Paper Route: How Young Dolph Built His Own Empire

Adolph Thornton Jr. was born in Chicago in 1985 and moved to Memphis around the age of two. He was raised largely by his grandmother, Ida Mae Thornton, in South Memphis, in and around the Castalia Heights neighborhood. His parents were struggling with addiction.

He never left that city behind. He built his career on his own label, with distribution from Empire, and he never let anyone else decide what he was worth.

On November 17, 2021, Young Dolph was killed at Makeda’s Homemade Butter Cookies in South Memphis. He was 36 years old and in town for his annual Thanksgiving turkey giveaway, an event that had started in 2015.

That is who he was. The music was the proof. The life was the argument.

Paper Route Empire, Explained

What does Paper Route Empire mean?

Paper is slang for money, and Paper Route Empire is the independent Memphis label Young Dolph built around the grind of getting it. He released his first mixtape, Paper Route Campaign, in 2008 and formally launched the label in 2010, inspired by the independent models of Master P and Baby.

Who started Paper Route Empire?

Young Dolph founded it in 2010 with his business partner DaddyO. He signed his cousin-in-law Key Glock to the label in 2017.

Is Paper Route Empire still in business?

Yes. The label kept releasing music after Young Dolph’s death, beginning with the compilation Long Live Young Dolph in January 2022. Key Glock’s Glockoma 2, released through Paper Route Empire in February 2023, was certified Gold. Every November 17, Dolph’s family and Paper Route Empire artists mark the Dolph Day of Service with turkey giveaways.

What was Young Dolph’s first mixtape?

Paper Route Campaign, in 2008. His first mainstream mixtape, Welcome 2 Dolph World, followed in 2010, hosted by Atlanta’s DJ Scream.

Memphis Made Him

Memphis has a sound that belongs entirely to itself. Three 6 Mafia, 8Ball & MJG, Juicy J, DJ Paul. The city built its own lane and defended it. Memphis doesn’t support anybody just because, and Memphis supported Dolph completely.

He started releasing mixtapes in 2008 with Paper Route Campaign, and by the time the albums came he had put out more than twenty tapes, including High Class Street Music, A Time 2 Kill, and South Memphis Kingpin. Each one added to a catalog that was entirely his. He formally launched Paper Route Empire in 2010, inspired by Master P and Baby, two men who proved the major label system was optional if you were disciplined enough to build your own infrastructure.

That discipline defined everything he did. Around the time of Role Model in 2018, he passed on a major-label deal reported at $22 million. It was not stubbornness. It was clarity: what he had built was already worth more than what they were offering.

King of Memphis

Young Dolph released his official debut studio album, King of Memphis, on February 19, 2016, through Paper Route Empire. It peaked at No. 49 on the Billboard 200, his first appearance on that chart, with no major label behind it. Eleven tracks, no guest features, and production from Mike WiLL Made-It, Zaytoven, TM88, and Nard & B. His deep voice and slow-flow delivery carried the whole record alone, which was exactly the point.

“Facts” went Gold. “Get Paid” and “Royalty” carried the album. “Preach,” the 2014 single that had already charted on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop airplay chart, showed what an independent Memphis artist could do before the album arrived.

The title drew attention in Memphis. In a March 2016 XXL interview, Dolph discussed the title and his beef with Yo Gotti. The feud played out in public for years, including a 2017 single, later certified Platinum, that XXL described as a Yo Gotti diss. He kept going.

The Run: 2017 to 2020

The albums kept climbing.

• Bulletproof (April 2017) peaked at No. 36. “100 Shots” is certified Platinum.
• Thinking Out Loud (October 2017) reached No. 16, with Gucci Mane, 2 Chainz, and Ty Dolla Sign on “Go Get Sum Mo.”
• Role Model (September 2018) reached No. 15. Its lead single, “Major,” with Key Glock, is multi-platinum.
• Dum and Dummer (July 2019), the mixtape with Key Glock, became his first Top Ten project at No. 8 and is Gold-certified.
• Rich Slave (August 2020) reached No. 4, his highest-charting album, and is Gold-certified.

By then Paper Route Empire was a functioning label with Key Glock, Dolph’s cousin-in-law, signed and developing. Dolph was at the stage where artist and businessman had fully merged into one operation.

The Legacy

What Dolph built does not require revisionism to hold up. The catalog is real. The independence is documented. The community impact in Memphis is recorded in the work he did there.

He founded the IdaMae Family Foundation, named for his grandmother. His Thanksgiving turkey giveaway ran every year, and the Associated Press reports he donated to local high schools and helped neighbors with rent and funeral costs. In December 2021, the city renamed a street in Castalia Heights for him. November 17 is now recognized as a Dolph Day of Service.

Paper Route Empire carried on. Long Live Young Dolph arrived in January 2022. Paper Route Frank followed on December 16, 2022, his final studio album, released after his death, and it reached No. 25. Key Glock’s Glockoma 2 went Gold in 2023.

The 10th anniversary of King of Memphis in 2026 is not a nostalgia release. It is recognition. A decade on, the record still sounds like it was made by someone who had no interest in asking for permission.

He never needed it.

”Preach” (2014), the single that first put Dolph on Billboard’s radio charts. No major label, no machine, just Dolph telling the story his way.

Young Dolph Vinyl and CDs in the Store

These are the Young Dolph titles in the mixtapekings.com store, from the debut that started it all to the albums that made him a national name.

In the Store

LP · Gatefold · Royalty Blue and Gold Galaxy Vinyl

Young Dolph, King of Memphis, 10th Anniversary

The debut, released February 19, 2016 on Paper Route Empire. Eleven tracks, no guests, entirely Dolph. Gatefold jacket with an insert. Limited run.

Shop the 10th Anniversary LP

CD

Young Dolph, King of Memphis

The original CD edition of the same eleven tracks that introduced Memphis to the rest of the country.

Shop King of Memphis CD

CD

Young Dolph, Bulletproof

Released April 1, 2017, it peaked at No. 36 on the Billboard 200. “100 Shots” is certified Platinum.

Shop Bulletproof CD

CD

Young Dolph, Rich Slave

His highest-charting album, a Gold-certified release that reached No. 4. Production from Juicy J and Bandplay, with guests including Megan Thee Stallion, G Herbo, and Key Glock.

Shop Rich Slave CD

CD

Young Dolph, Role Model

The 2018 album where Dolph passed on a major-label deal and stayed independent. It includes “Major” with Key Glock.

Shop Role Model CD

CD

Young Dolph, Thinking Out Loud

His 2017 album, which reached No. 16 on the Billboard 200.

Shop Thinking Out Loud CD

CD

Young Dolph, Gelato

The 2017 mixtape that charted on the Billboard 200, eleven tracks with Wiz Khalifa and Lil Yachty.

Shop Gelato CD

CD

Young Dolph, Dum and Dummer (with Key Glock)

The first collaborative project from Young Dolph and Key Glock, a Gold-certified mixtape with the Platinum “Water on Water on Water” and the Gold “1 Hell of a Life.”

Shop Dum and Dummer CD

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