Young Dolph will forever be a man of the people.
Source: Prince Williams / Getty
The tragic loss of Young Dolph is still sending shockwaves through his hometown of Memphis, but TMZ reports his charitable work is still going strong. Dolph was shot and killed outside of a local bakery on Wednesday, just hours before he was expected to appear at one of many scheduled events to give away groceries to families in need. On Friday, friends and supporters of the slain rapper continued his annual tradition of giving away turkeys in his community for Thanksgiving.
Members of Dolph’s Paper Route Empire label and IdaMae Family Foundation, community organizers, and volunteers came together to hand out groceries and hundreds of turkeys. “We did what he would have wanted us to do,” Snupe Bandz, a mentee of Young Dolph, said at the event. “To keep it going and do what he would have done.”
The holiday turkey drive, which Dolph began in 2018, took place at St. James Missionary Baptist Church, where the “Rich Slave” rapper grew up in Castalia Heights. “This is one of the best things I like about South Memphis,” Pamela Stewart told ABC News 24. “When rappers come in and give back to the community. I think that it’s a wonderful thing, especially when they’re giving us turkeys this heavy!”
Local police continue to search for the two suspects who were seen fleeing the murder in a white Mercedes. Leaders like Van Turner, president of the local NAACP chapter, are working to address the gun violence that ended over 250 lives in Memphis this year.
“It’s not all on law enforcement,” Turner told HuffPost. “Law enforcement shows up after a crime has been committed. We have a responsibility to keep these crimes from being committed.” Turner plans to host a forum about new strategies to prevent violence and the circumstances that cause it.
“When I hear his music, I just break down,” said Dolph’s childhood friend and label employee Bee Bee Jones. “The truth in all of it, and where he came from, that’s what really gets to me sometimes. This is what he would want us to do right here, still keep on giving. He came from nothing, but he wanted to make sure everybody got some.”