Jermaine Dupri on Kris Kross & Da Brat, dating Janet Jackson, Usher’s Confessions & Mariah Carey

22:27Jermaine Dupri:You open the door. I ain't got no real equipment. So when I got my real equipment, that's when I started making better beats and started getting more and more into it. Then one day me and the DJ, there's a female named Dolomix, we went to Green Bride Mall. And they had an article in Jet Magazine about the female rappers at that particular point in time. And one of the Chris's moms saw Dolomix and was like, I know that girl. I just read about her, right? But I seen the kids, and they was walking around the mall, and people was paying attention to them. And I'm like, what's wrong with me? I'm like, why don't, I don't know these niggas.

23:07Jermaine Dupri:I'm thinking they must be on the Disney Channel or something. I'm like, why is people acting like this? So I keep watching them Move around Move around They going in footlocker They going in foot action They doing all the rap shit I'm like Who is this And girls is giving them Free cookies at the cookie company I'm telling you I'm walking around Watching them It was lit before lit I'm in there So I'm like Finally walk up to them I'm like yo Who are y 'all And I was like What do y 'all do They're like We don't do nothing I'm like Why y 'all give Why they're giving y 'all shit Nah listen tomorrow They're like Cause we fresh And I'm like Oh Wait What What I'm like do y 'all rap?

23:42Jermaine Dupri:And they was like, rap? They said that to me like, nigga, who rap? Who would rap? That's how they said it to me. And I'm like, and my mind just start going crazy. Like, if these niggas rap based on what they got going on, it's over with. Right? So then I got their number and luckily their mom vouched because she's like, he's somebody because I know that girl that's with him. Right? She didn't, she hadn't put it all together, but she, you know what I'm saying? She had one of them new jack city moments where dude was like yo that's i know that dude right so that's what she was doing she was like i know him so um i got the number and i started calling him like yo y 'all come over my house we're gonna start making music they was like come over your house you know i'm saying so they was really on some you know little hood boys that was like we ain't going over this nigga house like why we going over his house so i had to get i had to convince them so i had to go pick them up from school every day and like become their homie like and let them see like i'm really fucking with y 'all like you know i mean so um we start kicking it and i start like driving watching them in the back seat and i'll play records and i'll play a record like ice cube or something was crazy at the time and they was back there rapping the lyrics like they wrote them they know this shit they ain't ever seen the lyrics before how they know it they like rapping it like they really rapping and i'm thinking like damn if i write a song for them and it sound good like they could do ice cube and they learn it like this they got It's got to work.

25:10Jermaine Dupri:Right? So I just started trying to figure out how that was going to happen. You know, I wrote so many songs that they hated, and I never got that reaction. I just had to keep going, keep going, keep going, keep going. And then I wrote this song called Lil Boys in the Hood, and they liked it because of the concept. Like, I finally got to where they wanted, okay, now you're talking about shit we want to talk about. I was trying to do, like, kiddie shit at first, and I was like, and they started telling me about how they, you know, in a school kids 12 years old walking around with these socks and these socks was doubled up because they had crack in themselves you know i mean so i started hearing all these stories about these little kids in the hood so i'm like you know what when they be doing the news they don't never talk about what the kids have to go through and what they see right so i started trying to write about that based on what i was hearing them say and um from the deal that i had with silk times leather i had met this engineer named joe the butcher who actually owned roughhouse records in philly right so um that's the only person i knew in the music industry that i could call and be like i got a project right so i did the little boys in the hood and i sent it to joe and he was like yeah i want to sign him and i'm like oh shit we go you know i mean i got it right so he gave us a development deal it wasn't a real record deal it was a development deal to see if we can make some better records.

26:33Jermaine Dupri:And like the night before we had to go to Philly to do like record these songs, I wrote Jump. I knew it when I like in the first 29, 30 seconds. Yeah. Yeah, that's when the music comes out. I'm like, if they pull this off, it's over. The second you hear that shit, you just like, yo, this shit, this shit jumping. Whose idea was it for them to wear the clothes backwards? Mine, because like, Left I was living at my house At the time This is what I want to talk about This is what I want to talk about Like Left I had came to my house As a rapper from Philly And She was from Philly originally Yeah she from Philly And she met this guy named Ian Burt And Ian was like the only guy in Atlanta That I knew That was like moving around He was like an A &R manager Slash He was everything right And if you knew Ian Ian connects you to somebody else So then Ian called me one day He was like I met this girl from Philly She rap she a young girl I'ma bring her to your house He brought her to my house I like the way she rap But I was trying to do the crisscross thing But I was like yo I'ma fuck with you when I get through this And I ain't have no deal But I had all these people believing that I was gonna do it So left I was staying at my house Without my mom even knowing Left I was like living in my closet Cause she ain't really had no place to stay So she was staying over there And one of the songs I did for crisscross I sampled Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney.

27:59Jermaine Dupri:The girl is mine. Right. And I was thinking like I can make a song about y 'all arguing about Lisa. And then Lisa was going to rap about shit. Right. And that idea I had, but it never came to life. I kept trying to get it. I couldn't, you know what I mean? But I never couldn't figure it out. And my writing was terrible at that time. Question I have for you. who's an artist that you slept on and became a big boy or big girl in the game that you you wasn't ready or things wasn't right they tried like you know Eminem gave me his demo six times and you know we ain't never seen no white boy pop off like that so I guess I was sleeping you know after he blew up I went to dinner with him he was like you know I gave you my demo six times and I was like what and he told me everywhere he gave it to me at who's an artist that you could have signed and you was like damn or you wish you could have signed well I mean I tried to sign ludicrous but I had a I had an office full of employees right and at this point in time I was feeling like my office felt like I was controlling everything so I went there one day and try to have an A &R meeting.

29:11Jermaine Dupri:And I asked them about Ludacris, and they all said no. And I tried to go with what my office was saying. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? I'm thinking, this is what you're supposed to do. You got to let the people in the office work. They was like, nah, J.D. don't sign him. And I'm like, what? Well, you know what? They probably slept on him because he started in the radio. Nah, but I had already, I did something for Madden. So the first Madden game with music, I did it, right? And they called me and they was asking me, they asked me for somebody to rap on it. That was animated. Right. And I'm like, well, I'm not animated like this.

29:54Jermaine Dupri:But Chris was doing these radio things. Right. And I heard him. I kept hearing him do these radio commercials. He was really, really animated. Right. And I say, Chris, come do this, this bad, this little man thing I'm doing for the video game. And that was the first time me and Chris worked together But he wanted me to sign him and I wanted to sign him You know what's crazy There's this guy who does commercials but he don't rap You don't be hearing him he be like 1-800 you crashed your gun Top door Yo I love this guy man I don't have no clue Of who he is Every time I ask commercial I turn it up Like I be hearing him on the radio Yo you crashed your gun Your girl left you Your leg is sideways Top 1-800 to get you I be like, yo, this dude is crazy.

30:40So I know what you're saying. Yeah. Salute to Chris, right? At what point did it turn from hip hop to R &B? I go to the brat first. No, right after Criss Cross, the explosion of Criss Cross, right? I was just like. Well, we got the brat. We got Criss Cross. We got Bow Wow. We got Usher. We got Mariah. We got Bone Crusher. We got. Listen, so after Criss Cross,

31:07Jermaine Dupri:I didn't want to be labeled as a one box producer, right? So I was like, I got to do an R &B project after Criss Cross success. I didn't know if it was going to work. This is the first time I ever did it. But I just knew that that's what I wanted to do. I didn't want to be put in a box. So Escape Project was the first album, R &B record that I had ever written or produced or anything. And Ian brought them girls to my house and they sung for me. down to the S-Kate. Yeah, you hit it sound like a rap song. Yes, kid. Yo, bro. You know, I used to be scared to fly. So I used to drive everywhere to Miami to everywhere.

31:48And so I got a certain kind of respect for certain groups because, you know, it get hard on that 9-5 around South Carolina when you start seeing Pedro and shit. They be like, Pedro, and you got to escape. Man, they got me through a lot of drives. that Escape was different. So Escape, you wrote all that shit. Yeah.

32:12Jermaine Dupri:So I'm saying I was taking still from hip hop, like kick off your shoes and relax your feet. That was running the MC line. I just was doing what I thought. You ever wrote an R &B song? No. I never wrote an R &B song. I never had. I was sure that I could. He just broke it down. I could do one. Sometimes Beyonce has some witty lyrics where I be like, yo, Jay must have been right in that studio and gave her a bar. Like I hear it all the time in her music where I'm just like, she's talking that shit. I said, oh, Ho must have been in that studio, gave her a bar. You know, it's just, you know, but it's something I always wanted to do because I'm a lover, not a fighter, B.

32:55Yeah.

32:56Jermaine Dupri:I mean, like I said, if you take it, if you just listen to it, it's the same thing ultimately. You just have to figure out the melody. but other than the melody rap and writing a song is pretty much the same you know LaFace goes down to the ATL they're not from there like Babyface is where from Indiana but they set up shop they fell in love with ATL but they let everybody work with the artists they signed you know go to you go to Rico Wade go to Dallas Austin right And so What are some of the songs You wrote For TLC Another artist That wasn't actually Your artist Well TLC was my group first Before they even signed In the face Another one Bam Like You know You gotta remember Left I was at my house Right So Ian brought Ian brought Tion To my house And then They met at my house And They was called Second Nature Before they was called TLC and I would have now this is what I do regret I regret my mind not moving fast enough because if I I could have had TLC and Chris Gronson at the same time but I ain't I ain't I was too young to know the moves right learning the game I know you know what I'm saying and it was God's timing too to believe it or not it was like it wasn't for you like that you know what I'm saying it was God's timing but I had I had so much energy for the guys I wasn't giving the girls a lot of energy and And they went and had that conversation with Pebbles.

