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Jermaine Dupri Mauldin (born September 23, 1972) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, record executive, entrepreneur, and DJ. Raised in Atlanta, he began his musical career at the age of nine, as the son of Columbia Records executive Michael Mauldin. In 1991, he discovered the teen hip hop duo Kris Kross. Dupri wrote and produced their breakout 1992 single "Jump," which peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100 and was named the 23rd most successful song of that decade. He established his own record label, So So Def Recordings in a joint venture with Columbia the following year.
Dupri has since signed artists including Xscape, Bow Wow, Da Brat, Jagged Edge, Dem Franchize Boyz, YoungBloodZ, and Anthony Hamilton to the label. Meanwhile, he worked with Mariah Carey, Usher, Monica, and Nelly to produce a total of 11 chart-topping singles on the Billboard Hot 100. As a recording artist himself, Dupri's debut studio album, Life in 1472 (1998) peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 and was supported the top 40 single "The Party Continues" (featuring Usher and Da Brat) and the Grammy Award-nominated "Money Ain't a Thang" (featuring Jay-Z). His second album, Instructions (2002) peaked at number 15 on the Billboard 200.
In 2013, Dupri replaced Randy Jackson as Mariah Carey's talent manager. He co-created a reality television series, The Rap Game with Queen Latifah in 2015. He has received a Grammy Award from 12 nominations.