Young Dolph gets 20 years for $100K killing that nearly tore a major city apart
Cornelius Smith Jr. has been sentenced to 20 years for the murder of rapper Young Dolph, who was shot outside a bakery in Memphis in 2021. Smith pleaded guilty to second-degree murder after serving as a witness against his co-accused, who received a life sentence. The killing, which was reportedly orchestrated over a music feud, caused significant unrest in the city.
- ▪Cornelius Smith Jr. was sentenced to 20 years for the murder of rapper Young Dolph.
- ▪Young Dolph was ambushed outside Makeda's Homemade Cookies in Memphis.
- ▪Smith confessed he was hired for the hit and was to receive $100,000.
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US News Hitman who gunned down rapper Young Dolph gets 20 years for $100K killing that nearly tore a major city apart By Emily Crane Published May 17, 2026, 1:24 p.m. ET A perp has pleaded guilty to gunning down rapper Young Dolph in a broad daylight ambush outside his favorite cookie shop in Memphis four years ago — a killing that nearly tore the city apart. Cornelius Smith Jr., 36, was slapped with a 20-year sentence on Friday over the rapper and music label owner’s execution in 2021, prosecutors said. Smith and another gunman, Justin Johnson, had initially been charged with first-degree murder for opening fire on the rapper — whose real name was Adolph Robert Thornton Jr. — outside Makeda’s Homemade Cookies near his childhood home in a working-class neighborhood.
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