34:34Jermaine Dupri:And they was like, you know, they had a meeting. So if you see the TLC movie on VH1, when Left Eye make this phone call, she called me in that movie. I saw that. Yeah, they cut me out, but they, you know. No, no, no, no, no, but I saw that movie. Yeah, she called me to be like, JD, they want to sign us. What you want to do? And when she said that, I could have been like, nah, I got y 'all. Let's do this. But I started thinking like a producer. I started thinking like, shit, if they get signed, I could do a bunch of songs on their album. Right? Instead of just trying to hold them and be like, let them sign on my label.

35:06Jermaine Dupri:So I was like, go ahead, do the deal. So their first album, I did a song called I Could Do Bad By Myself. On the second album is when I did more and more work with TLC than I ever did. But really, really a lot of that, me working with LaFace came from Usher's second album. The My Way album, I did the whole album. The whole album. Basically. Another one. And so Usher was up here. so I remember when he was all around New York as a kid they snuck him in the clubs, everything I forget what was out Jodeci, but they also had like hip hop, I think was it Black Rob's Woe or is it too that was too early they would see shit not because I'm trying to tell you, there's only very few records like Black Rob's Woe or Ballin by Jim Jones there was very few records when I was in a club that just everybody lost their mind.

36:02And I remember meeting Usher for the first time as a kid in the club here. And they had something out there that was stupid. And I remember Usher there and I was like, damn. But any case.

36:14Jermaine Dupri:This was partying bullshit days back then. This was there. He's going back before you talking about it. I know, I know, I know. I'm just like, I remember Usher as a kid out here in New York and seeing him all over. Yeah, but this guy, so the second album, so you sit down with Usher and you say, yo, I'm going to make a classic. No, no, I don't say that. What you say? I don't know what's going to happen. You're going to make some music. I actually don't know what's going to happen. I just know that, you know, I think they tried to make an album with Dallas. They tried to make an album with Puff and the album that they wanted for his second record, it didn't work.

36:56Jermaine Dupri:So they actually tell me that they was on the verge of dropping him if it didn't work with me. Right? I ain't know this, though. I start hearing this after the fact. So, you know, but they was like, you know, we want you to do what you did with Criss Cross with Usher. We want you to take him to your house. You know what I mean? Make him your artist. And I was like, all right, I never did this before with R &B. I never produced nobody male R &B. So I don't know what the song's going to sound like. I did Escape. Oh, shit. But I ain't never do it with a male artist. So I didn't know what the songs was going to sound like So he came We started kicking I started talking And I started figuring out Okay, he's just like Chris Cross Almost Like, he pick up instantly If he love it, he really get it You know what I'm saying?

37:39Jermaine Dupri:So I'm like, okay If I write songs for him That he love He gonna sing it He gonna sing it with his arm Yeah Right? But I still was writing songs like raps Seven o 'clock on the dot I'm in my drop top cruising the streets These is rap lyrics I was scrolling through the Sprite living track list the other day and immediately started arguing with myself. Arguing with yourself? I'm serious. It was wild because records like California Love, Still Not a Player, back then, those aren't just songs. Nah, those are moments, memories, snapshots of where hip-hop was and where it's going. Exactly, and that's what Sprite gets They spent over 40 years Celebrating artists who really Defined the culture And now they flipping it Letting the fans be part of the conversation Which is where it gets interesting Because the real debate is why Like why did that song matter Why did that line hit Why did it change hip hop forever I can't promise you we got the answers But you're definitely gonna have A good time figuring it out Go check out Full Sprite Living Tracklist.

38:54And break down the stories behind your favorite bars. At livingtracklist.genius.com. This is the Sprite Living Tracklist. Obey your thirst.

39:08You've seen Unlikely Partners before. You haven't seen this. An FBI agent determined to deliver justice. A notorious mobster pulled into the investigation. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. and Mark Wahlberg star in By Any Means, based on a true story. Strider and Scarpa don't come from the same world, and neither man takes a back seat to the other. But as they chase leads and close in on the truth, their friction becomes the engine of the case. See how one of the strangest partnerships in American crime history came together. By Any Means is now playing in theaters. Get tickets now. This episode is supported by FX's The Drop, a snowfall saga.

39:50Wanda and Leon are back, but this time they're chasing a different kind of legacy. As West Coast rap begins to take over 90s Los Angeles, Wanda is betting on a new generation of artists. But in a city where every opportunity comes with a price, they'll have to decide what they're willing to risk to leave their mark. FX is the drop. Premieres September 8th on FX and Hulu. They don't realize smart people use smartphones, huh? seeing through BS they thought was gonna slide. Download TexNow because it cuts out clownery. You can literally activate it from your couch. Nationwide 5G with the same towers the other companies use.

40:29Pay what you want or not at all. You're in control. Show these ridiculous carriers we ain't paying for stupid because we're way too smart to pay dumb.

40:39Jermaine Dupri:Free app-based talk and text via the TexNow app requires Wi-Fi or data connection. Data plans sold separately. 5G where available.

40:48When you talking about all these kid stars, something that keeps, maybe because it's you, but something that keeps popping up to me is Monica. She was just a young girl out there and she sang like... You skipping the brat. I wouldn't have heard... I'm not saying. We got the brat. We got too much shit to talk about. I'm just... You want to go and see... Go ahead. We hear about the brat out there. Go ahead with the Monica Let me know where you're going I'm just saying Monica was a little girl With a big voice Yeah And she became a superstar Just like that At first Did you know Like when you When you heard Monica

41:27Jermaine Dupri:She was Dallas artist I know Yeah Yeah I was breaking a lot of bread down there I knew I knew she was hot I knew she had it And she was like She was a ghetto girl That Dallas was trying to take Into the Whitney Houston space And she had the voice To go into that space Not I don't want nobody to take it wrong no no no no she had the voice to go there yeah there's no question about that I never thought I would work with her either I didn't have no idea I ever worked with Monica what joints you did for Monica I did the first night that was the first song I ever did with her the first night yeah yo let me tell you something boy this this ATL royalty is that let's go to the brat I love the brat that's my sister we not let's go to the brat let's go to the brat first female to sell a million records.

42:16Yeah, yeah. Wrap up.

42:18Jermaine Dupri:So the Brat situation was like... How do you find the Brat from Chicago? She moved from Chicago to the A.O. Yeah, yeah. So Brat met Chris Cross when they was on their second tour. They was on another tour. After they went on tour with Michael Jackson, they was on another tour. Pow! Right? Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow! What's his name? Ed Lover and from all MTV Raps. Dr. Dre and Ed Lover. Dr. Dre and Ed Lover was like the host of the tour. And they had called people up on the stage and rapped as an intermission between, you know, I think MC Light and Criss Cross, right? Because they had put MC Light at the opening for them.

42:58Jermaine Dupri:And Brat came. Shout out to MC Light. Shout out to MC Light. Her mom's just passed away. I love you, Light. Love you. Living legend. Brat came on the stage and rapped, and I wasn't there. And they called me right after Light Skin. Cause I remember like yesterday he called me like, yo, this female rapper, she went crazy in Chicago. And I'm like, I don't care about no female rappers. Like, don't nobody like female rappers. This is what I'm saying. Like this one, no female rappers popping off besides salt and pepper. Like, and in like street fashion of us driving around, we want to listen to female rappers in our cars.

43:32Jermaine Dupri:Like that just wasn't what happened. So I just like, nah. And I thought like me messing with a female rapper was going to be be the first time that my little success story was gonna go wrong because i was like i just did it on a roll yeah i just did crisscross i did escape and i was you know i'm saying i was moving and i was just like nah female rapper i can't do it so um but i but he kept pushing me and i was like all right um tell her to come to atlanta she came to atlanta and she told me to come to the hotel and meet her i went to the hotel and like to meet her like have a conversation with her and I'm like, I'm going to take you to my house.

44:08Jermaine Dupri:This is where my studio was. So I'm driving her from downtown Atlanta to College Park. And I stop and get gas. And I stop and get gas. I go in the gas station. I come back. She put her tape in the car while I was inside the gas station place. Bam. I came back, turned the car on, and the tape started going. And I'm like, what the fuck is this? Who is this rapping? And it was her. And I was like, wait, who is this rapping? and the way she was rapping on the tape, I was like, oh, shit. She was not playing. Nah, she wasn't playing. She was really rapping. She was coming for it. This wasn't the type of rap I thought this was.

44:46Jermaine Dupri:Like, she was really rapping. Like, really Chicago-style, like, Twister and all of that. Like, that type of shit. And I'm like, that's you? And she was like, yeah. Also, you was producing, like, West Coast sounding beats for the rap. Yeah, but I hadn't started. You didn't know what he was about to make it. Yeah, I didn't know what I was going to do. You did it, though. Yeah, I didn't know what I was going to do. So I took it to my house. I'm like, I like you. I'm going to sign you. And honestly, Brat Project was like the hardest project for me because I couldn't find that thing yet. I couldn't find it.

45:16Jermaine Dupri:I would make a song and I'd play it for people and it was like, yeah, whatever, whatever. And then I just stopped paying attention to who she was. Like, she would be outside my house and it was cold. So we would take all the water out of the swimming pool and she would go down in the swimming pool and smoke weed. because she couldn't smoke in my house. She was down in the pool smoking. And I started realizing, like, oh, she, like, she a female, like, like a little Snoop Dogg. Like, she smoke really, like, chain smoking before anybody, like, really, by herself. And I'm like, we should put this in the music.

