Jermaine Dupri was born in Asheville NC. Having used his father’s “connections” to start a career dancing for the likes of Diana Ross when he was not yet in his teens, Jermaine Dupri had already moved on to performing and producing by the time he reached 7. He made his first production effort for the female rap trio Silk Tymes Leather. Although the group was unable to produce a successful album, Jermaine received attention for his efforts and made strong contacts within the industry. He later formed the teen duo Kris Kross (Chris Kelly and Chris Smith) after meeting the boys at a local mall in 1991. The group’s first album, Totally Krossed Out, was released in 1992 and went multi-platinum due to their singles “Jump” and “It’s a Shame”.
After he established his new record label So So Def Recordings, his next big break would come in 1993 in the form of Jagged Edge, a male R&B group he discovered during a festival in Atlanta and signed to So So Def Recordings. After signing, they released their self-titled debut Jagged Edge and went platinum. During the same year, on Yo! MTV Raps he met Chicago rapper Shawntae Harris, A.K.A Da Brat through Kris Kross, signed her to his label So So Def Recordings, and released her debut Funkdafied (1994). It went platinum making her the first female hip hop artist to sell 1,000,000 units. Dupri subsequently built on this success through working with other R&B artists such as Boyz II Men, as well as R&B singers Mariah Carey, Luther Vandross and Babyface, achieving multi-millionaire status for himself by the age of 24. His finances were not hindered by a distribution deal made with Columbia Records in 1993. Since its inception, over 20 gold and platinum records have accumulated on So So Def’s studio walls.
In 1998, Jermaine Dupri surpassed all of his prior commercial ventures with his involvement in the release of Destiny Child’s self-titled debut album. The same year, he began work on his own music career with the albums The Party Continues and Jermaine Dupri Presents Life In 1472: The Original Soundtrack. The same year, he met 10 or 11 year old rapper Lil Bow Wow through one of his influences, Snoop Dogg, when signed to Death Row Records. He signed him to his So So Def Recordings and got to work. Then in 2000, they released his debut Beware of Dog, which went triple-platinum that sold 2.5 million units. He was another gift to the label (like Kris Kross and Da Brat). After releasing Doggy Bag (2001) for him, the two broke up their relationship before releasing Unleashed (2003), but certified it gold. Many believe Dupri was his biggest source to his career, so they went back on track and became close again.. The deal with Columbia was terminated in 2002, and in 2003 Dupri switched to Arista Records.
