Jermaine Dupri

The incredibly talented Jermaine Dupri is a Grammy Award-winning rapper, songwriter and producer, entrepreneur, author, DeeJay, the CEO of So So Def, and the creator of JDs Vegan Ice Cream. He most recent LaTheGOAT track, Bounce It (featuring Big Freedia), was released at the end of 2021.

Born in Asheville, North Carolina and raised in Atlanta, Dupri grew up around music and production as his father was a Columbia Records executive. His own musical career began before he was ten-years-old when he danced on stage with Diana Ross. He continued to pursue dance and was with the HipHop group Whodini when he was 12. He performed around the country and appeared with the likes of Herbie Hancock, Cameo, Run DMC, and Grandmaster Flash. He produced his first act in 1990, the female Hip Hop trio Silk Tymes Leather, and later formed the teen duo Kris Kross. Their first album, Totally Krossed Out, went multi-platinum in 1992. He established his own record label, So So Def, in 1993, and has since gone on to produced, discover, write for and work with many incredible and award-winning artists, including Xscape, Da Brat, Mariah Carey, Lil’ Kim, Usher, Monica, Destiny’s Child, Tamar Braxton, Dem Franchize Boyz, and Daz Dillinger. In 2015 he created the reality TV series, The Rap Game, with Queen Latifah, and in 2018 he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Dupri is vegan and promoted the lifestyle through a PETA ad campaign. He also created his own range of frozen treats, JDs Vegan Ice Cream.