45:51Jermaine Dupri:And I just started seeing, like, this was what was happening. It's, you know, and, I mean, I'm influenced by what's going on in hip-hop. So, you know what I mean? And I saw, you know, I'm listening to Dre. I'm listening to what's going on. and I'm listening to Snoop. Snoop is doing his thing. And it was kind of like it wasn't like because the first song we came out with wasn't funk. It was more or less like it was the Isley Brothers. I just flipped sleeping in my, I mean between the sheets. But what I did was I started realizing that if you play the sample over, it gave you a different texture to the music.

46:29Jermaine Dupri:So when you start playing the music over that's when people start thinking it was like West Coast music but that wasn't it wasn't West Coast it was just in between the sheets right because we had I remember we had in between the sheets and then Biggie and them had Big Papa right and Big used to come to me all the time and be like man what did you do to your beat that's different than my beat and he just had a sample I had more you know what I mean I almost had like more different things I could take the bass I could do whatever I wanted to do because we played it over right and I think that's where people start you know we ran with it because the song was called Funk to Five, but it wasn't, it was the Isley Brothers record.

47:06Jermaine Dupri:That's it. It was so Funk to Five. Yeah. And that's the first time I started rapping on as far as people first time hearing me. And that's because I was in there writing the raps and I was in there writing and I was just playing around. Like I'm playing around. I'm like, I'm going to say this and you say this. And it started going and it was like back and forth, back and forth. And everybody was around. It was like, y 'all should do that. And I'm like, no, I don't want to rap. Right. I'm still trying to stick to just, I'm a producer. I'm going. I'm doing good. I'm not getting ready to start doing this.

47:36Jermaine Dupri:We're not going to mess this up. That's around the time Suge Knight was like, you want producers in your video, rapping. No, no, this was before that. It was almost that. He sat forwarding too much. This was before that. So, yeah. So, we get to the Funk Defy. Funk Defy come out. I was there. And this Brat record go crazy. Funk to Fire record go crazy. Too crazy. And Bratt album, she became the first female solo artist to have a platinum album. That was crazy, man. Shout out to the Bratt, her wife. Y 'all co-wrote that? Yeah, yeah. Because that's when I started, you know what I mean? I started, I was writing, but then I started remembering like, you rap, I already knew what you, you know what I'm saying?

48:19Jermaine Dupri:So we just started figuring out our back and forth motion, right? And I write one part and then she'll grab it and understand where I'm going and then she'll just take it from me. You know, Tip told me, tiny road scrubs. Yeah. The scrub is her candy. He said he was on the passenger side. No, I'm sure.

48:45I'm sure. That's crazy. Gag, kiss, gag. I know I'm jumping all up. We're having a beautiful conversation.

48:51Jermaine Dupri:This is very knowledgeable. I'm with you, brother. I'm with you. So then like, I'm running around now with Brat. And I'm rapping. Funk the Five's big, so I'm performing with her everywhere we go. Right? And I'm like, I still don't want to rap, but I'm writing more raps now because I'm hearing myself on the radio, and I'm rapping. I'm starting rapping. And then all my friends are like, J.D., you should make an album. And I'm like, no, I don't want to make no album. I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing. But I start making, like, fake songs in the studio. Like, I'll be writing a song, and I'm thinking I'm going to give it to somebody else, but I damn near finished the song and my friends would start listening to it in the car and they're like, yo, you should make this a real song.

49:31Jermaine Dupri:One thing led to the next to the next to the next and then I did my first album, Life, in 1472. You want to know what's crazy is there's something going on down the other side of town. You got the Goody Bomb. Not yet. Not yet. You know what? I'm going to let you control it. You ask questions, man. Not yet. Not yet. You speed it ahead of time. So they're not ringing off yet. Not yet. Not yet. This all like, you know. How do I know this and you hold it in me? Yeah, it seemed like that. Buy a couple of candies. It seemed like that, but it wasn't like that. You got to stop. It's an argument about that now.

50:11Jermaine Dupri:Like, people don't understand. Criss Cross came out before Outkast. Facts. I know that. But I didn't know that Goody Bob and Rico Wade and the family, it wasn't cooking up. But that's what I'm saying. You got to think about it like this. Because he is New York. Crisscross came out before Outkast. So you got to think about where the stretch was, right? It's like this crisscross and Outkast. So Outkast came, I mean, Goody Mob came out after Outkast. After Outkast success. You ain't know that? Yeah, you ain't know that? No, no, no. I always thought the Goody Mob, that's why we learning. I always thought the Goody Mob, people think I'm signing a big punt.

50:45You understand? I'm telling you, they asked me. I'm thinking Goody Mob birthed Outkast No way Outkast came out first Outkast came out first then Goody Mob Wow That's amazing but that's after Good timetable He was talking to you

51:08Jermaine Dupri:So we went into this space Of me start rapping And me and Brat start doing like Going back and forth doing things this that and the third And we did the Sleeping in my bed remix Right That shit was monster You did the Sleeping in My Bed remix This was like the first song That New York Had really ever Really really embraced That I did Now you gotta think From this whole time When I was staying here In New York I had Sometimes 11 I took I took them to see Red I took the record To Red Alert And Chuck Chill Out And Chuck Chill Out Was like Nah nah nah This ain't Nah nah Can't play this Take that country shit back Chuck still like that Oh yeah So He ain't chillin' I always had this thing I kept trying to get my records played in New York.

51:52Chuck be cursing dudes out on the radio 2025. Chuck still be doing that? Yes. I listen to him every week on BLS.

51:58Jermaine Dupri:Yeah, I like that. He's still cursing dudes out. I like that. He ain't never changed. Yeah, but by the way, that made me want, that just made me just like, I got to get a record in New York. Like, I got to get a record in New York. So I just kept, I wasn't thinking about Sleeping In My Bed being that record, but I always wanted a record that when I got to New York, I turned on Hot 97, I hear my music, right? So Sleeping In My Bed became one of the hottest records in New York. Flex was playing at the tunnel. It was an R &B record. They weren't playing on R &B at the tunnel. He was playing this.

52:27Jermaine Dupri:He was like, J.D., you got to come to a party at the tunnel. Sleeping In My Bed is going crazy. So Sleeping In My Bed is going crazy. And then we had the photo shoot, The Great Day in Harlem. I was there. With all the rappers out there. All of y 'all was out there. I got you looking like a baby on a fucking picture. That's in my store right now in the bras. You looking like a baby out there Yeah, so we come to New York And go to Harlem, do this And then that's when I met Hov And on my way to the shoot I'm listening to Clue tape And Hov took the sleeping in my bed beat And he took my cadence And y 'all wanna dance I'm gonna make you dance He took all of that And did a freestyle So then I'm in the car like Oh, this nigga know me Yeah, he fuck with you I'm like, he really know me He done paid attention to my whole shit So I wasn't thinking like when I seen him I'm going to say let's make a record But somewhere in my mind that's what happened Right so when I seen him out there I'm like yo I heard you just do my whole little flow On that glue tape You need to come to Atlanta we make a record And he's like alright he gave me his number So I went back home All my mind was that I'm going to make this record with Jay-Z That's all I was thinking about I'm going to make this record with Jay-Z I didn't know what the record was going to be but I'm like I'm going to make this record with Jay-Z And And long story short, he came to Atlanta, and I went to pick him up.

53:51Jermaine Dupri:And when I'm driving to the airport to pick him up, I'm listening to him, and knock the hustle. And when he say deep in the South kicking up top game, I'm like, he's talking about me. Who is he talking about? I'm riding. I'm thinking he's talking about me. He say switching forward lanes. I'm switching. By the way, I'm in a Bentley. Oh, yeah, you caked up by then. Yeah, I'm in the Continental T, by the way, not just a Bentley. continental tea you know what I mean I'm in the continental tea going to the airport to pick him up nah you on the super road and I'm all out the window I'm driving like this I'm doing everything he's saying in there switching four lanes screaming through the sunroof money and everything I'm like this is me I'm definitely telling you that's all I'm saying he talking about me so as soon as he come out the airport I say yo I'm gonna sample this part this gonna be our song and he's like alright and he's thinking about what I'm saying and then all the way down the street to my house, down Old National to my house.

54:47Jermaine Dupri:He just got quiet. And I guess he zoned in on his verse. He ain't even hit a beat. I ain't play no beat for him. I had an idea. When we got to my house, I hit the beat. And I said, this is what we gonna rap over. He's like, all right, let's go. I'm ready. And I was like, what? Yeah, that's crazy. How did this work? And I thought this shit was gonna be trash. Jada would've moved into your house. Jada take his time. He'd have moved into your house for a month before he gave you that verse. You crazy? Jada take his time. There you go. Capping. Now he's really capping. Now I'm capping. I just flew to Atlanta for other shit and went to his studio and gave him verses.

55:24Yes, yes. Is that a fact or not? Yes, yes, yes. Ladies and gentlemen. I got to fuck with the guard. But my thing is. He's one that can catch me. Come over, kiss it. Money ain't a thing. Lay this for me. Drop this for the brat. Money ain't a thing. It's one of the ones. up here felt like that was the emergence of down south and New York like it was you know it felt like that was the shit and y 'all was talking that shit legendary you know whose idea was the video and all that the video was crazy everything about that

56:00Jermaine Dupri:it was me Hov and Free shout out to Free May and yeah we was just like we was trying to just figure out how to do the dumbest shit we could possibly do at that particular point in time. You know what I mean? And we were supposed to have a horse race where we both was riding a horse. But both was like, I ain't riding no horse. And I'm like, shit, I'm gonna ride the horse. You can put your girl on the horse. I'll race her. And the way we started talking to each other, that's how the video was. Like, all right, I'll bet a hundred thousand. Nigga, let's go. Right? So then everything was just like, let's do it.

56:36Jermaine Dupri:Let's go over top. Yeah. We wrecking portions and everything at the video shoot. Real life. Yeah? Yeah. So y 'all just dumbing out.

