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Home > Atlanta Music Scene > Archives > 2009 > January > 16 > Entry
Now Janet Jackson AND Jermaine Dupri Are Out At Island Def Jam
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
First Janet Jackson was out at Island Def Jam.
(When is not exactly clear because record label publicists tend not to send out releases when they part ways with artists - only when they sign them. But it was pretty obvious around mid-year last year that there was trouble when Jackson publicly voiced her concern with how the label was promoting her last CD, “Discipline”. Then an Island Def Jam spokesperson shot back: “Unfortunately we haven’t experienced the results we would have liked with this new album”).
Now Atlanta music mogul Jermaine Dupri has confirmed the rumors that he’s gone as well - and why — with essence.com.
Here is part of the Q&A:
ESSENCE.COM: The blogosphere has been abuzz recently about your exit from Island Def Jam Records as president of urban music. Why did you leave the label?
JERMAINE DUPRI: It was a situation where it felt very stagnant to me. As a person who is used to putting out new records and continuing to do that, it just wasn’t turning over as being that place to me where I should stick to it and see if it was going to turn around.
ESSENCE.COM: What would you say was your biggest problem with the label?
DUPRI: It wasn’t giving me the open door that I thought it was going to. It wasn’t aggressive enough and it was a big letdown for me. I thought I was going to a place that understood the times we were in as a music business and how aggressive we needed to be with putting out new projects and records. This is the reason I’m speaking out; not because I’m bitter, but because I owe it to my fans that see me every day on the Internet. I wanted to let them know because they’ve left a lot of comments on my YouTube saying, “JD, you talk about everything else; why aren’t you talking about this [label] situation?
ESSENCE.COM: There’s hearsay that your brief tenure was plagued by meager sales and a lack of new talent which resulted in the label ousting you. Is that true?
DUPRI: Island [Def Jam Records] is going to say what makes them look good. They are not going to tell the truth and say, “He just stopped dealing with us on a daily basis.” If you don’t put out my records, that’s all I have as a person. I’m a record person, so if I give you a record and you don’t put it out, then basically you’re showing me that it’s really no business. I never got a chance to put the records out. I had Johnta Austin, Ninth Ward and Dondria. I read the blogs and I’m thinking, How can they say that I’m not putting out records when anyone who knows my track record knows I’m about making music? My biggest problem is that I’m still the youngest president to have this kind of success. Music is my life. I’m a person who continues to carve out my own way. Instead of watching things happen, I make them happen. If L.A. [Reid] gets fired at Def Jam (he’s 20 years older than me) where is he going to go? Many of the people at the label; if their bosses were to fire them today, they don’t have anything else to do. Their lives are over. I’m not that dude. Life ain’t over for me.
ESSENCE.COM: Was it an amicable parting?
DUPRI: I haven’t spoken to L.A. [Reid] in three months. I don’t know if it’s amicable [considering] that they claim they put me out. I feel like it’s not amicable. Don’t lie, be real about the situation. It goes back to their having the attitude of let’s try and do something that’s going to hurt this person, because if it hurts us we have nowhere to go after this, but he does and has at least another 20 more years in this business. Again, if L.A. [Reid] gets fired, there will be at least another ten people who will also get fired and we’ll never see them again. Def Jam is like one big clique.
ESSENCE.COM: Although it’s been three months since you’ve spoken to L.A. Reid, would you be open to reconciliation?
DUPRI: I don’t know. I saw a side of him that I had never seen before and that to me was a jealous side. I don’t know if I should be around people who are jealous of me. Mariah Carey sold more records in that entire Def Jam building and all of that was through my singles; so I’m looking like the golden boy. I only started thinking about it after I left.
ESSENCE.COM: Does Janet support your decision?
DUPRI: We don’t get down like that. She’s Janet Jackson without Jermaine Dupri and vice versa. That’s how we met doing our own thing. I talk to her about some things but it is what it is. I have to stay in my own lane—that’s where Bobby Brown messed up. (Laughs.)
ESSENCE.COM: Gossipmongers speculate that your departure was inevitable after Janet Jackson left because you left Virgin Urban Music after Janet left to go to Def Jam. Did Janet’s departure from Island influence your decision in any way?
DUPRI: No, not really. For a while I had to figure out the bad part about Janet’s departure. She was on Island Def Jam and no one ever heard me speak on the situation. Here I’m still working in the building with the people that aren’t treating my girlfriend right, but I never let my business and her business get mixed up. She might have been upset about me still being around, but it was never a situation where I was like, “This is bad; I have to move because of this.” Janet was handled through L.A. He chased her because he wanted to get her on the label so bad, and when things didn’t go right he had a scapegoat for her whole album [not doing well]—me. But what people don’t know is that Janet’s whole album was designed and made by him. He picked every song. I produced two songs on the entire album. I had a better track record with her at Virgin.
