Hitmaker: Jermaine Dupri’s 10 Greatest Songs
Legendary Atlanta producer, Jermaine Dupri is being inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame this year, and with due cause.
Over the course of his 30-plus years in the business, Dupri has had a significant impact on the music industry—particularly the sound that has come out of what has arguably been the black music hub for the past couple of decades, Atlanta.
JD got his introduction to music early, because his father, Michael Maudlin was a music executive. A dancer for Whodini at the age of 12, by the time he reached his early 20s, he was already knee-deep into producing and curating music acts.
In the early 90s, JD introduced hip-hop teen group, Kris Kross to the world, selling millions of records with their 1992 debut, Totally Krossed Out. From there, his So So Def label would continue to change hip-hop and R&B culture, producing platinum albums by R&B groups Jagged Edge and Xscape (he discovered both groups), as well as Da Brat and a young—and at the time—Lil Bow Wow.
In 1997, Dupri linked with Usher, producing several songs on his My Way album, including the hit singles, "You Make Me Wanna" and "Nice and Slow" (which was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100). Dupri hooked up with Usher again on his 2004 album, Confessions, co-writing and co-producing three of the album's hit singles including, "Confessions Part II," "Burn," and "My Boo."
A year later, in 2005, JD connected with Mariah Carey for what is considered to be her best album to date, The Emancipation of Mimi, co-writing and co-producing the smash single, "We Belong Together," which stayed at number one for fourteen non-consecutive weeks.
In short, JD's contributions to music culture has been incredibly influential.
“As far as culture, me, I brought people to Atlanta that had never seen Atlanta. I showed everybody in the world Magic City—I was the first person to start throwing money in the club," JD recently told The Breakfast Club about his impact on Atlanta music. "I had to pay for all the magazines to come to Atlanta—no one was paying attention to what’s going on—as far as culture goes and having parties, bringing Puff, bringing Envy and Clue to Atlanta, that was all me."
Now, as his legacy is honored with his entry into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, it's a great time to look back at some of his most defining records. That said, here is a list of Jermaine Dupri's 10 biggest hits.
"You Make Me Wanna"
Usher"Where the Party At"
Jagged Edge featuring Jermaine Dupri, Da Brat, R.O.C., Lil Bow Wow, Tiga"Welcome To Atlanta"
Jermaine Dupri featuring Ludacris"Girlfriend"
Alicia Keys"Confessions Part II"
Usher"Money, Hoes, and Power"
UGK featuring Jermaine Dupri"Grillz"
Nelly featuring Paul Wall, Ali and Gipp"We Belong Together"
Mariah Carey"Funkdafied"
Da Brat"Jump"
Kriss Kross