Dupri is also proud to champion So So Def’s legacy. Having produced hits for superstars like Mariah Carey and Janet Jackson, he is one of the most accomplished hit makers in contemporary music and his label has launched the careers of a wide array of artists; from ’90s hip-hop duo Kris Kross to R&B groups like Xscape and Jagged Edge. And it helped introduce the “King of Crunk” himself, Lil Jon, to the world.
“You wouldn’t know about Lil Jon if it wasn’t for So So Def,” Dupri says. “I speak in the present. Lil Jon’s era was a big piece of the Atlanta music scene at one point. If I hadn’t done what I did with him inside my company, that [latter] part of his music might not have ever come out. All of that is So So Def. If you take my period, plus his — that covers damn-near this whole city.”
“My goal was just to have a successful label and in doing this 20th anniversary, I feel like we got to that point,” he says. “[There were] a lot of things that we didn’t we do, being from the South and from Atlanta and having to learn as we go — but I feel like I accomplished most of [the goals] that I started out from the gate with.”
“I never really [see] producers chasing what I’m doing or what I’ve done,” Dupri adds. “I don’t hear producers talking about having labels anymore. I don’t see young producers coming out with their own artists. I see young producers just producing people that are already out. I could’ve gone to LaFace or whatever label was popping when I first did Kris Kross. But from the day that [they] became a platinum group, not one time did I go to Los Angeles to chase these other record companies. My goal from that point was to create more Kris Krosses. I don’t really see people doing that [anymore],” he says.
