Young Dolph Mural Vandalized Amid Threats To Artwork’s Creator
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A mural honoring the late rap star Young Dolph has been vandalized in Memphis following threats made against its creator. The incident marks the latest desecration of a memorial tributing Dolph’s life and legacy.
According to FOX13 Memphis, the incident occurred on Thursday morning (July 21) at the King of Discounts Mini Mart in South Memphis, during which two suspects were captured on surveillance video defacing the mural by throwing paint on it before fleeing the scene.
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Cameron Hill, the local Memphis artist who created the mural, began working on the piece on Monday (July 18) and continued through Tuesday (July 19) before deciding to take a break after receiving threats via phone call and text. Hill attributes the haters looking to diminish his efforts in preserving Dolph’s memory and giving back to the community.
“Young Dolph meant everything to me,” Hill told the station. “I’m 26 years old, so I grew up looking and watching Young Dolph. I started receiving hateful messages, hateful phone calls, so I paused for a day.”
The artist, who was commissioned by The Ida Mae Foundation to paint the mural, posted a clip of the damaged artwork on social media, with a lengthy caption vowing to continue to create in spite of the suspect’s efforts and that he refuses to back down in the light of threats.
“SMH,” Hill wrote. “I was commissioned by the Ida Mae Foundation to create a mural in South Memphis of Young Dolph were he shot his most famous video 100 shots in South Memphis to honor him for his birthday that’s coming up next week. The Ida Mae foundation and I have been talking about doing this project for the last 4 months. Money has been spent on the project from the foundation and everything just to have a group of hating individuals come and destroy what I was working on.”
“The certain group of individuals have been trying to ruin my art career and tarnish my name since last year,” he said. “I have been harassed and also threatened for the last two or three days for trying to do something for the foundation and to make the community look better. I have been getting calls and text from different numbers from people trying to plot on me. They have been sending people up there to try to intimidate me and spy on me.”
He added, “One thing y’all must understand is that y’all are not gone stop my shine nor are y’all going to try and down play my god given talent that I have been blessed with. I’m a king and I’m going to conduct myself as such. One thing for sure I don’t fear no man and I’m not going to tuck my tail and run. I stand on what I believe in.”
Young Dolph was murdered on Nov. 17, 2021, after suffering multiple gunshot wounds during an ambush at a local Memphis cookie shop. Two suspects, Justin Johnson and Cornelius Smith, have been arrested and charged with Dolph’s murder. The rapper was 36 years old at the time of this death.