56:51So at what point do you hear Outkast?

56:55Jermaine Dupri:Well, Outkast is out at this point. Outkast is out. Like, Outkast came out. Outkast was out. Like I said, Outkast came out right after Criss Cross. So they actually was like Brant, Outkast, and they in that little era. All of that came out around the same time, like 94. Criss Cross came out in 92. So Outkast, I think like they came out and that's when they won the award at the Source Awards in 94. I was there. Yeah. I was there. That was that night. I was there, brother. I was sitting right behind Outkast. Right in front of Outkast was the 69 boys. Nas was sitting right in front of me. You really remember.

57:35I'm strapped in the fucking sauce awards. I'm not keeping real with you. I got the animals with me. I'm up in there. You know what I'm saying? So I saw where Outkast won that award and they just got up. And I was up on Outkast, but I didn't think they were the kings. Right? So I knew they was nice. I knew they was repping that ATL. But when they won, who they won against? Wu-Tang? they won against some serious people up there. That was a new artist award though, right? Yeah, but it was around the same time. But when they won, I remember them getting up. They did like a little one-two step. They went, because they didn't think they were going to win in New York.

58:20So when they won, that was a major, that was like Biggie on stage going, Brooklyn, we did it. We made it. Right? It's like when OutKast won If you wasn't there, you in the ATL you seen when they won that on TV? I was there. Oh, you was there? Yeah. So what that must have been like in the whole entire South, or they like the South got something to say.

58:42Jermaine Dupri:I mean, for me, I didn't feel it like that because I had already said what I had to say. I had already been saying what the South got to say. Right? But this was more or less like, you know, like what niggas don't understand, I ushered in young niggas in rap. When I brought Criss Cross in the game It was no young people rapping Young people didn't even want to rap Right It was all old niggas So old niggas would never give young niggas no credit Criss Cross came out They first album They sold 8 million records Niggas don't ever be like Really like talking about this Like they want to give all Criss Cross credit to somebody else They sold 8 million records At 12 years old That's a lot of records man They sold 4 million jumps

59:31Hold on that wall You know his studio He got a wall with nothing but platinum Diamond shits I wouldn't call it a studio I'd call it a Museum A sound art exhibit You walk up in there You know you stepping in some shit Yo, I was scrolling through the Sprite living track list the other day and immediately started arguing with myself. Arguing with yourself? I'm serious. It was wild because records like California Love, Still Not a Player, back then those aren't just songs. Nah, those are moments, memories, snapshots of where hip hop was and where it's going. Exactly, and that's what Sprite gets They spent over 40 years Celebrating artists who really defined the culture And now they flipping it Letting the fans be part of the conversation Which is where it gets interesting Because the real debate is why Like, why did that song matter?

1:00:28Why did that line hit? Why did it change hip-hop forever? I can't promise you we got the answers But you're definitely gonna have a good time figuring it out Go check out Full Sprite Living Tracklist. And break down the stories behind your favorite bars. At livingtracklist.genius.com. This is the Sprite Living Tracklist. Obey your thirst.

1:00:55You've seen Unlikely Partners before. You haven't seen this. An FBI agent determined to deliver justice. A notorious mobster pulled into the investigation. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. and Mark Wahlberg star in By Any Means, based on a true story. Strider and Scarpa don't come from the same world, and neither man takes a back seat to the other. But as they chase leads and close in on the truth, their friction becomes the engine of the case. See how one of the strangest partnerships in American crime history came together. By Any Means is now playing in theaters. Get tickets now. This episode is supported by FX's The Drop, a snowfall saga.

1:01:37Wanda and Leon are back, but this time they're chasing a different kind of legacy. As West Coast rap begins to take over 90s Los Angeles, Wanda is betting on a new generation of artists. But in a city where every opportunity comes with a price, they'll have to decide what they're willing to risk to leave their mark. FX is the drop. Premieres September 8th on FX and Hulu. They don't realize smart people use smartphones, huh? seeing through BS they thought was gonna slide. Download TexNow because it cuts out clownery. You can literally activate it from your couch. Nationwide 5G with the same towers the other companies use.

1:02:16Pay what you want or not at all. You're in control. Show these ridiculous carriers we ain't paying for stupid because we're way too smart to pay dumb.

1:02:26Jermaine Dupri:Free app-based talk and text via the TexNow app requires Wi-Fi or data connection. Data plans sold separately. 5G where available.

1:02:34How many millions, man? Because Kiss don't let me ask you that. He said he got it.

1:02:40Jermaine Dupri:But it's a lot of millions. See, I mean, it was one time it was at like 400, 500 million. But that was like 10 years ago. Now that we got this streaming shit, I know it's way more than that. Confessions. Before I even get to Mariah. What was you and the staff? Shout out to B-Cock. Shout out to everybody. What kind of zone? What did y 'all set out to do? If y 'all just say, yo, we about to cook up some shit and go diamond and take over the whole, every piece of the world, y 'all accomplish that to the T. I don't think that's what y 'all did. Nah, nah. Well, I mean, you got, so we had 8701 first before Confessions, right?

1:03:20Jermaine Dupri:Shout out to that. That was definitely. Yeah. So, 8701, we wrote, you got it bad. Real. So, you got it bad. The success of you got it bad was just like, was the beginning of it. Like it was like, okay, listen, we make after, after you got a bad success, we went back in the studio for confessions. The mentality was that we had to finish off what we thought you got it bad did. Right. So, um, usher was talking about a song. Like he felt like his relationship was going through this situation. He wanted it to burn out. Like just let it burn out and we have to go through the pain. And he was telling me this and I couldn't really grasp what he was saying.

1:03:59Jermaine Dupri:Cause I went, I have gone through that type of situation, But I was trying to And I was trying to figure it out And he told me this And then he left And I sat there for a minute And I sat thinking about it I'm like let it burn Let it burn And I kept saying Like oh okay I'm feeling Nobody I start trying to figure out What the words were And then I got it And I call him back I said I got it I got it I got the hook So he came back to the studio and we did let it burn first. We did let it burn first. And then he starts saying he was going through this thing where he couldn't really work in Atlanta.

1:04:39Jermaine Dupri:Let's go to LA. And I'm like, nah, here we go. This is the bullshit. I thought we was... Everybody go through a phase. You think he gonna block his own blessings, right? I'm like, here we go. I'm thinking about me because I'm like, I want to be where I can grab all the records that I need. Any ideas, it's all in my studio, right? for me as far as being creative i don't want to go nowhere because i know i'm gonna forget something i'm gonna leave somewhere i can't find something yeah right so he like let's go to la and i'm like ah shit cool i'm going we go we go to brandon's way and we get out there and my man that was with me um he was talking to me about girls and side girls and relationships and this that and third and I just kept saying that's you just that's all bad like everything you talking about is all bad and Usher came to the studio and we started talking about some things but then he left and all I can't remember he's like yo I let's let's let's come back tomorrow and I was like man nah I can't let LA beat me I get like a writer's block I feel like I got a writer's block basically and you know it's really really bothering me because I already felt like it was gonna happen when I got to LA.

1:05:54Not to cut you off, that happens to me in LA. I need to, I can't just go there and go straight to the studio. I gotta, I gotta cry. I gotta be, I gotta, some shit gotta happen. I can't, I don't got the same fluidity in the studio in LA that I got anywhere else. And I don't know what it, I don't know what it is. It takes a while for me to get, I can't just go there and be kissed off the rip. I never really successfully wrote in L.A. Never. Me, myself. Never hit one out the park in L.A. L.A., yeah. Like, you know, I wrote shit there, but it wasn't. Blackout was recorded in L.A. on X album. This is it right here, man.

1:06:36That's probably. No, he was recording out there. I'm talking about for me. One of X album is the best I was able to.

1:06:46Jermaine Dupri:So, yeah, so I'm going through this thing and I'm struggling. So I'm like I told an engineer Give me a copy of the beat We made the beat Because we made the beat And I think I know I know the beat right I just don't I ain't got the words I can't figure it out And I'm thinking about Saying stuff That I don't think Usher's gonna wanna say Right So I'm thinking like He ain't gonna wanna do this Cause this ain't what His life is Right He ain't going through this So I'm like But that's what I wanna say But I'm thinking like This ain't gonna work So I take the beat and I get in the car. And I'm getting in the car.

1:07:22Jermaine Dupri:I'm riding down Melrose. And I'm thinking like... I swear I knew that. I'm thinking like, shit, I ain't got the words. I can't. So I start thinking about usual suspect, right? Kaiser Soge was in the jail. He ain't had the words for the story. He just started looking for the words on the board and tried to create the story. So I'm like, I'm going to try this. And that's what I started doing. I'm looking at signs On Melrose It's all kind of shit going Right So I get to the light I think on third And the Beverly Center's In front of me And that's when I say Every time I was in LA I was with my ex-girlfriend Every time she called me I told him Gravy I'm working No I was out doing my work I was hand in hand In the Beverly Center Like man Not giving a damn Who sees me And I'm thinking like Oh And I'm just grabbing Everything I see I would have never said The Beverly Center In that song If the Beverly Center Wasn't in front of me I'm trying to do The Kaiser Soze shit right so as i get through that verse i'm like i'm like i got it and so everything is everything everything i've been doing is all bad i got a chick on the side with a crib in the ride i've been telling you some in the lies ain't nothing good it's all bad i just want to confess and that's where confessions came from when me saying i just want to confess all of this shit that i've been doing is bad and we ain't have confessions that if i wouldn't have said that i want to confess to you everything that i've been doing is bad so it's like my time i'm saying this is be the first R &B record where a nigga actually tell a girl, fuck it.

