This biographical article needs more biographical information on the subject. Statistical information such as date and place of birth, information on historical significance, and information on accomplishments is desired. Please remove this message when done. See this article's talk page for more information.

This article may require copy-editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone or spelling. You can assist by editing it now. (October 2009)

Asheville, North Carolina

Jermaine Dupri Maulidin (born September 23, 1972),² better known by his stage name Jermaine Dupri or J.D., is an American record producer, rapper and Grammy winning songwriter.

Music industry

Dupri discovered the child rap duo Kris Kross in 1991 at a mall in Atlanta, Georgia. Dupri worked on various other Mariah Carey songs including Always Be My Baby in 1996. So So Def, a label specializing in Southern hip hop, Contemporary Soul, and R&B music, was originally distributed through Arista Records and Sony Music Entertainment. He appeared on a special "Hip Hop Stars" edition of The Weakest Link, being the first one voted off. JD became involved in a dispute against Eminem and Dr. Dre in 2002. This beef is mainly between Dr Dre and Jermaine Dupri, but Eminem has stuck up for Dre, and along with Xzibit, joined the beef against Jermaine Dupri. It started when Jermaine Dupri claimed that he was the best producer in the game, better than Dre and Timbaland during an interview with XXL magazine. Dre retaliated in Eminem's song, "Say What You Say", saying: "Been here longer than anyone in the game And I ain't got to lie about my age (But what about Jermaine?) F**k Jermaine! He don't belong speakin mine or Timbaland's name And don't think, I don't read your lil' interviews, and see what you're sayin I'm a giant, and I ain't gotta move 'til I'm provoked When I see you I'ma step on you and not even know it You midget, Mini-Me with a bunch of little Mini-Yous runnin around your backyard swimmin pools Over 80 million records sold And I ain't have to do it with ten or eleven-year-olds."³ At the end of the song, Timbaland can be heard saying "Yo, this's Timbaland. Tell him I said 'suck my dick'" and Eminem follows it up with collaboration diss songs with xzibit such as "My name" and "Grindin" in xzibit's Restless album. Eminem also made reference to Dupri in his unreleased song "Canibitch." In it he and Dr. Dre run over Dupri on their way to confront rapper Canibus, and Dre stomps JD presumably to death at the end of the track. 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"^{citation needed}) and Dem Franchize Boyz. In addition he has worked with St. Louis rappers, Nelly, Chingy, & St. Lunatics. Dupri's 2005 single, "Gotta Getcha" featuring Johntá Austin, is featured on the July 2006 release 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. The controversial music video for the song features his ex-girlfriend, singer Janet Jackson, in an x-rated peep show club. On August 9, 2006, Dupri was listed among the top ten richest people in hip hop.⁴ He continues to work with artists including Jay-Z ("Money Ain't a Thang"), Ludacris ("Welcome to Atlanta"), and Warren G ("Havin' Thangs"). He has released Daz Dillinger's album, So So Gangsta, in 2006. It includes production by Dupri, Scott Storch, and Daz. Dupri also worked with Jackson on her album titled 20 Y.O., released September 26, 2006, which was not as successful as much as Jackson's previous albums. The album's commercial underperformance led Dupri, who accused Virgin of improperly handling its urban releases, to leave his position at Virgin Urban Music. He became the head of Island Records' urban division instead; So So Def releases are now issued through Island Urban Music. Janet Jackson followed Dupri from Virgin to Island as well. As of March 2008, his So So Def/Island Urban roster includes himself, Jagged Edge, Johntá Austin, and Rocko. He left Island Def Jam early 2009. He stated the reason for leaving as. "They [were] basically out for themselves. I never was on a team like that. I was always on a team that was supportive of what I wanted to do and this time it was more like 'we need you to do this.' People know me to create new artists [and to] continuously come with new people. Once I realized I was basically on my own in that building, I said 'it's time for me to get out of here.' I saw the decline of Def Jam and I was just like 'I don't want to be a part of a sinking ship."

⁵ Singer Monica's album, The Makings of Me, features production from Jermaine Dupri with the lead single "Everytime tha Beat Drop". He has also produced multiple tracks on Jay-Z's concept album American Gangster. On October 16, 2007, The Making of a Music Mogul, an autobiography that charts his career as a producer was released. The book was co-written with Samantha Marshall and released in hardcover by Simon & Schuster's Atria imprint. The New York Post reported on February 28, 2008 that Dupri proposed to Janet Jackson, and that the couple are busy planning their wedding as well as recording a handful of songs for her new album Discipline. He was featured on Nelly's "Stepped On My J'z", which features himself and Ciara. The single's video debuted on June 11, 2008 on Access Granted. He also produced Ashanti's up-tempo single, "Good Good", which had heavy rotation on BET & MTV. More recently, he has been involved with a hip-hop/R&B supergroup, Oceans 7. He has also co-written two songs on Weezer's upcoming album, Raditude. US Weekly has reported that Jermaine has split from long time girlfriend, Janet Jackson, after seven years.⁶

Discography

References

External links

• Jermaine Dupri Official Site
• Jermaine Dupri's Official Youtube
• Jermaine Dupri presents Ocean's 7
• Jermaine Dupri at the Internet Movie Database
• JD (Discography) - beatbuggy.com