Jermaine Dupri has seen it all and done it all. He's made stars from scratch, elevated stars to superstars, and helped fallen superstars regained their groove. He gets it. The producer has taken a step back in the last few years, barring his brief appearance during the 2023 Super Bowl Halftime Show. That said, he has some thoughts on the current generation of artists. Jermaine Dupri has nothing but respect for the talent and artistry of the current wave. He just feels like the way they're rolling out their music is proving to be a hindrance.
Jermaine Dupri fired off two tweets with this sentiment on October 22. The first was brief. "Hits don't allow you to be secretive," he wrote. The second, however, saw the producer expand on his issues with the "secretive" approach. "N**gas all extra secretive on dey IG like they coming with that killa," he wrote. "Y'all done let these none going out executives trick you." Dupri believes that artists should follow a more traditional rollout when it comes to building anticipation for new releases. Rappers and singers are doing less, and the numbers support the producer's claims.
Jermaine Dupri Criticized Current Music Executives
There has also been frustration on the part of fans. 2024 has seen artists like Kendrick Lamar, Playboi Carti and Frank Ocean tease new music. Some have dropped new songs, but have yet to announce plans for a release date. The timing of Jermaine Dupri's tweets led some to speculate as to whether he meant to refer to Lamar, in particular. The Compton rapper released an interview with Harper's Bazaar the day before, in which he still refused to reveal info about new music. Some in the comment section felt Dupri was out of touch. Others, meanwhile, agreed with his sentiments.
This is not the first time Jermaine Dupri has criticized the current state of the music business. The producer went semi-viral for his take on AI music back in February. "I don’t even know why people are excited because… it’s fake," he said during an Atlanta conference. "It takes away from what you actually feel... AI comes in and it’s like washing away all of this." To be fair, Dupri is putting his money were his mouth is. He recently launched a partnership with Create Music Group to focus on developing a new crop of artists.