1:08:52Jermaine Dupri:Yeah. You ain't got even ass. Yeah, I'm fucking her. This is what I'm doing. I got a crib on the side, chick on the side with a crib on the ride. I've been telling you so many lies. Ain't nothing good. It's all bad. I ain't always going. I just felt like... That song feels so good to this day. Oh, bad. So, that was the beginning. Right? That was the beginning. I had to drive all the way to Malibu because everybody had left the studio and I couldn't record. I had to remember. I had to memorize all of this. Yeah, I had to keep going, right? So the next day, it's like, we got to hurry up and get to the studio.

1:09:23Jermaine Dupri:So I put it down, put it down. You ain't write it down. No, I'm driving and writing in my head. I forget too much. So we get back. We do all bad. And then Mark pitched like, well, what happened after, you know, after this situation? What happened with the chick on the side? Then it hit me. It's like, oh, damn. She got pregnant. This is like my real life. Right? The chick on the side get pregnant. I know this story. Like, I really know this story. I ain't even got to write this. Right? So, that's when we like, okay, I'm like, shit, this is going to be part two. And part two became These Are My Confessions.

1:10:02Jermaine Dupri:And you, if we wouldn't have ever got to that, if we wouldn't have did. So, we did a part two of a song that never even came out. Wow. So, that was part two. That's it. Part one. That was the response. Yeah. and you didn't even do the first one well we did it but it didn't come out LA didn't put All Bad on the first he didn't put it on the album he put it on me on the repackage you know you name it some big names right so you saying LA Reed you saying Mark Pitts who decides what comes on the album LA Reed I mean you know at that time Ariston you know that was his he'd be like I want this I want that that's his job that's what he's doing and that was his space like LA you know putting the albums I just saw like a, like an old interview with R Kelly.

1:10:49And he said he would do like a hundred songs and listen to all of them and pick out the 12 on the album. Like, you know how hard that shit had to be to like,

1:11:01Jermaine Dupri:there's probably some gems left on the floor. Right. But that's what I'm saying. Like I never, I never even understood why LA didn't even put both versions. He didn't want, he ain't put all bad. And I'm like, you know, what's crazy is that people gonna listen to this and they're hearing the second story they don't even know where it came from but I couldn't figure I couldn't figure out how it worked that was genius yeah it was it was like crazy genius yeah so that was the beginning of Confessions I think big pun right if you think about it though JD that's how movies sometimes they make you watch the movie backwards yeah that's a fact yeah and it was there where he said he did the Kajisoso he had writer's block so he was looking at signs and was like driving around.

1:11:44That's it. But you can't, you ain't got it.

1:11:47Jermaine Dupri:You know what I mean? Like if you're under pressure, that's all I remember about that movie is that dude was in the, you know what I mean? In the jail. The dude asking him questions and he's under pressure. Made a whole story with it. Yeah, he's just looking at stuff and he's like, oh. That's crazy. And if you could put it together to make it sound good, that's what I started trying to do. That was it. That's crazy. So I got to ask you, I think big pun because his biggest crush in the world was Janet Jackson, right? you got Janet Jackson at her prime she was six packed up and all that there was a Janet that went crazy at one point that she just became the baddest I know that can I say she was in her prime you caught her at the time she went crazy right and so I don't know let me ask you a question Well, if she went crazy before that, it was enough to make you say, let me holler.

1:12:43Yeah. Right? The confidence to holler at Janet. Well, I don't know. Did you just hear what he said he did from 12? No, no, I understand. It's Janet Jackson. No. It's Joe. It's on my penny. Okay. Well, you got the confidence I ain't got. Now, let me ask you a question. You ever got checked by. Can I say something? Joe Fortify. See, I'll tell you, he's on his shit on this interview, right? Ah, because I can't let you get away with this shit. This ain't that, and that ain't this. It's cracking kiss. Michael Jackson never pulled you on the side and said, yo, you dating my sister. You know, did you?

1:13:23So he never, he don't get involved in his sister's love life.

1:13:27Jermaine Dupri:Nah, but Jackie, I think Jackie did. And then... Her Jackie, Jackie wanted to smoke a lady. Nah, they just let me know. Nah, I mean, somebody... But at the same time... You might fucking with your sister. You might, you most like, I used to sit in front of my sister with a baseball bat. She hated me my whole life. Guy come to visit her and I'm sitting right in Forest Project with a baseball bat looking at the dude like they had no time to kiss, hug, anything. Before you even met him, huh? I don't give a fuck. At that time, I was one of them crazy Puerto Ricans. So you was like, yo, I'm dating this chick.

1:14:01This is a crazy Puerto Rican nigga with a baseball bat staring at me. No, no. At the house, you know, yo, miss, can I come visit your daughter? I'm sitting there with the baseball. My sister never got over that from me. You know what I'm saying? Because it was whacked. It was whacked.

1:14:19Jermaine Dupri:So he never stepped to you like that. No, but in the house, you have to pick a side, though, between Michael and Janet. That's how it was? Yeah, you had to pick a side. Like, if you was on the Michael side or you was on the Janet side. So there was family competition. Yeah, of course, 100%. 100 % Just imagine if it was Six Jermaine Dupree's Shit Fuck Atlanta up

1:14:47Jermaine Dupri:So that shit was like Control So like Jackie Me and Jackie We hit it off Jackie told me He was like you know We the first niggas in LA With Ferraris And I'm like What? You have to think about that Oh that's what he said Yeah just think about it Oh that's a fact though Nah but I'm just saying You can't He was the first niggas in LA to have a half with Ferrari? Black. To the Jacksons, bro. Yeah. They was the first black. This fucking ain't the first alien in the living room, bro. These guys, you leave it to us. Anything they did, we believe. Yeah, for sure. So, I mean, you have to, you know, he's just breaking it down for me.

1:15:21Jermaine Dupri:Like, you know what I mean? Oh, you didn't know that? That's why I'm telling you, it took a lot of cojones to step to Janet Jackson. When the world heard Jermaine Dupri was dating Janet Jackson. He was like this. you know how many motherfuckers was like, oh, I wish I had the heart to talk to her. You know, Raul, rest in peace, always told me J-Lo gave him a look one time. We were shooting a video with J-Lo. He would tell me all the time, I'd be like, shut the fuck up. She ain't look at you, nigga. I'm fucking lying. But by the way, that's all it's saying. She looked at me. I'm telling you, I respect it because of you.

1:15:59I said, J-Lo did not look at you, Raul. He went to his grave with that story. He really believed that shit.

1:16:09Jermaine Dupri:It's probably true. That's why I say the money and things. She look, she go. It's bye-bye. She look, she go. For sure. You ain't got to say no more. Yeah. I mean, damn. I live by that today. She look, she go. That's it. That's what it is. She look, she go. It's a wrap. Now, after you, now, confession. because I got to be on the journalist side because he keeping it on Cedric Act you've been asking it I want to stay on Cedric Act you've been asking all the questions it's about time alright I'm with you Mariah the MC you just seem to hit everything out of the park with everything you create for her and with us I mean what the Mariah shit was like the first record I did for Mariah was Always Be My Baby, right?

1:17:06Jermaine Dupri:And I fucking love that song. You will always be my baby. That shit's timeless. That shit's forever. So that's the first song I did for her. And she came to me like she told Tommy like I want to work with him because she like just kicking it. She liked Escape. She wanted a song that felt like that. And that's what that was my attempt to give her like a just kick and it was always be my baby. Right. And then that's where we formed our relationship and we just start working, working, working. And then when LA signed her to Def Jam, he started working on Emancipation of Mimi and I wasn't on it. And he called me and he was like, oh, he told her his favorite song, his favorite Mariah Carey record was always be my baby.

1:17:53Jermaine Dupri:And she was like, well, JD did that song. And he was like, well, you need to go to Atlanta and see JD. And He sent her to Atlanta And the first record we did was It's Like That And no, the first record we did was Can I Get Your Number And I'm singing on the record Because I wanted her to do the part But when she heard it, she's like I'm not doing that You stay on the record And I'm like, I'm not singing on the record She's like, stay on the record So I ended up staying on this song Can I Get Your Number And then me and B Cox, we did Shake It Off So we did, Can I Get Your Number and Shake It Off In the same little, like, two days So they went back, she came back to New York She played these two songs for LA And he was like, go back He's like, hold up, this feels like where we need to go You need to go back Go back to Atlanta one more time So then they called me, he's like, she coming back And he's like, JD, you still ain't make Always Be My Baby And I'm like, I can't do that again I don't know, I don't think I can do that again So he came And I'm knowing that he wants his record that feel like always be my baby.

1:18:58Jermaine Dupri:So immediately I'm like, we got to make a ballot. That's what he looking for. He looking for a ballot. And we made We Belong Together. And I'm on a remix. We belong together. Thank you. I can't sleep at night. And then we did It's Like That Too, that same little session, but We Belong Together is the record. You know what's crazy is my favorite singer of all time is Luther Van Joss. Rest in peace. and this morning I woke up and I played the performance of Luther in London with Mariah now I've seen videos of Luther singing with Whitney Houston where he had to encourage her like yo Whitney come on like he was giving a pep talk for Luther different but a young Mariah Carey went over there and went toe to toe like a Muhammad Ali fight in that performance and it was just like yo she wasn't scared of Luther she was a young girl that's Mariah Carey pow pow pow that's Mariah Carey man she different you know what's crazy before the world was BMFs it was so so deaths yeah for sure and so I remember going to Atlanta and it be like yo it's so so death Atlanta right and then it turned into BMF.

1:20:18Well, they got a sign across from me, across on the other side.

