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| Jermaine Dupri | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Jermaine Dupri Maudlin' |
| Also known as | J.D. |
| Born | September 23 1972 |
| Origin | Asheville, North Carolina Atlanta, Georgia |
| Genre(s) | Rap/Hip-Hop Dirty South R&B Pop Rap |
| Years active | 1991 - present |
| Label(s) | So So Def Recordings Island Urban Music |
| Associated acts | Janet Jackson Monica Mariah Carey Dem Franchise Boys Bow Wow Da Brat Daz Dillinger Kris Kross |
Jermaine Dupri, also known simply as JD, (born Jermaine Dupri Mauldin on September 23, 1972), is an American record producer and rapper. Dupri is the youngest inductee to the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. He was inducted on September 16, 2006 and introduced by Quincy Jones and Russell Simmons. On October 16, 2007 he released his first book, "Young, Rich and Dangerous: The Making of a Music Mogul," an autobiography that charts his entire career as a music producer. The book was co-written with Samantha Marshall and released in hardcover by Simon & Schuster's Atria imprint.[2]
Contents |
Early life
Jermaine Dupri Mauldin was born in Asheville, North Carolina, USA. He grew up in the College Park community of Atlanta, Georgia. His father is Michael Mauldin, a former president of Columbia Records. Dupri was first introduced to the music business by his father, a concert promoter and manager of rap and R&B groups, at an early age. He dropped his last name as a teenager and started out as a breakdancer for artists such as Diana Ross and Cameo. Dupri became the youngest charting producer in the history of music at age 18, with his first chart selling artists being Kris Kross. When he got more familiar with business, Jermaine went on to produce a number of hits for platinum artists such as music for TLC, Jay-Z, Ludacris, Bow Wow, Da Brat, and also helped get Mariah Carey back on top with the best selling album of 2005, The Emancipation of Mimi.
Music career
In addition, Dupri has pursued a recording career of his own resulting in hits such as "Money Ain't A Thang" ([1998, with Jay-Z), "Welcome to Atlanta" (2001, with Ludacris) and "It's Like That" (2005, with Mariah Carey), and "Gotta Getcha" featuring Johnta Austin. He became involved with a dispute between Eminem and Dr. Dre in 2002. So So Def, a label specializing in Southern hip hop, R&B, and bass music, was originally distributed through Columbia Records/Sony Music Entertainment. In 2003, Dupri was appointed president of Arista Black Music and moved So So Def and its artists there. In 2004, Dupri was appointed President of Urban Music at Virgin Records and moved So So Def over to Virgin. Meanwhile, Dupri also expanded his business ventures, buying into Chicago-based distillery 3 Vodka and opening his own boutique restaurant, Cafe Dupri. In 2004 and 2005, Dupri worked with R&B singers Usher and Mariah Carey on their releases, Confessions and The Emancipation of Mimi. He also produced the songs "Burn", "Confessions, Pt. 2" and the remix featuring Kanye West, Shyne, and Twista, and "My Boo" with Usher and "It's Like That", "We Belong Together", "Shake It Off", "Get Your Number", and "Don't Forget About Us" with Carey. He produced the track "Radio" for young R&B singer Jarvis, but didn't release the album because his label was in transition with the distributor. He has also produced singles with J-Kwon ("Tipsy") and Dem Franchize Boyz. In addition he has worked with St. Louis rappers, Nelly, Chingy, & St. Lunatics. Dupri's 2005 single, "Gotta Getcha" featuring Johnta Austin, is featured on the July 2005 release Jermaine Dupri presents...Young, Fly & Flashy, Vol. 1. The album is a compilation of tracks produced by and featuring Dupri. So far, "Gotta Getcha" has peaked at #60 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. The controversial music video for the song features his girlfriend, singer Janet Jackson, in a x-rated peep show club. Dupri also worked with Jackson on her album titled 20 Y.O., released September 26 2006, which didn't sell as much as Jackson's previous albums. As of August 9, 2006, Dupri is in the list of the top ten richest people in Hip-Hop. Numbers 1 to 10 were: Sean "Diddy" Combs, Jay-Z, Russell Simmons,Damon Dash, The Neptunes, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Eminem, 