Jermaine Dupri aka JD is the producer of the So So Def Recordings label and current director of the Urban branch of Island Records. He was vice-president of Arista Records and Virgin Music.
In today’s text, we are going to talk about his early years, his biography and his career. so, if he is one of your favorite celebrities, this is a perfect chance to find out more about him.
Early Years
Jermaine Dupri Mauldin was born on September 23rd 1972 in Ashville in North Carolina. He grew up in the College Park neighborhood of Atlanta, he is the son of Michael Mauldin, former president of Columbia Records, who started from a modest funk band in the 1970s. In 1989, when he was barely 17 years old he produces his first group Rnb the Sylk Tyme Leather. Then comes back 3 years later discovering the duo of young rappers Kris Kross with whom he will really make a name for himself in the music world.
Thanks to the explosive sales of the album Totally Krossed Out and his famous single Jump he sets up his own label So So Def Recordings in a joint venture with Columbia Records and starts signing the girls band Xscape and the rapper Da Brat. Jermaine Dupri will make the latter the first rapper to reach the million album sold in the United States.
Career Path
In the meantime, he produced for the biggest Hip Hop and Rnb stars of the time, such as The Notorious B.I.G., TLC, MC Lyte and New Edition among others.
The consecration comes in 1996 when it is named best producer Hip Hop and Rnb of the year by the specialized press. In 1998, he launched his first solo project entitled Life in 1472 and where a host of stars appear on the album (Snoop Dogg, Nas, Jay-Z, Mariah Carey …).
In 2000 he launched the career of Lil’Bow wow. Here too, the success is with the rendezvous with several milions of albums sold in 2 years. Then JD’s career slips away. One of his best discoveries, the band Jagged Edge, decided to continue without him and the hip-hop community reproaches him for doing in the ease with the young Bow Wow in particular.
Jermaine Dupri will even go to Diss with Dr. Dre and Timbaland because of a misinterpretation of one of his interviews to a newspaper or he argues that it is better if not more than these two producers of renowned. Snoop Dogg will partly defend himself by appearing on the remix of Welcome To Atlanta from JD’s second album.
In 2003 he restructured his label by leaving Columbia Records for the BMG label, signed more street artists like Bone Crusher, YoungBloodZ and Daz Dillinger and broke away from Bow Wow. Success (especially esteem) comes back. It will become unavoidable when Mariah Carey then in the doldrums uses his services to concoct the tubes that will make it back on the front of the stage.
Jermaine Dupri is named Virgin Urban Music’s head in 2006 before resigning after the failure of Janet Jackson’s album with whom he will be married in 2008. He is however named director of the Urban branch of Island Records in 2007 and released his first biography with a Best Of recounting his musical career the same year.
If anyone questions what I’m talking about my songs, then he should come to Atlanta and see for themselves. The Ferraris, Bentleys, Porsches, the gold, the diamonds, the rings – I got them! I am rich and that is what I want to be. “(Jermaine Dupri).
The wealth of Mr. Dupri is hard earned. Since the late 80s he has been producing hits on the production line and is leading the Rap / R’n’B scene with his East Coast counterpart Puff Daddy. Whether the pop diva Mariah Carey and Janet Jackson, the soulmates Aretha Franklin and Whitney Houston, the groups Jagged Edge, New Edition Dru Hill and TLC or the rapper MC Lyte, Notorious BIG, Da Brat, Lil ‘Bow Wow and Cappadonna They all use beats from Dupri at times. But his success started with hip-hop kiddie duo Kriss Kross.
“I want to be on a par with Quincy Jones someday,” JD craves before the Kriss Kross breakthrough for big music. So he makes his first experiences in showbiz very early. The teenager is a dancer for the old-school icons Whodini, Doctor Ice and UTFO on stage and produces his first song for Silk Tymes Leather with 14 “It Is not Where You Are Where You’re At”. And that is why it is out of the question for him that despite “Jump” he continues to work on his goal.
He meets Da Brat and JD tries their first hit single “Funkdafied” on the Rappen. A short time later, he founded his first record company at the age of 18, which he later expanded to So So Def Records. The superstars are now lining up to pick up a few hits from him. Jermaine then uses his increasing influence to offer acts from Atlanta a chance. Lil Bow Wow, Jagged Edge, Da Brat, Dru Hill and Xscape are arguably the best known artists from his house. Twenty gold and platinum awards are now his villa walls.
One of these plates is something special even for the spoiled Dupri. His solo debut “Jermaine Dupri Presents Life In 1472” sells over a million copies. JD is responsible for all songs and refines them with his raps. Seasoned emcees like Nas, Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, Too Short or DMX visit Jermaine in his money pool.