1:20:21Jermaine Dupri:They got the sign across the other side. Yeah. I ain't know this. I'm just saying. No, no. The signs was like, a lot of people think. That was an encouragement for them. Yeah, a lot of people think that we switched signs. My sign stayed right there. They was like, that was like unauthorized, to be honest with you. Well, we knew what was going to, he could kind of call it. The world's old chapo, like motherfucking got to be kidding me, right? I used to think they was police or something at first. They'd be like, yo, get with them. I'd be like, what? Yeah, they paying crazy money for features and this.

1:20:54I'd be like, I see them in the clubs and all. I'd say, yo, this is just no way these guys are doing it. Like, they thought they were legally selling drugs or something, right? And so, no, no, I'm telling you, they come to Miami, 20 white cars. Lamborghini, white Ferrari, white Cullinan White this, white truck, white this Tuesday, Sky Blues Well, Phantoms Sky Blues, Ferraris They was just doing They had a birthday party They had tigers in the club Full-fledged They was doing shit First time I ever seen that 175 Hummers at Magic State Let me say this

1:21:36Jermaine Dupri:Atlanta allows you to do that. Like, Atlanta's the only city in America where you can go to and you're going to see black people with money that don't sell dope. I'm talking about money. No, I'm with that. I agree. So ultimately what Meech was doing blended in so well that it didn't feel like what you're talking about to us. Me coming from the Bronx? Yeah, that's what I'm saying. I knew there was some indictments coming soon or later that way. See, that's what I'm saying. it didn't feel like that to us. I fucking knew it like the back of my hand. It didn't feel like that to us because I'm saying if you pull up the Lenox Square right now.

1:22:12These mad rich black people your whole Lenox Square look like me look just like what you talking about. That's probably the only bag I never took. Like they was like yo, we just got the bag. He want features and I was like I took that. You took it. It was a beautiful city. Oh no, I was terrified. Yo, what's up with this Magic City album

1:22:32Jermaine Dupri:and Doc? Alright, so the Magic City album initially we did a Magic City documentary and I didn't have I got a new deal with Hyde a social deaf Hyde but I didn't have my deal right and I was just doing a documentary as an executive producer and then I signed my deal in between us putting this doc out and I was just like it's crazy that we ain't doing something with the music right so I had a conversation with Scooter and I'm like I think my first project should be a soundtrack from this Magic City documentary and he was like yeah let's do that and we called stars and we was like yo we're gonna do a documentary we can do a soundtrack and it's like we don't really do soundtracks like that and i'm like what and i'm like this is what this is what the club is about the club thrives off the music the music moves the club so you gotta make it go and they weren't really like sold on doing the music right but i'm sold on it at this point i'm going i'm going i'm starting to call artists i'm trying to do what i gotta do So then I was just like, you know what?

1:23:32Jermaine Dupri:I thought about when I was working on American Gangsta, the songs that in American Gangsta ain't in the movie, right? So American Gangsta album, it says Jay-Z, American Gangsta. I mean, inspired by American Gangsta, the movie. But the songs that's in there is not in the movie. So then I was like, shit, we could do this. We could just make a Jermaine Dupri album inspired by the Magic City documentary. So that's basically what, that's where we at right now. I got to ask you a question though. Jada hates this band. I'm giving it to you. Top five dancers of all time in Magic City. White chocolate at the top.

1:24:08White chocolate. I got to go. Write these down because I got to Google these people.

1:24:13Jermaine Dupri:She's in the documentary. All these people, they're all in the documentary. Yeah, they're all in the documentary. All right, let me get four more. I don't know. Top five. Too many. See, he always. Man, it was a girl named Sugar. It was a girl named Sugar in there. Yeah, Sugar. Oh, he's talking about it as a girl. That was top five dead or alive, boy. Sugar, yeah, Sugar, man. I don't know. Yeah, she don't dance no more. None of them shouldn't dance no more. No, Magic's had its time. But White Chocolate, I feel like is all time. She's number one. She the one of all time. So they done threw the most money at White Chocolate ever.

1:24:57Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because you know, Cribs was affordable. Them girls was probably buying acres of shit. No, I'm telling you the truth. I know you are.

1:25:06Jermaine Dupri:They was out there. This shit was... I mean, I spent$10 ,000 every Monday for 20 years straight. Back, back, back. Nigga. Easy. Take the silence off now. Bow, bow, bow. I made this song Make It Rain. Yeah. I didn't go to the strip club for about three years till it got played out. Till it got old. No, they was killing me. Like, every time I walk in, they be like, da-da, and I'll play the Superman song. The light will come on me. Mr. Rain is here. I'm like, what? And it was never enough. Because you may make it rain. They want you to keep going and shit. I was like, yo, guess what? It's not good for me to go in the strip club.

1:25:50Because they putting major peer pressure on me.

1:25:54Jermaine Dupri:But see, this is where you got to walk from the VIP section. And you got to go holler at the DJ. You got to get away. You know what I mean? You can't stay in that light. Yeah, it's a place. You can get stuck somewhere. You get stuck in that light. Everybody watching you. Magic City has that second floor. Huh? Nah, Magic City ain't got no second floor. No, it had a second floor. Oh, now they got a little step up. That's where I met Jeezy for the first time. A little step up. Yeah, that was as far. That's as low as you could go up in that motherfucker. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, a little step up.

1:26:24What made you want to do the rap game? What inspired? What said, oh, I'm going to get some kids with some time? Oh, the rap game.

1:26:33Jermaine Dupri:Well, it wasn't really my idea. It was an idea that I think like Flavor Unit, they had the idea before. Shut up. But I just was the person that had produced kids before, and they didn't know nobody else that they thought could pull off that part. So the idea they had They already had the idea But when they came to me That's when I started Flushing it out Telling them like This is what we're gonna do And then my reach About getting the artists And all of this I just took over the show From that point And once I You know After we got through The first season I realized what we was doing And I was like Oh I got this I'm gonna run this up Cause I seen that You know I seen how many people Was paying attention to it And I also saw like Once again It was like An opportunity for The younger generation to step forward and be a part of hip-hop in a way that they weren't ever, you know, when I was a kid, it wasn't happening.

1:27:25Jermaine Dupri:Or even somebody else. Even like Bow Wow. Bow Wow coming in the game at the time when Bow Wow came in, it still wasn't no kid rappers. You know what I mean? When he came in, it still wasn't nobody else out that was at 12 years old doing what he was doing. So it was like... Bow Wow to me was like LL Cool J of the kids. 100%. Facts. 100%. Bow. And the third album, when I wrote Like You, that's what I was trying to get to. That was his when I'm alone in the room. Yeah. I was trying to get to that. He was dating Sierra, so I was just like, we got to make all these songs for the girls. All these songs, Out of My System, Like You, all of these records.

1:28:07Jermaine Dupri:Him and Chris Brown, Shorty Like Mine. I just start making all of these songs about the girls. That was crazy. like certified like nutso yeah you know i'm telling you i'm on tour with him and they sat me everywhere we went they had like me in 101 102 i don't know why they gave me bow wow he randomly just knock on my door and i'll be like yo bow wow what's up and he start reading scripture he's certified like you can't i met some crazy he's like keith murray crazy No, I ain't that crazy I'm telling you, I'm telling you, Badwow He ain't Keith Murray crazy He ain't Keith Murray crazy I'm telling you, Badwow, some of the shit he say private He's out of control It's supposed to be private No, no, it is private, I ain't say what he said I'm just telling you You don't know how many times I said it right Badwow and was like, yo, he's 730 Like, I turned around, like, yo, this guy Like, it's your ignorance is bliss with Bow Wow.

1:29:13Yo, I was scrolling through the Sprite living track list the other day and immediately started arguing with myself. Arguing with yourself? I'm serious. It was wild because records like California Love, Still Not a Player, back then, those aren't just songs. Nah, those are moments, memories, snapshots of where hip-hop was and where it's going. Exactly, and that's what Sprite gets They spent over 40 years Celebrating artists who really defined the culture And now they flipping it Letting the fans be part of the conversation Which is where it gets interesting Because the real debate is why Like, why did that song matter?

1:29:53Why did that line hit? Why did it change hip-hop forever? I can't promise you we got the answers But you're definitely gonna have a good time figuring it out Go check out Full Sprite Living Tracklist. And break down the stories behind your favorite bars. At livingtracklist.genius.com. This is the Sprite Living Tracklist. Obey your thirst.

1:30:20You've seen unlikely partners before. You haven't seen this. An FBI agent determined to deliver justice. A notorious mobster pulled into the investigation. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. and Mark Wahlberg star in By Any Means, based on a true story. Strider and Scarpa don't come from the same world, and neither man takes a back seat to the other. But as they chase leads and close in on the truth, their friction becomes the engine of the case. See how one of the strangest partnerships in American crime history came together. By Any Means is now playing in theaters. Get tickets now. This episode is supported by FX's The Drop, a snowfall saga.

1:31:03Wanda and Leon are back, but this time they're chasing a different kind of legacy. As West Coast rap begins to take over 90s Los Angeles, Wanda is betting on a new generation of artists. But in a city where every opportunity comes with a price, they'll have to decide what they're willing to risk to leave their mark. FX is the drop. Premieres September 8th on FX and Hulu. They don't realize smart people use smartphones, huh? Seein' through BS they thought was gon' slide. Download TexNow cause it cuts out clownery. You can literally activate it from your couch. Nationwide 5G with the same towers the other companies use.

1:31:41Pay what you want or not at all. You're in control. Show these ridiculous carriers we ain't payin' for stupid. Because we're way too smart to pay dumb.

1:31:51Jermaine Dupri:Free app-based talk and text via the TexNow app requires Wi-Fi or data connection. Data plan sold separately. 5G where available.

