Young Dolph. Now, I understand that some people that are watching this show are including Gam-Gam. Gam-Gam may not be familiar with Young Dolph and Big Jook and Yo Gotti and all of these guys. Or even what’s happening in Memphis. I had some guys in Memphis, or from Memphis, actually come up here a couple weeks ago. I just ran into them at the bar. I don’t know them, but I know them now because we had some good conversations at the bar or whatever. And they were saying that they were from Memphis, and so we were talking about how Detroit has changed and how it’s evolved.

And he was like, hey man, I wish Memphis leadership would do this, I wish it would do this, I wish it would do that. And that got me to thinking, right? It got me to thinking because I always think about the opportunities that are in a depressed environment. And when cities start to fall apart, that’s kind of the buying opportunity for people that are sharks. You know what I’m saying? When you see depressed environments, that’s an opportunity for gentrification. But there has to be certain factors that play out in order for us to really be able to gentrify and make an area better.

While at the same time, pushing out the riff-raff. Which leads me to this conversation, right? So yesterday, I get a bunch of emails from people like, oh man, the murderer or the person from Young Dolph, they got actual video and all of this stuff. And so I’m going to bring you all up to speed. So before we get into the video, I’m going to tell you why this is important and why this hit is a thing. So, Young Dolph was an independent artist in Memphis, okay? Really great music from a hip-hop perspective, beloved by the people and everybody, everybody loved Paper Route Empire, which was the name of his record label.

Well, again, he was independent. He wasn’t interdependent on any record label, so on and so forth. Yogotti is another artist in Memphis, all right? Made a lot of money, Glorilla is signed to him. Several different people have made, have success with Yogotti. The problem between the two is that although they had brief and limited interaction, it’s long been rumored that there is a war, a gang war amongst so many different people that’s happened in Memphis, but also between the two camps. Ultimately, Young Dolph’s life was taken when he went into a cookie shop and those people have been arrested.

But what we’re discovering throughout this whole process is that Yogotti, who was also the rival rapper, who was incredibly successful, a millionaire himself, his big brother is the one that ordered the hit, allegedly, that’s what’s being proposed inside of the courts, his big brother is the one that put a $100,000 hit on Young Dolph’s life. Big Jook himself also was killed earlier this, or late last year, earlier this year, okay? So it sounds like a web, but let me summarize it for you. Dolph, independent, killed by Yogotti’s brother, who put a $100,000 hit on him.

Yogotti is still out here running around in the streets doing his thing, and although he’s presenting himself as a corporate businessman, it seems as though, it seems as though he is still in the streets. Together now? All right, so let’s dig into it, all right? So, this is the latest updates from the news over in Memphis as far as prosecutors taking care of business and doing the thing that they should be doing over there in Fulton County, Georgia, but prosecutors in Memphis is now having this trial and they’re discovering all of this information and this is where we come to.

Topping your news later at 4 today, explosive new allegations this afternoon about the murder of Adolph Thornton Jr., known as rapper Young Dolph. That trial got underway today in a Shelby County courtroom. Thanks for joining us, everyone. I’m Alex Coleman. April is on assignment. Justin Johnson, also known as Straight Drop, is accused of shooting Young Dolph outside a Memphis cookie shop almost three years ago, but today, prosecutors told the jury it was actually a man known as Big Jook, who ordered the hit. They claim Big Jook was high up a record label CMG, a rival of Young Dolph.

Big Jook, who was the older brother of well-known rapper Yo Gotti, was killed earlier this year outside a Hickory Hill nightclub. WREG Shay Arthur has been in the courtroom all day and is live with the latest details. Shay, what have you learned? Alex, I just stepped out of the courtroom just a short time ago. That testimony is still ongoing. It’s really been going on really this entire day and this highly anticipated trial that really so many, just not across Memphis, but across the country have been following Young Dolph, loved by so many here in the Bluff City.

