Awesome interview with Jermaine Dupri

Now I have long respected Jermaine Dupri and I love the Breakfast Club and to have J.D. come up and be face to face with Charlamagne who definitely speaks his mind and will ask the harder questions and while it may be more difficult at times to understand some of what he was trying to explain he does end up making some good points.




For one, J.D. does get into the issue of relevance and what that means. Charlamagne makes a point questioning his relevancy and explaining what that means as far as having influence. He is right about one thing, J.D.'s name no longer is the one that opens doors like it once did. J.D. doesn't admit it but he has lost it and he explains it in the fact that execs are always looking for the newest thing and he is indeed old news. There is also a good point made by the fact he is still behind the scenes on a lot of projects and still has records that chart on a regular basis and it is amazing that there is a lack of knowledge about how much of an effect he does have over the industry because it may not be the most trendy thing at the time.


J.D. speaks on trends as well when C talks about him signing one hit wonders and some of the explanations end up making some sense. Now Dem Franchize Boys weren't going to be stars but when he explains the people in charge of NY radio were tired of the Southern music and started to block it, it takes a second to realize that part of the reason So So Def is no longer as well known is because they were indeed ahead of the trend and the industry wasn't ready to adapt. Thats not the only thing but it is a part of it. Leaving artists at a label once the merger movement began is another huge problem for the artists to which Jermaine was tied.




Talking about who he is working about and part of the problem with his numerous accomplishments is when he talks about working with Usher and Mariah again. He maintains he likes to work with new artists because he gets the chance to work without competing with himself because it is interesting that he recognizes once you create certain albums like Usher's hit "Confessions", it becomes almost impossible to recreate or top such work. No matter what a record is like people will be searching for that old feeling and if they don't get it , they tend to not appreciate what they do indeed have.

It was a good interview and I suggest you check it out when you have about forty minutes because J.D. doesn't shy away from the tough questions and he receives some that would tend to make others in his position uncomfortable. With the twenty year anniversary of So So Def concert this weekend and the huge plethora of artists that he has showing up it was a good time for J.D. to show up and speak his mind on these issues being he is often overlooked from the late 90's heyday of producers.


Comments

  1. The Breakfast Club gives great interviews all the time. They're my favorite morning show.

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