Young Dolph, the rapper who was murdered outside a bakery on Wednesday, November 17th, was beloved by the community.
One family in particular, while not connected by blood, is grieving the loss particularly hard.
But who are they?
According to WREG, the family that owns the Makeda’s Cookies (the establishment where Dolph was shopping before his death), has finally spoken out publicly about how his death impacted them personally.
Raven Winton, the daughters of the Pamela and Maurice Hill, the founding owners, said, “It has been a challenge. We’ve had a couple of sleepless nights since this happened. We just want the city to know that we are so, so sorry you guys had to endure this and see this.”
“Please pray for his family,” she shared. “That’s just unreal to me. I can’t even imagine what they’re going through.”
Young Dolph was not simply just a celebrity. To them, he was family.
“He was family to us. Every time we saw him we didn’t treat him like a rap star, a rap artist. we weren’t trying to get autographs. Hey, it was basically…What’s up, Dolph,” she said.
“That man did not deserve that. He was just in there to buy cookies for his family. It’s terrible that we can’t even step outside of our house and feel comfortable in the neighborhood that he knew and loved and supported.”
And like real family, Winton’s deepest concerns are for his real family, saying, “Young Dolph’s wife, she’s supported us. We appreciate that. She’s backing us saying he enjoyed the cookies and was there to pick up cookies for us all the time. So Please back them up, support them.”
The small Black-owned business has taken a substantial hit since the fatal shooting, earlier this week. The bakery has started a GoFundMe for support.
The owners applied an insurance claim, but were denied. for In addition to the windows being shot out and the continued slow-down caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, many are simply afraid to come by.
Hopefully fans that love Young Dolph will support.