Yo Gotti's Brother Allegedly Put Out $100,000 Hit on Young Dolph

UPDATE (Sept. 23):

Prosecutors called Cornelius Smith to the stand, one of Young Dolph's other accused killers. During his time on the stand, Smith admitted to consuming drugs and having past drug charges. He said his son passed away before Dolph's murder, and confirmed he and Johnson had been asked to kill Dolph in exchange for a reward by Big Jook and Hernandez Govan. The prosecution played a video of the shooting and Cornelius confirmed it was him and Johnson in the video.

Smith also said he did receive $800 for the murder, but never the full amount promised. Smith said he committed the murder on his daughter's birthday, and that after the deed was done, he started to feel guilty. The prosecution reminded him that he would still likely go to jail for the crime, which Smith said he understood.

Original Story (Sept. 23):

Young Dolph's murder trial is underway and prosecutors are claiming Yo Gotti's late brother allegedly put out a $100,000 hit to have Dolph killed.

Yo Gotti's Late Brother Named During Young Dolph Trial

On Monday (Sept. 23), Young Dolph's long-awaited murder trial started off with the trial of Justin Johnson a.k.a Straight Dropp. Johnson, 25, Cornelius Smith, 34, and Hernandez Govan, 44, are charged in Young Dolph’s murder. All men face charges of first-degree murder and other felonies. Johnson has pleaded not guilty.

During the prosecution's opening remarks, attorney Paul Hagerman surprisingly set the stage by bringing the jury up to speed on the feud between Dolph's Paper Route Empire and Yo Gotti's CMG label. Gotti's late brother Big Jook is being accused of setting up a plot to murder Dolph.

"PRE, Paper Route Empire, [Dolph's] label, is not the only label in Memphis," Hagerman said. "He's not the only famous rapper in Memphis. Another label, CMG, Cocaine Music Crew, they became an enemy. The first time they wanted Dolph under their label, but he turned down millions. The second time they wanted Dolph under their label, but he turned down many millions. 'I wanna do it myself.'"

Hagerman then elaborated on the diss tracks exchanged between Dolph and Gotti, followed by the "highly publicized incidents of violence" regarding Dolph's previous shootings. Most notably, Hagerman mentioned Dolph's "100 Shots" diss track that he dropped after his car was shot up back in 2017 in North Carolina. Then, Hagerman mentioned Big Jook, and said the feud got so volatile Jook put out a hit on Dolph's life for $100,000. Hagerman claimed Jook also met with the accused Johnson and Cornelius Smith and acknowledged Johnson's dream of becoming a famous rapper. Johnson rapped under the moniker Straight Dropp.

"Big Jook, the person I told you about before, that number two guy at CMG," Hagerman said. "He's put out a hit, $100,000 to whoever kills Dolph. He has met with Justin. He has met with Cornelius, and they think they're ready to do it. They're definitely willing to do it. For Cornelius it would be, $50 grand I guess that he can waste away on Percocets and ecstasy. For Justin, it's 50 grand but also a chance to make it big with CMG. To become the next famous Memphis rapper."

The claim comes as Young Dolph's murder trial gets underway following the rapper's murder in November of 2021. Dolph was shot and killed while buying cookies for his mother at Makeda's Cookies in Memphis, Tenn. Justin Johnson's trial and Cornelius Smith's will both occur in Judge Jennifer Mitchell's courtroom at the Shelby County Courthouse in Shelby County, Tenn. Additionally, Hernandez Goven, who is accused of plotting the murder, will also stand trial there as well.

Big Jook Shot and Killed

Yo Gotti's late brother Anthony "Big Jook" Mims was shot and killed outside a Memphis restaurant back in January. News outlets reported Jook and another man were targeted in the shooting. Investigators obtained surveillance footage, but as of June a suspect still has not been identified.