Sept. 23: Jermaine Dupri is 38-years-old today.

Born Jermaine Dupri Maulidin "J.D." is a music producer, rapper and songwriter. One of his first successes was the formation of the teen duo Kris Kross - Chris Kelly and Chris Smith - after meeting the boys at a local mall in 1991. The group's first album, Totally Krossed Out, was released in 1992 and went multi-platinum due to their singles "Jump" and "It's a Shame."

After he established his new record label So So Def Recordings, his next big break would come in 1993 in the form of Xscape, a female R&B group he discovered during a festival in Atlanta and signed to So So Def Recordings. After signing, they released their self-titled debut Hummin Comin at Cha and went platinum.

During the same year, on Yo! MTV Raps he met Chicago rapper Shawntae Harris, A.K.A Da Brat, and released her debut Funkdafied (1994). It went platinum making her the first female hip hop artist to sell 1,000,000 albums.

Dupri subsequently built on this success through working with other R&B artists such as Boyz II Men, as well as R&B singers Mariah Carey, Luther Vandross and Babyface, achieving multi-millionaire status for himself by the age of 24.

In 1998, he released Destiny Child's self-titled debut album. The same year, he began work on his own music career with the albums The Party Continues and Jermaine Dupri Presents Life In 1472: The Original Soundtrack.

Since its inception, Dupri labels has earned over 20 gold and platinum records.

(Press album cover for direct link to the entire Amazon Website):

            

-----

Dupri subsequently built on this success through working with other R&B artists such as Boyz II Men, as well as R&B singers Mariah Carey, Luther Vandross and Babyface, achieving multi-millionaire status for himself by the age of 24.

Since its inception, over 20 gold and platinum records have accumulated on So So Def's studio walls.

In 1998, he released Destiny Child's self-titled debut album. The same year, he began work on his own music career with the albums The Party Continues and Jermaine Dupri Presents Life In 1472: The Original Soundtrack.

####