Young Dolph Was a Proud Dad Before His Death at 36: Get to Know the Rapper’s 2 Kids

Adolph Robert Thornton, Jr., better known by his stage name Young Dolph, was a father of two children prior to his tragic death. 

The “Talking To My Scale” rapper shared son Tre Tre Thornton and daughter Aria Thornton with on-again, off-again girlfriend Mia Jaye, who is an entrepreneur and founder of The Mom and CEO fashion brand.

Dolph gushed over the bond he shared with his children in a candid interview with GQ in May 2020, discussing how he mentioned them both by name in his single “Sunshine.” 

“Aw, man, we watching movies, we having [toy] gun fights, we on the trampoline, we doing everything,” the “Get Paid” performer told the publication, revealing he enjoyed spending extra time with them while quarantining amid the coronavirus pandemic. “We playing. I’m in my daughter’s room, I’m in her little castle thing she got,” the rapper continued. “Everything they like to do, everything they play, I’m all in that world right now. I’m just a big-ass kid right now.” 

Dolph also addressed how he announced his retirement from rap in early 2020, and why he ended up having a change of heart.

“Man, my little boy wanted to hear some new music. So, it was like, I can’t just play all my music around him, so I got to go ahead and make a whole project so I can get it clean and have a clean version of all the songs just so he can listen to my music, you feel me?” the Chicago native said at the time. “I ain’t really been on my rapper s–t, I been on my industry s–t, the big bro s–t. I got a lot of artists, and I been dropping all my artists’ projects, and they going up.” 

Dolph was shot and killed in Memphis, Tennessee, on Wednesday, November 17, In Touch confirmed. He was 36.

“The West Tennessee Regional Forensic Center in Memphis has received notification of the reported death of Adolph Thornton, Jr. and is currently investigating,” Benjamin J. Figura, PhD, D-ABFA and director of the West Tennessee Regional Forensic Center, told In Touch. The center is managed by the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis.

Prior to the fatal shooting that took place inside Makeda’s Butter Cookies, the “Blue Diamond” musician was shot several times outside the Lowe’s Hollywood Hotel in Los Angeles back in September 2017.  

He was struck by three bullets and was able to escape to a nearby retail store, before being hospitalized for several weeks. Although a suspect was arrested for attempted murder that same month, the man was later released without being charged.

That same year, Dolph was shot dozens of times in Charlotte, North Carolina. The vehicle was bulletproof, however, so he was unharmed during the incident.

Dolph released seven studio albums prior to his untimely death. His first, King of Memphis, peaked at No. 49 on the Billboard 200 chart in 2016. His latest project, Paper Route Illuminati, dropped in July 2021.