Through 2016, the bickering was largely between Dolph and members of Gotti’s camp, namely CMG-signed artist Blac Youngsta, who threw a Dolph diss into one of his tracks and filmed a video of himself prowling Dolph’s South Memphis neighborhood heavily armed. The title alone was incendiary, seen as a direct challenge to Gotti’s claim on that position. He subsequently released his full-length debut “The King of Memphis”, which peaked at number 49 on the Billboard chart. In the winter of 2016, Dolph again alluded to Gotti and his decision not to sign to his CMG label on Twitter. The record also earned the support of his peers, from Lil Wayne to Pusha T, who guest on the project, to Kanye West, who performed with Gotti during a release party in Los Angeles. The album would go on to spawn a top five rap and top 20 pop single in 'Down in the DM' that has been certified platinum. 1 on the R&B/Hip-Hop charts, and quickly proved a breakthrough for the veteran MC.

Still, the Dolph-Gotti beef remained a background issue as Gotti’s star began to rise. Gotti, who got his start in the mid-'90s as one of the city's quintessential street rappers, released the breakout LP 'The Art of Hustle' in 2016.

► More: Memphis man Corey McClendon arrested in Young Dolph shooting

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