'''Jermaine Dupri''' also known simply as '''JD''' (born '''Jermaine Dupri Mauldin''' on September 23, 1972) is an African-American record producer and rapper.
Early life
Jermaine Dupri Mauldin was born in Asheville, North Carolina. He grew up in the College Park community of Atlanta, Georgia. Dupri was first introduced to the music business by his father, a concert promoter and manager of rap and R&B groups, at an early age. He dropped his last name as a teenager and started out as a breakdancer for artists such as Diana Ross and Cameo. Dupri became the youngest charting producer in the history of music at age 14. He went on to produce a number of hits for platinum artists such as TLC, Jay-Z, and Ludacris.
Music career
From DG
Jermaine Dupri is the founder, President and CEO of his own label, So So Def Records, which has been the home to several artists such as Da Brat, Jagged Edge, and Xscape. Juvenile rap acts such as Kris Kross and Bow Wow have been some of his biggest successes; Dupri earned significant amounts of songwriting royalties by ghostwriting for such acts.
In addition, Dupri has pursued a recording career of his own, which has resulted in hits such as "Money Ain't A Thing" (1998, with Jay-Z), "Welcome to Atlanta" (2001, with Ludacris) and "Get Your Number" (2005, with Mariah Carey), and "Gotta Getcha" featuring Johnta Austin. He became involved with a dispute between Eminem and Dr. Dre in 2002.
So So Def, a label specializing in Southern hip hop, R&B, and bass music, was originally distributed through Sony Entertainment/Columbia Records. In 2003, Dupri was appointed president of Arista Black Music and moved So So Def and its artists there. In 2004, Dupri was appointed President of Urban Music at Virgin Records and moved So So Def over to Virgin. Meanwhile, Dupri also expanded his business ventures, buying into Chicago-based distillery 3 Vodka and opening his own boutique restaurant, ''Cafe Dupri''.
In 2004 and 2005, Dupri worked with R&B singers Usher and Mariah Carey on their releases, ''Confessions'' and ''The Emancipation of Mimi'' (the top-selling albums of 2004 and 2005) respectively. He produced some of the biggest hits of those years including "Burn", "Confessions, Pt. 2" and the remix featuring Kanye West, Shyne, and Twista, and "My Boo" with Usher and "It's Like That", "We Belong Together", "Shake It Off", "Get Your Number", and "Don't Forget About Us" with Carey. He produced the hit track "Radio" for young R&B sensation Jarvis, but didn't release the album because his label was in transition with the distributor. He has also scored hit singles
