Jermaine Dupri says he wants hip-hop artists in Atlanta to make better music. The record producer shared his thoughts on the music scene during an interview with Curren$y and AllHipHop.com.
Although he loves Atlanta and how the city has grown over the years, Dupri believes the music being produced by local artists has declined from his “era” of music, claiming that the artistry in the city is no longer as creative.
“The way the city is now, I love the growth of the city, but I feel like musically, we have declined from what it was in my era of coming up. The pool is not that big anymore,” said Dupri. “The artistry is not there as much as it used to be. And it needs to get back to that. Kids need to get back to being creative and not being scared to do what the music makes them want to do.”
Dupri was also asked how he felt when he heard hip-hop artist Curren$y’s song “Jermaine Dupri,” which was named after the music exec.
“Um, I had a bunch of different emotions,” he said. “Um, um, I was shocked. I also was like ‘why?’ Uh, um, then I was like, excited about it, you know what I mean? Like, because it’s, it’s like, out of all of, you know, the things that a person can do, they made a song and titled the song after me. Um, that’s pretty crazy.”
Curren$y said Dupri contacted him a day or two after the single’s video dropped to talk about working on an album.
“I think the day, uh, or two after I dropped, like the second day or maybe the day after I dropped the video,” said Curren$y. “I hadn’t shared the video knowing that this was gonna happen,” he added, noting that Dupri got in touch with him about making their new album, “For Motivational Only Vol. 1.”
While the So So Def CEO criticized the current music scene, he did offer some positive feedback and hopes for the future.
“I’m waiting to see if what I’m saying happens because normally, what I’m saying usually happens,” he said. “Whether it’s from me or somebody else that’s just in the universe. And the universe is probably telling me to say this because there’s somebody that’s getting ready to come out that’s in that space. I hope that’s what happens.”
For some, Dupri’s history of producing hit records dates back to the early 1990s. Aside from R&B classics for Xscape, Mariah Carey, Usher, and others, he also has created hundreds of rap songs. In 2002, he released his “Welcome to Atlanta” anthem with rapper Ludacris as an exclamation point on the city that groomed him into the musical genius he’s become today.
“I don’t think people pay attention to how rap I am,” said Dupri, later in the interview, noting his discovery of the rap duo Kriss Kross and his work producing rap songs for Jay-Z, Da Brat, Nas and more.
“For Motivational Only Vol. 1” dropped on April 4.
