It seems that Atlanta native Jermaine Dupri is just as important to New York hip-hop as any other music mogul in the business — at least if you ask rappers Ma$e and Cam’ron. For one of the Children of the Corn, Dupri gave him his first seven-figure check.
During a recent episode of the Harlem emcees’ sports talk show, “It Is What It Is,” the two thanked the producer for supporting their careers in the early years and said he was influential to their genesis story because he blessed them without anything to gain.
The show highlighted not only the So So Def founder but also St. Louis rapper Nelly, who joined the rap duo, former running back Maurice Clarett (who serves as a guest analyst on the show), and Treasure “Stat Baby” Wilson, the third “IIWII” host, for the episode.
At the top of the show, Killa Cam saluted Dupri for hopping on two songs on his debut album, “Confessions of Fire,” in 1998.
“When I was young, I was real arrogant because my man Ma$e just sold 4 million records, and I’m thinking I’m supposed to sell 4 million records, and I don’t think I ever gave J.D. his flowers for even doing what he did for me,” he explained.
Adding, “It meant a lot to me that you did that for me because you invited me to your house, and you didn’t have to do that. So I just want to tell you thank you in front of everybody because I probably never even did it privately, let alone publicly.”
Later in the episode, after having some Wi-Fi problems, Ma$e joined in the conversation and gave the man responsible for the success of Xscape, Da Brat, Bow Wow, Kriss Kross, and so many other artists similar flowers.
The same year that Dupri did some hooks and guest starred on Cam’s project, Ma$e expanded his career, became a music executive, and got his group Harlem World signed to So So Def Records.
The seven-member group was made up of Ma$e’s sister Baby Stase (Stason Betha), Blinky Blink, Cardan, Huddy (Andre Hudson), Meeno, Suga J, and Loon, who would later become Bad Boy label mates with the “Feel So Good” chart-topper.
Mase thanks Jermaine Dupri for allowing him to be rich and says he was the first person to pay him what he's really worth.
— The Art Of Dialogue (@ArtOfDialogue_) January 12, 2024
(🎥 Come And Talk 2 Me/YouTube) pic.twitter.com/YER91kixmw
According to Ma$e, Dupri was “the first guy to ever pay me what I was really worth talent-wise.”
“JD, I want to tell you thank you from my heart. You were the first guy to ever pay me what I was really worth talent-wise, and that just goes a long, long way,” said Ma$e. “I want you to know if there’s ever anything I could do, anything I could be a part of, I’m forever indebted to you for allowing me to be rich. You gave me my first million dollars.”
Many on social media thought this was a great gesture of gratitude.
“Real n—gas never forget who help them with no bad intentions behind it,” one person wrote.
Others thought it was a shot at Diddy, who signed Ma$e to his first recording contract. The two recently settled their differences after years of wrangling.
“That was a indirect shot at bishop td diddy over at badjakes,” another person said.
While there may have been a veiled slight at the Bad Boy boss, Ma$e seems to be on good terms with Diddy after the producer announced in 2023 that he was reorganizing the rapper’s music catalog and assigning him all of those publishing rights.
Ma$e’s first studio album, “Harlem World,” debuted at the top position on both the Billboard Pop and R&B LP charts. In its first week of release, it garnered sales exceeding 270,000 copies in the U.S. and has since attained triple platinum status in the country, signifying sales surpassing 3 million copies for Bad Boy.
Nevertheless, over the past 25 years, the artist has been very vocal about his grievances with Diddy, the label owner. Unlike his recent comments about Dupri, he alleged that Diddy appropriated his publishing.
With those accusations now water under the bridge and Ma$e getting his rights back, he shared the move with his fans on Instagram, joking about the catalog gift, “God pls tell @diddy bring the briefcase [briefcase emoji] cause I can’t swap this out for publishing @mr_camron [crying face emojis] [fire emoji] #ThrowInTheTowel #NoLol.”
