Legendz

There are only a few people who can say they were born to be in the music business. Jermaine Dupri is one of them. Anything that can be done in the business, he’s done it. From producing multi-platinum albums, to performing on hit singles, to being the go-to executive having been in charge of several companies’ urban departments, he’s done it all and at a level which the most successful of music moguls will most likely never reach.

Besides all this, he was at one point pretty much the only way to get your music heard in Atlanta. Today Atlanta is the epicenter of hip-hop music. I guess you could say he created the market. Sixshot.com caught up with the legend himself to discuss So So Def, bringing back artist development, and why he still wants to create the next Motown.

Sixshot.Com: Sup JD, what’s good?

Jermaine Dupri: Everything is good man, thanks.

Sixshot.Com: The first thing I wanted to ask you about was the new signings on Def Jam as well as some of the older artists being dropped. Would you call this a fresh start for Def Jam?

Jermaine Dupri: Me, myself, I’m mostly Island. I can’t really speak on what L.A. [Reid] does at Def Jam.

Sixshot.Com: You have two talented hip-hop artists in 9th Ward and Rocko signed to So So Def. What do you see those two getting accomplished in hip-hop?

Jermaine Dupri: As far as Rocko goes I would say he’s already accomplished his first step as far as becoming an artist that people are really looking for. He’s still got one of the biggest records out. It’s one of the biggest records in the South right now. He’s still making noise off that album. We as an industry have to build the artists so they have the potential to have long careers. You have artists who come out and sell all these records and then they don’t even have a second album in them. Rocko is in a position right now where he can put up numbers on his second album. They know him and they like his music. It’s all about growth.

Sixshot.Com: Do you plan to bring that artist development back to the forefront?

Jermaine Dupri: That’s all I know really is building up artists. I try to develop an artist as much as I possibly can before I even bring them to the label. I’m with artists developing them the whole time they’re making their records.

Sixshot.Com: As a dude who knows talent and has a proven track record, what does JD look for in an artist?

Jermaine Dupri: I look for that hunger in an artist. I always want an artist with substance who’s real not just an artist who’s going to be like “hey this is 99 cents, buy me now”. If you do it like that people will just buy and then throw you away. I look for artists who want that longevity in the game instead of just making everything happen fast. There’s so many people like that now that’s it’s hard to find the ones who want to be real, long term artists.

Sixshot.Com: You’re a producer, executive; you kind of do it all. Is there any position you enjoy more than the other?

Jermaine Dupri: I would probably say production because the success rates are a little higher and you can see your success. You can see it happen better when you’re a producer. You’re sitting in the car and you hear your record come on. To this day I get excited over hearing my record on the radio. I’ve had records that people wouldn’t touch, that the radio didn’t want to play but I knew it was hot and I stuck with it. You keep it organic and you just make the best music. It’s just a great feeling when you see a record that you produced succeed so that’s why I’m going to say producing.

Sixshot.Com: You produce hip-hop and R&B as well as find talent for both genres. How do you manage to be so diverse musically?

Jermaine Dupri: I have a genuine love for both R&B and hip-hop. I remain true to both types of music. It’s just seeing guys like Teddy Riley who can go in any direction with the music, that’s inspiring and I’ve always had one foot on hip-hop and R&B. I also just stay true to what it is that I want to do. I still have people in this industry that I have to dance around and try and make then like what I like. For example when I had Xscape, you couldn’t tell me there was anybody singing better than them. That’s why I had to sign Dondria because she has those vocal abilities that are just hot and they are going to appeal to the fans.

Sixshot.Com: So So Def has a lot of new artists. How far do you think So So Def can go in the game right now?

Jermaine Dupri: I think we can go as far as my heart will take us. There are people that still might not understand what I’m trying to do. I make it so we go hard all the time and I keep that as my mind state. I’m the only person in the music business that’s still trying to re-create that Motown. I’m still trying to bring that back and there are a lot of people who don’t understand that.

Sixshot.Com: I know you get asked this all the time but did you ever think Atlanta would basically be the center of the music world like it is now?

Jermaine Dupri: Yeah I knew it was bound to happen. There are people who followed what I was doing and just didn’t say that they were following. People started basically doing what I was doing in the beginning, which was getting people to check the talent down here and to sign people down here and to create their companies down here. It was me and like five or six people that really brought it to the level that it’s at now and I always knew it would get here.

Sixshot.Com: You and L.A Reid are on the same team now. What’s that working relationship like?

Jermaine Dupri: It’s real cool man. We understand without talking to each other what direction we want to go in. He came from La Face and now Def Jam is his company and he’s doing a great job with it. He pushes me to keep doing my thing and to keep doing it at the highest level possible.

Sixshot.Com: Just out of curiosity, will we ever see a Jermaine Dupri record?

Jermaine Dupri: Never, it just takes too much today for an artist to reach the level I would want to be at. It would take up all my time and energy and ya’ll would never see any of my artists come out. None of these artists would come out.

Sixshot.Com: How did the TAG records situation come about?

Jermaine Dupri: They came to Def Jam with the idea and they said they wanted me to be the person to run it. I thought it was all a great idea and it felt great for me to be able to give a deal like this to a new artist so I signed Q. He’s from Brooklyn. It’s just a real big deal and I’m happy to be a part of it. We got something coming up where we’re gonna show Q. People are going to get to see what he looks like, where he lives, and just what’s going on with him as far as his rap career.

Sixshot.Com: Alright man, is there anything you got coming up that we should be looking out for?

Jermaine Dupri: Just look for 9th Ward, Dondria, and Q on Tag Records.