Jermaine Dupri (Photo: Erik Meers/uInterview)
Jermaine Dupri Mauldin (born September 23, 1972, age: 49) is an American hip hop recording artist, record producer, songwriter and rapper. He was previously Janet Jackson’s boyfriend and is rumored to be currently dating the singer.
He has worked with and produced music for Kriss Kross, Mariah Carey, Usher, Jay-Z, Janet Jackson, TLC, Aretha Franklin, Ludacris, Alicia Keys and Bow Wow, among others.
Dupri was born in Asheville, North Carolina and grew up in Atlanta.
Dupri was born to parents Tina and Michael Mauldin, an executive from Columbia Records. Dupri’s musical career started before he reached the age of 10. His father, who was also a talent manager based in Atlanta, coordinated a Diana Ross show in 1982. Dupri got on stage and danced beside Ross, to the amusement of the audience.
At age 12, Dupri began dancing with the hip-hop group Whodini. He had a cameo in the music video for their song “Freaks Come Out At Night.” Dupri started performing across the country and even opened the New York Festival one year with Whodini, Run-DMC, and Grandmaster Flash.
One of the first major artists Dupri worked with was Mariah Carey. The pair first worked together in 1995 on Carey’s hit single “Always Be My Baby.” Dupri also collaborated on Lil’ Kim’s 1996 album Hard Core on the track “Not Tonight.”
Dupri then co-wrote and produced multiple songs (in 1997) on Usher’s second album, “My Way.” The hit track, “You Make Me Wanna,” reached number-one on the Rhythmic Top 40 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop chart. The singles “Nice & Slow” and “My Way” reached numbers one and two respectively on Billboard 100.
Dupri also helped produce Destiny Child’s debut album of the same name in 1998. Shortly afterward, he began developing his own music career, which began with his first record Jermaine Dupri Presents Life In 1472: The Original Soundtrack, which included the lead single “The Party Continues.” He also met Lil Bow Wow that same year and ended up signing him to So So Def Recordings. Dupri then teamed up again with Carey for her Christmas album, Merry Christmas II You, and also collaborated with Lil Wayne and Weezer for the single “Can’t Stop Partying.”
Dupri reunited with Usher in 2004 to co-write and co-produce three Billboard 100 singles on the latter’s Confessions album: “Burn,” “Confessions Part II,” and “My Boo.” Confessions ultimately won Grammys for Best Contemporary R&B Album as well as Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.
In 2005, Dupri collaborated once again with Carey on the record The Emancipation of Mimi for the hit song “We Belong Together.” That track was the top song on the charts for 14 non-consecutive weeks, and became the second-longest-running number one song in the history of American music, only after Carey’s 1996 hit with Boyz II Men, “One Sweet Day.”
“We Belong Together” won Grammys for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance as well as Best R&B Song.
Dupri released his memoir, Young, Rich and Dangerous: The Making of a Music Mogul in 2007. That year, he also co-produced and co-wrote with No I.D. on Jay-Z’s tenth album American Gangster. Dupri helped produce the songs “Fallin'” and “Success.”
In 2002, rumors began circulating that Dupri was in a relationship with Jackson. However, Jackson was also romantically linked to other celebrities like Justin Timberlake and Matthew McConaughey.
Dupri and Jackson collaborated on her ninth album, 20 Y.O., in 2005. She recorded with Dupri and two other producers for many months over the next year. The album’s name harkened back to the two decades since her breakthrough album Control came out.
Eventually, 20 Y.O. was nominated for a Grammy, although Dupri was highly criticized following the album’s release for his misguided production style, and was ultimately fired from his post at Virgin Records.
Despite all this, Dupri and Jackson continued to date until 2009, the year Jackson’s brother Michael died.
In late December 2017, reports began surfacing that Dupri and Jackson had begun dating again, although other media outlets said they were simply friends who were mulling yet another collaboration.
Dupri replaced Randy Jackson as Carey’s talent manager in October 2013. Carey and Dupri stopped working together in August 2014, although they reportedly remained in touch.
In 2015, Dupri and Queen Latifah launched a reality television series, The Rap Game, an eight-episode show that premiered on Lifetime on Jan. 1, 2016. The show centered on five rising artists, ages 11–16, who were trying to make it in Atlanta’s hip-hop scene and who were ultimately hoping to become big-time rap stars. Among the celebrity guests on the series were Usher, Da Brat, T.I., Ludacris and Silentó; these artists gave the rookie rappers advice on what they needed to become successful in the music business.
Dupri was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2018.
In early 2016, Dupri sat down with uInterview for an exclusive interview about The Rap Game, the current state of hip hop and rap music, and his recordSo So Def Recordings.
When asked what’s missing from modern rap, Dupri was quick with a one-word answer — Mulatto. By Mulatto, he means the 16-year-old hip-hop artist who proved herself ready to get into the studio with Dupri on Lifetime’s The Rap Game.
“I’m not just saying [Mulatto] because she’s my artist. I’m just saying that I believe that rap is all in this one space right row,” Dupri explained in an exclusive interview with uInterview. “It’s just in a space where rappers believe they have to sell dope. Rappers believe that they believe they have to go to strip clubs. Rappers believe that they have to use profanity to actually be a successful rapper. To me, that’s just one piece of rap.”
Dupri’s height is listed as 5-foot-4. His Twitter and Instagram handles are both @jermainedupri.
His net worth is estimated at $2 million, a significant decline from where it started.
QUOTES:
“Ciara’s new single is a complete rip-off of Usher’s ‘U Got It Bad,’”
“I’m one of those guys a lot of people watch, imitate, and then make it seem like they were the ones who did it first.”
“When I came out rapping on my record, a lot of people said, Oh, you just want to be like Puff.”
“People are just really overreacting. It’s just feel good music. We at Virgin are in no way promoting sex or whatever these media outlets continue to print.”
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