Who was more influential to hip-hop culture in Atlanta? Jermaine Dupri or Outkast?
As a producer and a label boss, Atlanta rap veteran Jermaine Dupri had a huge impact on a whole lot of careers, helping to introduce people like Kriss Kross, Usher, Da Brat, Xscape and Bow Wow to the world, as well as making hit records on his own. He’s a very important figure in the history of Altanta rap. But if you ask him, he’s the most important figure in the history of Atlanta rap.
Jermaine Dupri stepped up to Ebro in the Morning to tell some great stories in hip hop and music overall. He addressed a time he could’ve signed Outkast, Mase & Jim Jones sleeping at his house during the Harlem World days, Atlanta’s dominance in hip hop, being influential in T-Boz’s raspy singing style, Kriss Kross and more.
"The part that people miss that makes me say that is that OutKast tried to sign to So So Def, so what does that mean?"
Dupri says that people try to dismiss some of his accomplishments because his first huge claim to fame was the success of teenage duo Kris Kross. The duo went eight-times platinum with their debut album, Totally Krossed Out, and just as he said when he first commented on his influence compared to Andre 3000 and Big Boi's, that's a marker of success OutKast didn't match with their own debut LP released a year later.
"Kriss Kross first album sold what OutKast last album sold," Dupri says, comparing Totally Krossed Out to OutKast's Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. "Their last album sold 10 million, Kriss Kross sold 8 million. [OutKast's] first album... I don't know that it sold two million."
Check out everything Dupri's got to say for yourself below.
Comments