Just over two weeks ago, after an altercation with three other men outside the Loews Hotel in Los Angeles, Young Dolph, a widely respected Memphis rapper, was shot multiple times before retreating into a store across the street for safety. Shortly after, Dolph was rushed into the hospital and was placed in critical condition, however, after surgery he is now stable.

   The shooting was said to have been influenced by a three year long feud with rival Memphis rapper Yo Gotti, who was staying at the same hotel at the time of the shooting. It is believed that Gotti had provoked shooter Corey McClendon to kill Dolph. McClendon is a known associate of  Gotti’s and was later arrested for the attempted murder of Young Dolph.

   The conflict likely started in 2014 when Dolph turned down an offer to be a part of Gotti’s CMG record label. The tension only heated when Dolph dubbed himself “The King of Memphis” putting down Gotti and his music. This later led to behind the scenes bickering between the two and eventually, Dolph directly targeting Gotti and his girlfriend in one of his songs.

   While this shooting was the more successful, this was not the first attempted murder of Dolph from Gotti’s associates. Last February, over 100 shots at Dolph’s vehicle in Charlotte, North Carolina in attempt to kill him. However, Dolph was able to escape because of his armored van and go on to perform in Charlotte later that night.

   After this interaction, Dolph released his hit song “100 Shots” that taunted Gotti and insulted his “shooters.”  This led to more tension between the rappers and ultimately led to the shooting outside of Loews Hotel.

   “Yo Gotti definitely needs to chill out,” said Young Dolph fan Charlie Mensh. “Before someone gets seriously hurt”

   Gotti and Dolph had exchanged diss tracks expressing their dislike of each other previous to both shootings as well as exchange of slurs and insults through the media.

   Last week Dolph broke his silence, tweeting, “it’s DOLPH!” which uplifted many fans who were worried about his health.

   As we hope this feud will be resolved soon, it is tough to say at this point whether we will see any more peaceful interactions between the two Memphis rappers. It is luck that no one has been killed yet in these altercations.

   “I don’t think this [conflict] will end well,” said Mensh. “Yo Gotti is going to get what’s coming to him.”