Security here in the court, very, very tight. There’s extra police officers up inside there around the courtroom. You have to go through two metal detectors to actually get inside that courtroom. And the prosecution and the defense, they’ve been telling some very different stories about who is to blame here in the rapper’s death. Justin Johnson, one of the men accused of shooting Young Dolph outside a Memphis cookie shop, sat stoic in court. Shelby County prosecutor Paul Hagerman painted the picture of the day of the crime for the jury, who was brought in from out of Shelby County.

Hagerman says Johnson, an aspiring rapper known as Straight Drop, shot Dolph along with a second man, Cornelia Smith. He says the shooting comes after a $100,000 hit was ordered by Big Jook, who was high up at CMG, a rival record label on the older brother of rapper Yo Gotti. The contract hit was arranged by a third man, Hernandez Govan. Investigators say Govan would seek out new talent for CMG and also provided drugs to Smith. The jury was shown the moments Young Dolph was killed outside of Makita’s cookies. Hagerman said to Johnson and Smith the shooting was, quote, just business.

When you see how that boy is shooting, he doing like this. Look how he’s shooting. I’m going to show some more footage of this. But this is how he’s shooting. That’s Dolph’s Corvette. He had a signature look for all of his cars, which basically made him a target. Anywhere he went inside of the city, which I’m not even sure why he was still in Memphis, but that’s Dolph’s Corvette. And look how the dude is shooting into the window. His cookies. Hagerman said to Johnson and Smith the shooting was, quote, just business. What we watch up here is so quick.

And we watch it and we call it fireworks. That’s a man with a family and with a wife who’s laying at the edge there in the yellow. Riddled with bullets. Dead. We watch that and we call it fireworks. For Cornelius Smith and for Justin Johnson, it was just business. But Johnson’s attorney says his client is innocent, saying there’s two sides to every story. And Govan was using Johnson. You like to exploit him. Like Mr. Johnson, he brings no skill to the table, but you’re going to hear a testimony about how he intended. It was his sole mission to get a 30 to 60 percent piece of Mr.

Johnson. Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy was also… That must have been a courthouse turn. You going to jail, jail. Listen, don’t even fight them charges. Go ahead and plead out. If that’s your argument, I can make a better argument than he could. If that was the argument, you go into jail, throw away the key. Go ahead and get your soap. You bunking with Felice Johnson tonight? I got you, big dog. So present. Speaking to us about the trial finally happening nearly three years after the shooting. Great anticipation. I mean, this is the culmination of a lot of year’s work.

And there’s been a lot of work done by our staff in the D.A.’s office and also by law enforcement to bring the people responsible for this tragic killing to justice. And that’s what we’re going to do this week. Shit. And Alex, really, so far in the case today beyond those explosive opening statements that we heard, those accusations there from the prosecutor. We also heard from the sister of Young Dolph, along with one of his former security guards. Currently right now, Cornelius Smith, he is the second man along with Justin Johnson, accused of shooting Young Dolph there in front of Makita’s cookie store.

He’s currently under cross-examination by the offense. We’ll have hear from him tonight at five o’clock. I’m going to go back. Let me share some other footage of this really quickly. This is some of the testimony from a guy named Cornelius Smith. Now, I know a Cornelius Smith. He’s actually a really good guy and he’s an actor. It’s unfortunate that this guy’s name is Cornelius Smith also. But let’s go through it. This is them showing the footage and him describing what happened in the footage when they jump out of the car. All right? Stop it here.

We’re going to back up. I might want to back up a little bit. All right. First guy out of the car. Who’s that? It’s me. That’s you. Which one of the guns do you have? I got the little trigger. Okay. That’s that semi-automatic weapon. Is that right? Yeah. You ever shot that thing before? No. I know. Okay. You can proceed, Irish. So the first person to get caught, let me say this. The first person to get caught is always the one that’s going to get the most lenient sentence because he the one that’s going to turn a witness in order to get the conviction for everybody else.

