Jermaine Dupri is a man of many hats: he's a grammy award-winning producer, an acclaimed record executive, and a pioneer of modern R&B amongst other recognitions. The 50-year-old recently sat down with I Am Athlete to discuss his accomplishments over his 39-year music career. Specifically, he had a few words to say regarding critics claiming that Dupri is irrelevant. Dupri strongly asserts that even recently, he's had a hit record every year. Ari Lennox's "Pressure" and DVSN's "If I Get Caught Cheating (That Don’t Mean I Don’t Love You)" are amongst his newest produced hits, proving that Dupri still has R&B under lock.
One of his most anticipated upcoming projects is another collaboration with Usher, according to Variety. The duo first marked their iconic partnership in the album 1997 My Way, featuring hits like "You Make Me Wanna" and "Nice and Slow." Afterward were contributions to songs in 8701 in 2001, Here I Stand in 2008, and other singles over the years. Dupri has also maintained relationships with other significant R&B artists including Mariah Carey and Janet Jackson.
Dupri Hasn't Gone Anywhere
The power of Dupri has most recently shown in DVSN's 2022 release of "If I Get Caught." The Canadian R&B grew their following tenfold when the song was released, as reported by Variety, partially due to the controversial lyrics describing a toxic relationship. Ari Lennox's "Pressure" also earned itself rightful attention for its upbeat track and kinky lyrics. He also was the producer for Usher's 2020 release "Don't Waste My Time" featuring Ella Mai. The track reached number one on Billboard's US Adult R&B Songs list.
The So So Def Recordings executive has a message for anyone who questions his relevancy. He told the Hip Hop Wolf, "by the way if you from the rap world, and you listening to only trap music, then you gon' be like, 'JD ain't made no music,' cuz you ain't listen to R&B. Cuz you don't know." Needless to say, Dupri is well aware of his accomplishments over the year. "I've had a hit record every real," he said, "you just don't really realize." Stay tuned to HNHH for more news from the hip-hop world.