1:32:00Jermaine Dupri:What's interesting about Bow Wow Is Bow Wow's a real rapper Yes he is Like literally He was on Arsenio when he was 6 years old He has the longest rap career In rap Than anybody He's been rapping longer than anybody And he's still on the radio And still got songs playing in the club He's been rapping longer than anybody else That's in rap right now I signed him when he was 11 Superstar I always thought he was Snoop Dogg's son or some shit he basically was yeah cause we we was like Lil Bad Wow you just don't know you know you know that shit y 'all Kiss you gotta you gotta relax so Kiss I got a question for you what's up I got a question for you cause I you know I've been I'm making this Magic City album and I have to ask people prior to me making the records if they beefing with somebody or whatever because I and I only do this always do that and I only do this because I didn't do this with you.

1:33:01Jermaine Dupri:Right? No, but you did a good thing. I mean, you kind of like fixed it before we fixed it with that song. So I did Hating Your Blood, right? I did the song Hating Your Blood and I put Kiss and Freeway on the same record. Without speaking to us. In the middle of the heat without speaking to them. Right? And I wanted the record to be just me and Kiss. I didn't want Freeway to rap. I just wanted Freeway to do the hook. That's what I heard in my head. So I had got Kiss verse. I had Freeway come to the studio. He's like, I'm going to get my verse on here. And I was like, nah, I just want you to do the hook.

1:33:41Jermaine Dupri:I wasn't really paying no attention to me telling him nah. And his man and his, you know, his arch enemy got a verse going. That beef was nuclear, Jada. You and Beanie and Freeway And all them going back and forth That might have been one of the greatest Lyrical beefs of all time I'm being honest I know somebody had to say something about this That shit was serious No, no, no Somebody in the crew had to say something Somebody in the crew said something about this JD, that nigga's crazy The song was knocking So it didn't really bother me And Our beef it wasn't we we had love we started with love so it wasn't it wasn't one of them things like it wasn't hate it wasn't one of them we gonna die you know what I'm saying it wasn't like my shit was that my trust was in you with the song so I know you you got the fucking billion dollar ears so if you hear me and him or whatever whatever you say go your shit is the extendo clip I really played like that.

1:34:54I ain't really.

1:34:54Jermaine Dupri:Nah, I got the kiss rule. I have to ask now that I'm making these records. Nah, you got to do it. But you know, I think I'm going to add a little segment. It's called Delusional Records. Delusional Records. Yeah, because yo, lately. I like that. I actually like that. Yeah. No, no. This shit been out of control. You definitely need to do that. By the way. Oh, I definitely need Delusional Records. You definitely need to do that. You definitely need to do that. What? I was trying to think of, like I said, I've been doing this record, this Magic City album. And I'm only using artists from Atlanta.

1:35:22Jermaine Dupri:I'm only doing records with artists that's from Atlanta. It's the whole soundtrack. So the first single is with T.I. 2 Chainz and Dro. I never had records with any of them. I never had records with them. That's crazy. As the energy keeps going with this, I keep seeing people say, JD bringing the city back. This is what the city needs. Blah, blah, blah. And what ultimately hurt Atlanta music scene. People talk about why the music scene ain't like it used to be. What ultimately hurt Atlanta's music scene Is delusional records Right Break that down for me And the independent mindset Huh Define what you mean So from my side it's the independent mindset Because all the artists that All the people in Atlanta love They're not independent And they're not paying no attention to it So they delusional to believe that They gonna be like these people It ain't gonna never happen like that.

1:36:21Jermaine Dupri:It's not gonna happen. It's the biggest delusion going. And everybody keep trying to pump. I swear I was talking to myself before I came over to this interview and I was saying if you look at Beyonce, my dad signed Destiny's Child of Columbia. He was the president of this school. Bow! Bow! Boom! Boom! So my dad used to work in Columbia Records. This was one of the things that he, you know, this was one of his puts right there. Shout out to OG. Yeah, shout out to my dad. But I say this to say that Beyonce has been signed to Columbia Records for 25 years, right? Or longer. The Arrow. Right? But Steve Stout got a record company that's independent.

1:37:02Jermaine Dupri:United Masters. And Stout and Hov is partners, right? You would think that if it's so green on the other side, why wouldn't Beyonce get out her deal and go sign with Stout? Or anybody else for that matter, right? And the delusion is that It's a delusion in there And whatever your delusion is It's a delusion in there And that's what I'm saying All these artists Lil Wayne Drake Kendrick I don't care who you talking about If they on that list They signed to a major And you can talk about They got a better deal And that's the part I be trying to make people understand Like We got out of this space of like Being We got into this entrepreneurial space and we got out of making deal space.

1:37:50Jermaine Dupri:Like, you can make a deal. You ain't got to own it. You can go in there and make a deal. You can tell niggas exactly what you want. If they fuck with you, they going to take it. If they don't, you just keep walking. Right? Like, when I just heard you talking about you getting paid to talk, you can't believe that, right? It's unbelievable. That's what I'm saying. But you got what you wanted. Yes, that's a fact. Exactly. But we got what we wanted. That's what I'm saying. Y 'all got what y 'all wanted. you don't get what you ask for. You get what you negotiate. Yeah, you got to negotiate. And that's what has hurt Atlanta.

1:38:22Jermaine Dupri:Atlanta's spirit was that if Dallas Austin went and got a deal, then Kevin Wells would go get a deal. Then Divine Stevens would get a deal. And then Polo the Dunn would get a deal. And it was like, niggas was going out here finding big, big, big, big bags. And then it got to a point where niggas was like, oh, fuck them. We're going to do this shit by ourselves. Yeah, all right. I like to see it. I'm trying to lose your records. Diamond D who put me on. He was one of the first to move down to Atlanta from New York. Diamond D. Keith Sweat went down there. Bartch? Bartch went down there. Who? My man Bartch.

1:39:00Yeah. The man went down there. A lot of guys moved down there. But the part of my delusion is, right, so Aaron Hall's brother.

1:39:08Jermaine Dupri:Oh. You know what? You ain't even got to say it. You ain't even got to say it. I think I'm going to get low on this. Yo, kid. Yo, I'm just saying when the brother, Damien Hoth. What did he do? He know what the fuck I'm talking about. He said God was the greatest group of all time. Now, God... Go ahead. What's the greatest group of all time? Hello. Hello. Can you stand the rain? No, but that's not your opinion. Now, you got to be delusional to think that you're going up against. You don't think somebody in a group that's here. You want to know what's crazy? Two days ago, we in my pool, right? Friends, family.

1:40:00I brought this up, and everyone said new edition. That wasn't even a brainiac thing. Because, you know, my favorite group of all time is Boyz II Men. But still, everybody said new edition.

1:40:14Jermaine Dupri:Now let me say this on the show right now New Edition is the greatest group In music history Period They the greatest group to ever come out White, black, I don't care what it is They the greatest group to ever come out Reason being Everybody went solo and went platinum Everybody This ain't happening with the Jacksons This ain't happening with the Four Tops This ain't happening with the Temptations This ain't happening with the Backstreet Boys This ain't happening with N.S.A.T. New Edition They got BBD They went platinum Ralph Tresvant went platinum Bobby Brown sold damn near 10 million records Johnny Gill Nobody in they crew Didn't eat And they all went solo And they all came back Because I got real cool with him We still cool But we got cool for a time And I love that You know I love seeing my OG's doing great You know I'm waiting for him at the Waldorf in LA And the man pull up in the Bentley come out with the Bottega bag.

1:41:16Who are you talking about? Johnny Gill? Johnny Gill. That's how I like to see my OGs. I don't like to see my OGs. You know, in hip hop, a lot of the OGs fucked up in the pockets. But I love to see Johnny Gill pull up with that shit on, doing fun. What happened, Kiss? I was stretching. I was just stretching. You stretching? I hurt my elbow. I hurt my elbow. I was just stretching.

1:41:41Jermaine Dupri:Nah, but for real, They the greatest They the greatest group We gotta We should treat New Edition better man New Edition is The greatest Musical group To ever come out I'm talking about All of these groups I'm talking about The Hoos I'm talking about The Rolling Stones I'm talking about All of these artists If you go I'm talking about All of these bands You can say The Rolling Stones You can say all of them None of them niggas Have all they artists They whole group Everybody went Whoever they died Was dying You know when white people Get something They hold on to it. Whoever they got. You know what, JD?

1:42:14Whoever they got that. When white people get something, they hold on to it. Well, we need to do the same thing. No additional debt. They still outside of Elvis' house right now. You said what? They still in Elvis' house right now, taking tours right now. I'll tell you. Them white people, they won't let that shit go. Yeah. Well, we need to do the same with No additional debt.

1:42:33Jermaine Dupri:No, we need to do that with No additional debt. I'm telling you, because you talking about boys and men. Boys and men came from Bivens. Yes, they did. when your favorite group was your favorite group how could you take them and the guy that made them you didn't think about that no no I'm just being honest with you I'm a new addition worshiper I'm just saying you know vocally man that boy's the man man that's hard that's a hard one

1:43:14They do. But just with new edition, did. No, no. New edition put them on. So there's no question. I'm agreeing. I'm just saying Damien Hall.

1:43:27Shout out to Damien. Listen, we had Jim Jones. What? No, we had Jim Jones. That shit started out. I'll just let him keep talking. No. You see what he said, Kiss? They tried. They tried. He's on my side. You let him keep talking. What do you want me to do? Stop him? I tried to stop him. The man kept talking. We tried. I tried. Like Josh on with Little Red. Listen. I tried. Let me tell you something. I realized that man was determined to do that. And he waited for any. If we would have said Serena Williams or Venus, he would have said, yo, I'm better than us. He just was waiting for that in them eyes.