50 Cent, and Nelly tied at 10th place with Jermaine Dupri with a reported net worth of $60m. Dupri continues to work with a number of artists. He has worked with Jay-Z ("Money Ain't A Thang"), Ludacris ("Welcome To Atlanta") and Warren G ("Havin' Thangs"). His current roster (as of April 2006) includes Young Capone, Dem Franchize Boyz, Da Kid Slim, Daz (aka Daz Dillinger & Dat Nigga Daz), T. Waters, and Johnta Austin. He plans on releasing Daz's album, tentatively titled "So So Gangsta", in 2006. Daz's album is to include production by Dupri, Scott Storch and Daz. Singer Monica's new album, The Makings of Me features production from Jermaine Dupri with the lead single "Everytime Tha Beat Drop". He also helped start the career of Deandre Maiden[citation needed]. Dupri has also produced multiple tracks on Jay-Z's concept album American Gangster
Copyright Infringement
It was revealed shortly after the release of 'Welcome to Atlanta', that the beat was actually lifted from the song "City of Angels" by Above the Law featuring Frost off the Crow:City of Angels soundtrack. It is evident both in beat and flow as can be seen by comparing the choruses. City of Angels: "L.A. is still a crazy ass place to stay where the riders ride and the players play, I've been around the world and around the way, 24 7 like every day." Welcome to Atlanta: "Welcome to Atlanta where the players play and we ride on them thangs like every day".
Conflicts
Dupri had a minor feud with famous hip-hop producer Dr. Dre in 2002. In an interview, Dupri claimed that he did more complete work on production than either Dre or Timbaland. Dre proceeded to insult Dupri on Eminem's track "Say What You Say" from The Eminem Show, namely with the lines, "Over 80 million records sold/And I didn't have to do it with ten or eleven-year olds." The song ends with a recording of Timbaland saying, "Yo, this is Timbaland/Tell him suck [DJ scratches] MY dick." Eminem and Xzibit, who were affiliated with Dre's Aftermath label at the time, also insulted Dupri on the Xzibit track "Say My Name." Xzibit also released a diss track on a DJ Kay-Slay mixtape called 'Short People' that contains a sample from the Randy Newman song and insults JD on his height among other things. Dupri replied to the Dr. Dre and Eminem insults with an underground track called "JD's Reply" which he leaked to the internet. On the track, he implies Dr. Dre is a homosexual and calls him a "gay ass mark." Dupri states that Dr. Dre is not doing any work in the studio and other producers are ghostproducing for him and makes remarks referring to Timbaland using the same style of beats on his production. At the end of the track, he says, "If you come at me again, I'm gonna come back at you three times harder." After "JD's reply" was released, the previously mentioned track "Say My Name" by Xzibit featuring Eminem and Nate Dogg was released on Xzibit's album "Man Vs. Machine". Since the release of this track, Dupri has not commented in a song. Eminem also take shots at Dupri in Canibus diss track "Can-I-Bitch", in which he imitated Dre's voice dissing him. It should also be noted that in the video for the Tha Dogg Pound's song What Would You Do (Tha Dogg Pound song) released in 1994 directed by Dre contains shots at Dupri and his then protege Da Brat at the beginning of the video, suggesting that there had long been tensions between the two producers. Apparently, his feud with Dr. Dre has ceased as Dre was requested to produce an unreleased track for girlfriend Janet Jackson's 20YO album, and Stat Quo (of Shady Records) appeared on his Young Fly & Flashy compilation. The feud between Dupri and Timbaland also appears to be over, evidenced by Dupri singing Timbaland's praises before the BET Hip Hop Awards, saying specifically that Timbaland deserved to win producer of the year honors as a result of the producer's tracks having far-reaching influences beyond hip-hop. Jermaine Dupri recently was appointed President of urban music at Island Records where he will oversee urban artists and operations under the label. Jermaine Dupri was named as one of the 'Top 25 Greatest Southern Artists' by Ozone Magazine in a piece written by Rohit Loomba. A segment was run on MTV Jamz in conjunction with the issue of the magazine as well. In mid-2007, Dupri appeared in a Dunkin' Donuts commercial.
