Jermaine Dupri Mauldin is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, record executive, entrepreneur, and DJ.
Raised in Atlanta, he began his career artistry at the age of nine, as the son of Columbia Records executive Michael Mauldin. In 1991, he formed and produced the hip hop teen duo Kris Kross. Dupri wrote and produced their breakout 1992 single, "Jump" and established his own record label, So So Def Recordings a year later. In the subsequent years, he would work heavily with Mariah Carey, Usher, Destiny's Child, Monica, and Bow Wow, resulting in Dupri producing 11 chart-topping singles. Dupri released the albums Life in 1472 (1998) and Instructions (2002) as a recording artist himself.
In 2013, he replaced Randy Jackson as Mariah Carey's talent manager. He co-created a reality TV series, The Rap Game, in 2015.
