While we know him for being one of the top-notch producers of Hip-Hop and R & B, he’s actually quite the prolific songwriter. He’s penned many hits from some of your favorite music stars for 3 decades. Not to mention, he’s broken big acts to multi-platinum success on his So So Def label. It’s no wonder why he got inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2018. Here are 5 top songs written by Jermaine Dupri.
Kris Kross – “Jump”
The group was actually on Ruffhouse/Columbia Records. However, Jermaine Dupri was the one that discovered them when he saw Chris “Mac Daddy” Kelly and Chris “Daddy Mac” Smith walking around Greenbriar Mall in Atlanta. He thought they already rapped, but as they said “they were just kicking it” and talking to the girls. They brought in a style with their backward clothing motif. Jermaine Dupri produced their whole first album, “Totally Krossed Out” from top to bottom. Their breakout hit shot up to No.1. It was a phenomenon for young kids. Jermaine Dupri wrote and produced the record. Shoutout to the Jackson 5 for the sample on the record.
Xscape – “Just Kickin’ It”
This was Jermaine Dupri’s first work with a lady group. They were the “ghetto En Vogue”. They ended up going multi-platinum with a few good albums. Their first single, “Just Kickin’ It” shot to No.1 on the R&B charts and No. 2 on the Billboard 100. Jermaine Dupri showed his diversity by writing a “girl record.” Recently, Xscape did a celebratory performance on a platform called “Verzuz”, where they shared the stage with another legendary R & B group called SWV.
Nelly – “Grillz”
This was an album that showed that Nelly had true staying power in the business with his album “Sweatsuit”. Nelly was just coming from major success off his diamond album “Country Grammar” and his top-selling sophomore album “Nellyville”. The track “Grillz” shot up to No. 1 in ten weeks. Jermaine Dupri wrote part of the record and produced the track.
Usher – “Confessions Pt. 2”
When this song dropped, there was a lot of controversy regarding the breakup of Usher and TLC singer, Chilli. While Usher may have had some infidelity, this part of the song was not necessarily about him. This was actually Jermaine Dupri’s experience with messing around and getting someone pregnant. Crazy enough, Jermaine Dupri was in a long-term relationship with Janet Jackson (it lasted until 2009). This was a special time for Jermaine Dupri. This was not only a No.1 record that Jermaine Dupri co-wrote and fully produced for Usher’s “Confessions” album. He also wrote and produced 2 other singles, “Burn” and “My Boo” that went No. 1 as well. This album had 4 consecutive singles that shot to No.1 on Billboard 200. That was a crazy record at the time. Not to mention, it sold over 15 million copies worldwide and went diamond.
Mariah Carey – “We Belong Together”
Following the hot streak of Usher’s “Confessions” album, Jermaine Dupri was in such high demand as a writer and producer. He previously had a No.1 with Mariah Carey on the song “Always Be My Baby.” However, this is at a time where Mariah was going through it both professionally and personally. With her albums “Glitter” and “Charmbracelet” not performing up to standards, she took a hiatus from making albums for a while. “Emancipation of Mimi” was her album that showed she still had it. Although there were other producers and writers on the album, it was nothing like the chemistry between Carey and Jermaine Dupri. Not to mention, he gave her the biggest records on her album. Even more so, “We Belong Together” was her comeback song. It had quite the staying power as well spending 14 nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1. Billboard called it “song of the decade.” Mariah’s “Emancipation of Mimi” ended up selling over 10 million records worldwide.
Man, talk about a writer and producer who literally had a hot hand in music. Jermaine Dupri’s legacy is still going on strong in the music world.