And this is how I tell you that we know who the killers and the dealers are inside of our communities. Why? Because all you got to do is solve for the first person, the first domino to fall, everybody else is going down too. The first person to get caught is going to tell on everybody else in order to save themselves. And this is why he’s now testifying in court. Happy zombie time! Look at how you shoot. That’s your gap, buddy. Is that right? You didn’t mean it. Did you hear you shooting that? No, no, no.

Now back it up again. It’s like a tornado. This Irish is good. Back it up for Justin getting out of the car. All right, who’s the second person here that got out of the driver’s side? Justin. He’s got the smaller handguns, is that right? Yeah, the bad boys. The bad boys. The bad boys. You’re fired at this crazy thing. What’d you see? What are you feeling? I wanted to be a nun at the time, but I ain’t going to be left, huh? I wanted to be a nun at the time. I was just trying to get some money.

Trying to get some money? Bet you probably would have wasted all the pucks that cut it out and the exits. You shot that gun a bunch? Right in there? Right down there. Yeah, I’m telling you, I’m telling you that shot. I will. Aiming for Dolph. Was he able to say anything at all, or was he able to run or get away at all? I shot through the glass, so I want to close the bomb and I’ll shoot through the glass. I saw him standing by the window and I just got out of the star shooter.

All right. You can proceed until Justin shoots. There with the handgun. Who’s that? It’s Justin. All right. You can proceed. All right. Let’s stop right here. It’s Dolph’s brother, Marcus. Did you know that he shot back at y’all? I ain’t noticing until we pulled up. It was a bullet hole in my side window. I told Justin, I’m like, all right, I’m hit. He was like, I’m hit, too. So I see I’m hit right on my leg and I see a bullet hole in my sweater. So we driving out. He was saying he was hit.

I’m talking to him, make sure we’re on the rig. Make sure he’s straight. I’m like, you all right? He’s like, yeah, I’m straight. I’m straight. I’m a bullet head. We need my arm. He was a bullet in my back. I want to back up. That’s all pure adrenaline. The only reason that these dudes wasn’t screaming in pain and stuff is one thousand percent pure adrenaline. These are monsters. These are monsters in real life. You and Justin here are running to the White Mercedes, is that right? All right. You get in what side of the car? I get on the passenger side.

And Justin gets back in the driver’s side? You get in the driver’s side. Y’all get in the car. You can watch the rest of the video here. Did y’all see Marcus getting a second gun from his car? Nah, but when we pulled out and I knew we was shot, I would finish shooting back, but there were too many cars coming and I didn’t want to hit him any better, so I didn’t shoot back. Because Marcus was shooting at y’all as y’all were leaving from down here, is that right? Yeah. And you would be in the car at this point? Yeah, we was in the car.

Looking backwards? Yeah, I was looking back. Ooh, that Lincoln is sweet! Who is driving that stinking Lincoln back there? Hold on one second. Yeah, I was looking back, but we hit him. Oh, man, look at the stinking Lincoln. I mean, listen, we so used to this happening in the community, no matter what. Whoever got that stinking Lincoln back there? First of all, I wouldn’t even have pulled into the parking lot after I seen what I seen, but that stinking Lincoln? Whoo! Whoever driving a stinking Lincoln is on point.

It is beautiful. That is one of the cars that is on my grill list. I will be adding that to my collection soon. Ooh, wait. That Lincoln with the suicide doors? That’s it right there. Oh, let me get back to the car. So, again, this is crazy. Let me play the rest of this video. So the shots, all the shots that you fired… You couldn’t even run, because this man… …were the ones we saw right here with Dolph, is that right? Listen, this is what I know for sure. This is what I know for sure.

It’s unfortunate that this is happening in the community, but this is nothing new. And if you’ve ever grown up in the hood, then this is not something that… I’ve been away from it for so long. Here, I’ll give you all my final thoughts on this in a minute. [tr:trw].

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