Young Dolph’s killer reveals the shocking amount he was paid to kill rapper

The trial for the murder of Young Dolph is off to a shocking start after one of the accused shooters confessed on stand to accepting $100,000 in cash to execute the kill.

On Monday, Cornelius Smith admitted that he was indeed the man that was seen firing the semi-automatic weapon in the surveillance footage that captured the rapper’s murder – and that he had no remorse while doing it.

‘I was feeling nothing at the time,’ he testified. ‘I was just trying to get some money… I saw him standing by the window. I just got out of the car and started shooting,’ TMZ reported.

Smith also testified that his young son had died a few months before the murder, and he began ‘popping pills and not caring about nothing’, according to Court TV. 

Cornelius Smith (left) and Justin Johnson (right) are the two men accused of accepting a sum of $100,000 to kill Young Dolph – set up and orchestrated by Yo Gotti’s brother, Big Jook

Dolph was shot multiple times in the head, neck and back in front of Makeda’s Homemade Cookies in Memphis after the pair stalked the rapper along his Thanksgiving drive 

The $100,000 hit was paid for by Yo Gotti’s brother, Big Jook, who is now dead after he himself was murdered in January. 

Smith testified that the fateful day of Dolph’s murder in November 2021 was also his daughter’s birthday.

After being cross-examined and asked why he went out and killed on his little girl’s birthday, he replied: ‘I wanted to make it rain for her. I wanted to make a beautiful day for her’, according to ABC 24. 

Yet Smith only took home $800 of the money prior to his arrest after the act was said and done.  

He had testified against Justin Johnson – his alleged accomplice in the murder – and stated that Johnson is the man in the footage seen firing a handgun, TMZ added.

He also named another suspect, Hernandez Govan, as his former drug dealer and the man who informed them about the $100,000 hit.

Govan was also responsible for pairing the two men up to commit the murder, despite only knowing each other for a few months. 

The plan was for Smith to take home $40k, he testified, adding that he believed Johnson got the same deal. Another $10k was to be given to Govan for the information, TMZ says.

Johnson appeared in court on Tuesday accused of being one of the suspects that shot Dolph – he reportedly sent a letter to Smith after the murder telling him to take the fall and ‘cut him loose’ 

Big Jook (pictured) is alleged to be the one who put the $100,000 hit out on Young Dolph and sent Smith’s attorney $50,000 before he himself was murdered in January 2024

Deputy District Attorney Paul Hagerman (pictured), in opening statements, said that Young Dolph was trying to make it on his own as an artist, which in some cases brings along ‘enemies’

Adolph Thornton Jr., known as rapper Young Dolph, 36, was killed at a Memphis bakery around noon after being shot multiple times in his head, neck and torso.

The autopsy report noted nearly two dozen wounds to the Memphis rapper’s back, chin, neck and both arms, according to Commercial Appeal. 

Smith testified that they had stalked Dolph ahead of his Thanksgiving drive where they eventually trailed him to one of his favorite bakeries, Makeda’s Homemade Butter Cookies, on Airways Boulevard. 

The two men were seen exiting a white Mercedes outside of the shop. About 30 seconds after Dolph entered the store, they began opening fire in broad daylight, according to Court TV. 

But the pair was hit with surprise when the rapper’s brother returned fire, shooting Smith in his shoulder, arm and leg.

Smith was left bleeding and patched his injuries up at a nearby apartment.

During the trial, Smith testified that his conscience started bothering him only after he began sobering up in a jail cell, Court TV added. 

He stated during the trial that it was time to be truthful, adding: ‘I’m going to jail anyway. I can get it off my chest’.

He identified both himself and Johnson as the people in the surveillance footage and as the people running away from the scene following the murder.

He also identified Johnson as wearing the same clothes as he did during the shooting in an additional surveillance video from the apartment complex where the pair went to change and clean up, as well as several other locations, according to ABC. 

Smith also testified that he received a letter from Johnson, telling him to ‘cut him loose’ and take the fall for the rapper’s murder. 

Photo evidence displayed during the trial showed the scene following the rapper’s murder in Memphis

Hagerman showed the jury a photo of defendant, Justin Johnson, during the murder of Young Dolph who Smith claimed was his accomplice

Security footage from the bakery shows Young Dolph exiting his unique camouflaged car that he showed off on social media before walking into the shop 

Luke Evans, the defense attorney representing Johnson, claimed that the jury shouldn’t trust Smith, saying he told his family he didn’t kill Dolph.

Evan’s then read a letter to the court that he said was written by Smith to his family, which said: ‘I didn’t do it. I’m just saying what I got to say, to get myself home.’ 

But Smith claims that he has been telling the truth all along.

‘It’s my best out to be honest, to be truthful,’ he said. ‘Why play with these folks, they already know,’ ABC reported.

For years there has been well-known ‘beef’ in hip hop circles between Dolph and Yo Gotti’s teams, especially in Memphis.

Deputy District Attorney, Paul Hagerman, said in opening statements that Young Dolph was determined to make it on his own as an artist alongside his own label, Paper Route Empire, Court TV added.

Hagerman also noted that Yo Gotti founded a ‘rival’ record label, Cocaine Muzic Group – now known as Collective Music Group – and wanted Dolph to work for them. 

The 36-year-old rapper can be seen in security footage at the bakery talking to employee – around 30 seconds later the suspects began shooting into the establishment in broad daylight

Video evidence is shown during the murder trial of rapper Young Dolph in Memphis, Tenn., Monday, September 23, 2024, where the two suspects can be seen with a semi-automatic weapon and a handgun shooting into the bakery

Jermarcus Johnson, Justin Johnson’s half-brother, admitted that he aided the pair following the murder by helping them communicate through cell-phones while they were on the run

The rapper turned the offer down and later wrote diss tracks directed at Yo Gotti’s label, its artists and its ‘number two person’, Big Jook, Court TV added. 

‘Trying to make it on your own can create enemies,’ Hagerman added during the statement.

The rapper had survived shootings before – previously being shot multiple times in September 2017 after a fight outside a Los Angeles hotel.

In February of that same year, the rapper’s SUV was shot more than 100 times in Charlotte, North Carolina, but is said to have made it out unscathed due to bulletproof panels in his vehicle.

In 2017, Dolph gave his opinion to TMZ on why there was so much tension with Gotti, Jook and Blac Youngsta, another rapper – to which he replied that it was ‘all about money.’

Big Jook, whose real name was Anthony Mims, was shot and killed outside of a restaurant in 2024, but paid Smith’s attorney $50,000 before his demise, according to Court TV. 

From left, Justin Johnson and Cornelius Smith appeared before a judge during a court hearing related to the fatal shooting of rapper in February of 2022

Rapper Young Dolph (pictured) had previously been shot at multiple times before, including in 2017 after a fight in Los Angeles and in North Carolina that same year after his car had been shot over 100 times

Johnson’s half-brother, Jermarcus Johnson, pleaded guilty in 2023 to three counts of serving as an accessory by helping the pair after the killing.

He acknowledged that he had helped the two shooting suspects communicate by cellphone while they were on the run from authorities.

He also helped one of them get in touch with their probation officer – but he has not been sentenced by the court for his involvement.

Hernandez Govan has pleaded not guilty for the organization and plan of the murder. 

The trial wasn’t initially expected to last beyond this week, but now is expected to end either Wednesday or Thursday, ABC 24 added.

Smith’s and Govan’s fates will be decided through either a plea deal or a trial and is heavily dependent on their level of cooperation.