Who was Big Jook? A look back at Yo Gotti's brother and his 2024 death in Memphis

Yahoo

2 days ago

Anthony 'Big Jook' Mims, the late brother of Memphis rapper and CMG record label head Yo Gotti, is once again in the news, as the trial of Hernandez Govan, the man police say planned the killing of Memphis rapper Young Dolph, continues.
The trial started Aug. 18, nearly four years after Young Dolph, aka Adolph Thornton Jr., was killed inside a cookie shop in Memphis. On Aug. 19, Sgt. Terence Dabney, a now-retired Memphis police officer who was the lead investigator on Young Dolph's murder case, testified that Anthony Mims would have become a suspect in the murder had Mims not been killed.
In another brazen daytime shooting, Mims was killed in January 2024 outside a Hickory Hill restaurant. No arrests have been made in Mims' murder.
In September 2024, Shelby County prosectors first publicly alleged Anthony Mims was tied to the murder of Young Dolph, a rival to Yo Gotti.
CMG has not responded to requests for comment.
Here is a closer look at Big Jook, his death and his alleged involvement in the Young Dolph case.
Who was Big Jook?
Anthony "Big Jook" Mims, 47, was the older brother of noted Memphis rapper and record label mogul Yo Gotti, aka Mario Mims.
Anthony Mims was actively involved in Gotti's record company, the Collective Music Group, or CMG label. It's not known what Anthony Mims' official title with the label was, or if he had one, but he was often seen at the side of the label's artists at various events, and industry sources indicate he was involved in scouting talent, helping manage and promoting projects for the company.
Since Big Jook's death, The Commercial Appeal has made multiple attempts to reach representatives of the CMG label — which is partnered with major label Interscope — but they have not respond to requests for comment.
Yo Gotti has not publicly commented on his brother's death.
When and where was Big Jook killed in Memphis?
According to Memphis Police Department, an officer was in the area of 6385 Winchester Road around 4:15 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024, when he heard gunshots. The officer went to the location and found two victims with multiple gunshot wounds, both of whom were transported to the hospital. Anthony Mims was identified as the victim who was pronounced deceased at the hospital. The second male victim was in stable condition, police said.
The officer discovered the victim — Mims — in a vehicle, MPD said. The scene of the shooting was outside Perignon's Restaurant and Event Center, where Mims was attending a repass, following the funeral of a relative, Eric Bovan. Bovan — a well-known Memphis cocaine kingpin in the 1980s and head of the Bovan Family — was a former partner of the aunt of Yo Gotti and Big Jook. Bovan died on Dec. 31, 2024, at the age of 63.
Memphis Police Department has not announced any arrests in connection with Big Jook's death and police said they still have no suspects in the investigation that can be publicly named. The investigation is ongoing.
Big Jook's last social media post
Anthony Mims' own Instagram account offers a colorful glimpse of his life and career in the music business. The various posts on the account show Mims at music industry events, video shoots and concerts with his brother Yo Gotti and other CMG label acts.
Mims' final Instagram post came just a day before his death. A photo of Mims is accompanied by what, in hindsight, is an ominous sounding caption: 'They don't want to face you they wanna snake you. Stay alert 2 stay alive watch your back at all times."
Prosecutors allege Big Jook was key figure in Young Dolph murder
In September 2024, during the trial of Justin Johnson, who was later convicted as one of the shooters in the Young Dolph killing, Shelby County prosecutors first publicy alleged that Anthony Mims put a $100,000 hit out on fellow Memphis hip-hop artist Dolph, resulting in his 2021 murder.
In Johnson's trial, Shelby County Deputy District Attorney Paul Hagerman outlined the alleged involvement of both Big Jook and Johnson, who has gone by the stage name Straight Drop, in the November 2021 murder of Dolph. According to prosecutors, Big Jook offered Johnson the hit on Dolph in order to get signed to CMG.
Cornelius Smith, one of the other people charged in connection to the killing of the rapper, testified in court saying he participated in the hit on the rapper because of the promised payout.
Smith said he and Johnson were set to receive $40,000 each, with Govan, the man prosecutors say was the mastermind behind the killing, receiving $20,000.
Hagerman said Johnson was invited to Atlanta by Big Jook and Govan to get signed to the CMG, rival to the label established by Thornton, Paper Route Empire. Big Jook suggested to Johnson that killing Young Dolph was necessary to secure a recording deal with CMG, Hagerman alleged.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Big Jook: A look back at Yo Gotti's brother and his death in Memphis