Jermaine Dupri

Before Jermaine Dupri pioneered Atlanta’s prominence in hip hop, he danced for the rap group Whodini on the Fresh Fest tour in the mid ’80s. But after meeting two kids in a mall in 1991, dubbing them Kriss Kross and producing the duo’s 1992 multiplatinum LP, Totally Krossed Out, Dupri became part of rap’s new school of producer moguls. He’d launch his So So Def label with the R&B girl group Xscape, whose platinum debut LP Hummin’ Comin’ at ‘Cha solidified Dupri as a powerhouse music maker. Platinum and gold LP’s from his female MC discovery Da Brat soon followed. And since then, Dupri has kept his mojo on the world of music producing mega hits for everyone from Destiny’s Child to Mariah Carey.