Three years and countless hits later in November 2001, his second solo work “Instructions” is in stores. But despite Jadakiss, Ludacris, Da Brat, Kurupt Usher and Nate Dogg, the album can not build on the commercial success of the debut. After two weeks, “Instructions” is only ranked 30th in the lowlands of the billboard charts. In contrast to his group Jagged Edge, whose video rotates neatly on MTV. His current net worth is estimated at around 5$ million and keeps growing as he ventures on new business projects.
Personal life
Jermaine Dupri grew up in College Park in the suburbs of Atlanta, he is the son of Michael Mauldin former president of Columbia Records and who was part of a modest group of funk in the 1970s. Dupri can be considered a model of success. In 1989, when he was only 17 years old, he produced his first Rnb group, the Sylk Tyme Leather.
Then comes back 3 years later discovering the duo of young rappers Kris Kross with whom he will really make a name for himself in the music world. Thanks to the explosive sales of the album Totally Krossed Out and his famous single Jump, he started his own label So So Def Recordings in a joint venture with Columbia Records and started signing the girls band Xscape and the rapper Da Brat.
It will make the latter the first rapper to reach the million albums sold in the United States. In the meantime, he produced for the biggest Hip Hop and Rnb stars of the time, such as The Notorious B.I.G., TLC, MC Lyte and New Edition among others. The consecration comes in 1996 when he is named best producer Hip Hop and Rnb of the year by the specialized press. In 1998, he launched his first solo project entitled Life in 1472 and where a host of stars appear on the album (Snoop Dogg, Nas, Jay-Z, Mariah Carey …).
In 2000 he launched the career of Lil ‘Bow Wow. Here too, the success is with the rendezvous with millions of albums sold in 2 years. Then JD’s career runs out of steam. One of his best discoveries, the group Jagged Edge, decided to continue without him and the hip-hop community reproached him for doing in the ease with the young Bow Wow in particular.
He will even go to diss with Dr. Dre and Timbaland because of a misinterpretation of one of his interviews to a newspaper where he says he is as good if not more than these two renowned producers. Snoop Dogg will partly defend himself by appearing on the remix of Welcome To Atlanta from JD’s second album. In 2003 he restructured his label by leaving Columbia Records for BMG, signs more “street” artists like Bone Crusher, YoungBloodZ and Daz Dillinger and separates from Bow Wow. Success (especially esteem) comes back.
It will become unavoidable when Mariah Carey then in the doldrums music calls on his services to concoct the tubes that will make it back on the front of the stage. He was named head of Virgin Urban Music in 2006 before resigning following the failure of Janet Jackson’s album. He was named director of the Urban Branch of Island Records in 2007 and released his first biography with a Best Of recounting his musical career the same year.
Since officially 2004 he is the companion of Janet Jackson but they really met in 2001 during the remix of Janet’s Someone To Call My Lover. In 2009, Janet Jackson announces the end of a seven-year relationship with Jermaine Dupri. He has a daughter named Shaniah Cymone born in 1998 and he had with his ex-girlfriend Pam Sweat.
Since March 2009, JD has been leading a new project called Ocean’s 7, bringing together several renowned R & B artists and producers. They are producers Jermaine Dupri and Bryan Michael Cox, as well as singers Usher, Trey Songz, Johnta Austin and rapper Nelly. The 7th element is the So So Def label supervisor and friend of Dupri Intynational. A future album is expected in 2009 while the first mixtape is available for free on the blog So So Def (Global 14) since May 29.
As an underdog, Dupri starts his career and as an underdog, he still feels today: “The big record companies have never taken seriously guys who, like me, are from the southern states, so I had to come along a bit cocky to get my way.”
In “Young, Rich And Dangerous”, Dupri keeps telling one story: how little Jermaine, who lived from food stamps, taught himself to play drums and frustrated his piano teacher because he rejected any kind of musical education, became one of the most innovative Producers of American pop music should rise. A typical Hip Hop success story.
More interesting than his $ 100,000 orgies in strip clubs, the shark aquarium in the studio and the list of his Lamborghinis, Hummer jeeps and Bentley limousines but is the way in which Dupri produces his songs. For example, the hit manufacturer confesses that he often spends hours absenting himself from the studio for the incomprehension of his staff.
Then he sinks into computer baller games, dices for money and watches porn, while in the back of his mind a musical idea, an arrangement, a rhythm develops – which in turn explains the nervous tension of his beats.
Obviously, the ignorance of scales and notation has hardly damaged the originality of Jermaine Dupri. On the contrary: The producer refuses to operate his electronic music devices according to instructions. Instead, he plays around. Manipulate the sounds by feeling – until he actually hears the idea in his head.
Quick summary
Full name: Jermaine Dupri Mauldin
Date of birth: September 23rd 1972
Birthplace: Asheville, North Carolina
Age: 47
Profession: Rapper, Producer, Songwriter, Actor and TV producer
Height: 1.80 m
Weight: 75 kg
Net Worth: 5$ million