1:44:08You brought up the little guy that did the comparison. And what I would have said was, hey, it's an honor to be compared with the rap god. Any normal person. What I would have said is nothing about with that little truth. We have a whole new segment called Delusion Records out here. You invented it with that episode. This shit out of control out here. Like, you, a guy like you, you've been there since the Fresh Fist. You got Instagram. you see some of this shit sometimes and you just like

1:44:42Jermaine Dupri:yo this shit I mean it happened to me everyday because it's like a lot of the things that I lived through as a child or whatever it ain't around no more so it's hard for people to even grasp what I'm talking about right it's like it's a poster that's why shows like this is very important like it's a poster in my studio that's a crisscross poster and it says you know on tour Michael Jackson and people come in there and they like, I know that happened. Yeah. Crisscross went on tour with Michael Jackson. Like, I wrote it up there. Like, I did. Like, this actually happened. You want to know what's crazy is?

1:45:18I think if they did a movie of anybody who had interactions of any kind with Michael Jackson, I would tune in every day. Like, you know what I'm saying? I'm so intrigued by MJ. That's why I asked you if he said it. You got any ill stories with MJ?

1:45:34Jermaine Dupri:He was Michael Jackson at all times, though. At all times. Michael Jackson was Michael Jackson at all times. Even behind the scenes. How did you get Prince Cross on tour with him? How the fuck did he... He wanted him on tour with him. He called for it. I mean, you know, he's all on Sony. But, you know, Jump was huge, right? It was just a big record. And Mike, he liked rap, but people didn't know that that's what he was into. He was like that song. Them kids, they got it. They ain't took them on tour. And we was having this argument about it because I don't think it's nobody else that rap that's ever open for Michael Jackson besides Chris Cross.

1:46:15No. No, I remember Heavy D with Chandler Jackson. I remember Biggie at the joint with Mike. But nobody did that. You know, I got a crazy story. I don't know if it's mine to tell. But my man, 5001 guy, 5001. He got that budget for that, right? 70 ,000, some kind of crazy budget and it never came out or some shit. Guy 5001, Rodney Jerkins calls him. Shout out to Rodney Jerkins, all the fame, legend, all that brandy, all that.

1:46:50So he tells him, yo, come to the studio. I got an important customer for you. I can't tell you who. So guy goes to Sony Studio or something. He got his little notebook with him. He about to take the measurements. could have been anybody he said he went to the bathroom and he told poppy you know poppy cut up all the shit right so he told poppy poppy we're gonna meet somebody famous it's like chef if I if I would have told you but I don't know he was like we're gonna meet somebody famous calm down poppy don't get too excited he didn't know who so he said he went to use the bathroom and he was about to piss and the biggest guys opened the bathroom door and was like they looked and all the shit they was like alright you can come in the safe and Michael Jackson walked in.

1:47:36Guy 5001 pissed on himself.

1:47:41He said he pissed on himself. And he had the fucking pad in his hand, like, trying to cover. He was like, Papi, let's go. Papi, let's go. He never got to measure MJ and then he pissed on himself. And fucking ran out of there. Papi, Papi, let's go. Papi was like, yo, what happened? I thought we... He was like, we gotta go. I don't know what the fuck I'd have did if I met Michael Jackson.

1:48:05Jermaine Dupri:I'm not going to lie to you. I don't know what I'm doing. All I can tell you is Michael Jackson, the day he died, I had to pull the truck over. I was in the Bronx and I start crying for like an hour. Do you know, do you remember, if you remember vaguely, it did mad shit. When Mike died, it stormed, rained, hail. We was on my block under the thing. It did. It's like, he was talking to the heavens. It did all type of shit. I'm going to tell you a cap story right now. And nobody's going to believe me if you wasn't tuned in. The Taliban took a day off for MJ. I'm telling you. It was on CNN. In Pakistan, yo, I'm trying to tell y 'all.

1:48:51Yo, yo. Oh, my God. It took a day. Let me hear this. I got to hear you out, my brother. I'm just trying to tell you because I'm not sure of everybody. I'm a CNN head. Whether they lied and it was propaganda or whatever it was, when MJ died, they said that the Taliban took a day off and they had them dancing around a boombox in the mountains. The Taliban was in there trying to do the Michael Jackson. Hey, yo. Yo. Yo, what do you say? MJ was the biggest shit in the world ever created. Oh, Jesus Christ. He made the Taliban take a day off. It's crazy. CNN said the Taliban took a day off and they had them dancing around the box.

1:49:42I'm telling you.

1:49:44Jermaine Dupri:I will say this, though. When I talk about being on tour, Michael, it's hard for me to even have a conversation with people because they don't actually even want to believe what I saw. Like Chris Brown He got the thing where he's on the thing He's flying over the ground He's flying through the air Michael had a jet pack that he used to put on At the end of Billie Jean And he flew out the stadium And left No cap You saw it You saw it I don't believe me He was dead I'm not gonna lie seen it. They got shit to me. My Dominican man, my brother Omega Fuerte. The man Omega was the biggest like, reggae.

1:50:33So you've seen it before, right? I'm telling you he showed me it. He came in the studio in Miami. Omega was big, but he dissed the Dominican government. They don't let him come over here no more. He came in the US. He thought he was the first guy to say, I'm never going back. So he used to come in my studio all the time. Lamborghinis, Ferrari. Omega's the first big like I don't want to say but he was like a bad bunny At that time right Selling out Madison Square Garden So he came one day and showed me That shit on YouTube or something And he said he was going to do it He said I'm doing the stadium I'm going to fly out the stadium He said you see Michael Jackson He's flying out the stadium He showed me the shit

1:51:15Jermaine Dupri:Where did he land at He went back to the backstage And the car was back that way and he was gone Who fuck told him how to do that I actually don't believe it was him. You know what I mean? I'm like, this is a little dangerous. That's what I'm saying. Every show. I ain't got Mike going over the thing. I'm not going to lie to you. God bless. Chris Brown's trying to die on that thing. He's not just flying in the air. He's like, you ever see like little kids diving in a pool, trying to crack their head? Like, dude, you be like, oh! Like every time. This guy's flying in the air doing flip, like, 100 miles per hour.

1:51:53our Chris Brown. Like, he believe in them wires or whatever he doing on that shit. Because he, test the speed. I dare you test the speed of him and anybody else who did that shit. Chris Brown is doing it on stage. Like, I swear to God, I look at it and I be like, But he has to go that fast to get across this stadium. It's too big. Man, I ain't doing none of that shit. Before we get out of here, we can't let you go without talking about health and wellness. You turned vegan some years ago You got products, ice cream, drinks Tell us about that

1:52:27Jermaine Dupri:Yeah, so I mean I've been vegan almost Almost 25 years or 23 years now No chicken No chicken, no beef No beef No pescateer No No none of that, plants This guy want to live a long time And I actually went vegan I was at Quincy Jones' house and Ray Charles was like, and Ray Charles was like, get that, kaboom! So he was talking to Ray Charles and Ray Charles, this was Ray Charles on his deathbed. Ray Charles? Yeah, Ray Charles on his deathbed and Quincy was paying all his bills and the doctor bills and Ray Charles called him from the hospital. Ray was like, Quincy, I'm done. I'm just gone and die.

1:53:12Jermaine Dupri:And Q was like, no you're not. I'm paying for the best doctors and all of this to come over here and they was having this Crazy ass conversation on the phone And Rachel was like nah We done fucked all the girls We done ate all the steaks We done did everything we could possibly do He was really like I'm ready I'm tired I ain't gonna keep going through this And Q was like Man CJD That's why you gotta take care of your health Don't be doing no drugs When he told me that It just was like I gotta kick in Cause you know what I mean I felt really I felt bad Cause it was Ray Charles Basically saying he was done Q was trying to keep him alive Um And he was doing all he could do But Ray Charles You know He was on heroin He just Whatever he was feeling He was ready to go But I But it made me say Shit I ain't ready to You know I ain't ready to go And I sit in the studio So many hours And we eat Waffle House And this thing And all this shit That shit ain't good for you It ain't It ain't good for you If you sitting around And you ain't doing no exercise I'm gonna be honest with you man.

1:54:17If I can't eat a steak and no shit like that, check me out. What is it?

1:54:25Rocko. Check me out. I don't want any on this shit. Motherfucker Styles P, his brother, took me to some shit in Miami. He was like, this is gonna spot you. I ran out of there and ate peanut butter crunch so fast in the house. He said, look at you. You're walking in like you're mad. Yo, I must have walked in with the ice cream. I was like, that was my brother. He was like, look at this. Cucumber Carpaccio. I was like, yo, I'm getting the fuck out of here to that peanut butter crunch. I didn't say cucumber so fucking fast. Oh my God. I've been able to do a lot of things. I really don't, you know, I don't smoke.

1:55:08I don't really I can't do eat. You can't eat. You gotta eat. Vegan? Man, I gotta I gotta I gotta taste that shit you know what I'm saying yeah with that being said oh my god this ain't that and that ain't this yeah it's cracking kiss we wanna thank our guest Jermaine Dupri for coming on the Joe and Jerry show yeah yeah yeah royalty yes sir royalty

1:55:38the volume

1:55:42Everyone loves the good goat debate. In sports, it's players and teams. In hip-hop, it's songs and verses. Nobody ever agrees that's what makes the conversation so much fun. Now Sprite is bringing the debate back to life with the Sprite living track list. Sprite turned legendary hip-hop into limited edition collectible cans. The challenge is finding all 26 cans. Pick up a 12-pack and you never know which iconic lyric you'll get next. It's like building the ultimate roster, one legendary bar at a time. Your mission is to build your own physical playlist. Go out and hunt down all 26 limited edition cans of Sprite and Sprite Zero Sugar.

1:56:23This is the Sprite Living Tracklist. Obey your thirst.

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1:57:56Phew, that was a lot. I need to lie down. Is the room ready? Visit wellsfargo.com slash autographjourney. Terms apply.