Net worth
It was recently confirmed that Dupri was in the top 100 of the wealthiest hip hop entertainers. He and Nelly tied at 10th place both grossing $60 million.[1]
Discography
Albums
- 1996: 12 Soulful Nights of Christmas
- 1998: Life in 1472
- 2001: Instructions
- 2005: Jermaine Dupri Presents...Young, Fly & Flashy, Vol. 1
Solo singles
- 1998: "Money Ain't a Thang" (featuring Jay-Z)
- 1998: "Sweetheart" (featuring Mariah Carey)
- 1998: "The Party Continues" (featuring Usher & Da Brat)
- 1999: "Come Home With Me"
- 2000: "I Got to Have It" (featuring Nas & Monica)
- 2001: "Ballin' Out of Control" (featuring Nate Dogg)
- 2002: "Welcome to Atlanta" (featuring Ludacris)
- 2002: "Let's Talk About It" (featuring Clipse)
- 2005: "Gotta Getcha" (featuring Johnta Austin)
Featured singles
- 1995: "Live and Die for Hip Hop" (Kris Kross feat. Da Brat, Aaliyah, Mr. Black & Jermaine Dupri)
- 1997: "In My Bed (Remix)" (featuring Jermaine Dupri & Da Brat)
- 1997: "We Just Wanna Party with You" (Snoop Dogg featuring Jermaine Dupri)
- 1998: "With Me" (Destiny's Child featuring Jermaine Dupri)
- 2001: "Where the Party At (Remix)" (Jagged Edge featuring Nelly, Jermaine Dupri, Da Brat, Lil' Bow Wow, R.O.C & Tigah)
- 2002: "Basketball" (Lil' Bow Wow featuring Fabolous, Fundisha & Jermaine Dupri)
- 2003: "Pop That Booty" (Marques Houston featuring Jermaine Dupri)
- 2003: "Right Thurr [Remix]" (Chingy featuring Trina & Jermaine Dupri)
- 2003: "Wat Da Hook Gon Be" (Murphy Lee featuring Jermaine Dupri)
- 2005: "Oh, I Think They Like Me (So So Def Remix)" (Dem Franchize Boyz featuring Jermaine Dupri, Da Brat & Bow Wow)
- 2005: "Fresh Azimiz" (Bow Wow featuring J-Kwon & Jermaine Dupri)
- 2005: "Get Your Number" (Mariah Carey featuring Jermaine Dupri)
- 2005: "Better Start Talking" (Donell Jones featuring Jermaine Dupri)
- 2006: "Feelin' You" (3LW featuring Jermaine Dupri)
- 2006: "Stunnas" (Jagged Edge featuring Jermaine Dupri)
- 2006: "Dem Jeans" (Chingy featuring Jermaine Dupri)
- 2007: "I'm Throwed" (Paul Wall featuring Jermaine Dupri)
- 2007: "Dolla Bill" (Red Cafe featuring Jermaine Dupri & Fabolous)
Trivia
- Dupri won the Best Producer at the First Annual BET Hip Hop Awards, beating Lil Jon, Kanye West, and Swizz Beatz.
- A collaborative work between Dupri and Q "The Kid" called "Been Away" was featured in the 2002 film Drumline.
- Dupri appeared as a celebrity guest during the third season of MTV's hit reality game show Yo Momma in 2007.
References
External links
- Jermaine Dupri's House from MTV Cribs Season 1
- Jermaine Dupri Official Site
- Island Urban Music at MySpace