This isn’t the first time Dupri has split after a bad situation with his longtime, superstar girlfriend. Back in 2004 he abruptly resigned as the president of the Atlanta chapter National Academy of Recording Arts & Science — which puts on the Grammys — when he claims NARAS rescinded her invitation to the show after her infamous Super Bowl “malfunction”.
“I feel like I don’t want to be a part of something that’s not treating musical people in the right light, ” Dupri said at the news conference. “And I feel like what’s going on with Janet is very unfair right now.”
Two years later — after signing a deal reportedly around $20 to head Virgin’s new urban music division in early 2005 — he left the label. It was less than a month after Jackson made a disappointing return to the music scene, with then-new CD “20 Y.O.”.
Think Jackson will get another record deal? Been wondering what Dupri has been up to production-wise lately?
Comments
By LifeGoesOn
January 16, 2009 2:06 PM | Link to this
I think it is time for Janet to do something different. I use to love her music, but not anymore. I can’t relate to or understand it. She is in her forties now & there is new talent out there, Keyshia Coles, Beyonce, Ciara, Alicia Keys, etc. She has had her highlighting years now it’s time to sit down & do something different. You can’t always be at the top. That’s why it is important to spend wisely.
By maxiegrrrrl
January 16, 2009 2:15 PM | Link to this
This report hit the web on MONDAY. So why is the AJC now reporting it on FRIDAY? Maybe you should re-think your layoffs. I’m just saying, there’s a reason you are irrelevant.
By StillBlessed
January 16, 2009 2:20 PM | Link to this
I met Jermaine so many years ago along with his Mom when he had a female group named Silk X’s Leather. I knew he had that gift, but never thought he would have blown up like he did. If he doesn’t get another job I am sure he has more money than I will see in my lifetime. Hold your head up J.D. You are like Midas with the magic touch. Every song you touch turns to gold. Peace.
By finesse99
January 16, 2009 2:46 PM | Link to this
Janet is a supertalented lady who can sing and act even model if she chose too. Time to reflect on the past music and write a book, have some children, and be happy with the fact that you have a positive flow from your man and your life. Hope to see more of you in movies
By my2cents
January 16, 2009 2:56 PM | Link to this
Janet you made your place in music history for sure. Your old music will play on forever. It is time to just chill take a role in a movie every now and then but just sit back and enjoy all that you have.
By inthaknow
January 16, 2009 3:40 PM | Link to this
JD couldn’t make anything happen a Virgin or at Island/DefJam. Neither has Janet…Time to ride off into the sunset, JD hasn’t developed an artist since KrisKross, Mariah wasn’t on his when he saved her…
By inthaknkow
January 16, 2009 3:42 PM | Link to this
Jermaine is a has been, so is Janet..
By Honey Plueez
January 16, 2009 4:22 PM | Link to this
this story is such a non-issue……so much is happening with the economy that i don’t have time to worry about who dupri or janet working for…this is pure foolishness…..pure!
besides maybe j. dupri should stay out the strip clubs and go to work…
By Jodi
January 16, 2009 4:23 PM | Link to this
cosign with maxiegrrrl - AJC is posting this article like it is breaking news?!?! We already knew this.
By Daniel Burse
January 16, 2009 4:24 PM | Link to this
Music goes in cycles and certainly both Janet and Jermaine are super talented. You just don’t stop knowing how to create great music at a certain age. Things just change. Both of them will have more hits in the future just probably not at many.
By T
January 16, 2009 4:47 PM | Link to this
I think they both will continue to be a great success, always will be no matter what they do . the lable so have a way of just letting good people sit.
By trevor
January 16, 2009 6:39 PM | Link to this
No one really cares about this issue!
By Big Ache
January 16, 2009 7:45 PM | Link to this
Janet and JD are both legends, but it may been time to go in another direction. They hav both had great careers.
By neXtjj
January 16, 2009 7:46 PM | Link to this
Some of yall need to put a sock in it.. Yall may not like her but janet still has millions of fans out there who still buy her albums.. So if u can’t stand her don’t sit there and say she needs to hang it up bla bla.. Why won’t yall hang it up and stop paying attention to her.. If it wasn’t for jj none of the ppl yall menting ciara etc wouldn’t even be here..Even they still have mad luv for janet.. Its a shame how janet gets treated.. yet you have a 50 yr old woman named madonna who never gets crucified like janet..
LOVE YA JJ AND JD KEEP ON MOVING MAKING GOOD MUSIC..JD U STILL CONTINUE TO PRODUCE OR W/E.. THERES STILL MORE BIGGER AND BETTER THINGS STORED FOR YALL IN THE FUTURE!! REGARDLESS OF WHAT THE H8TERS AND THE H8TERS HERE SAY!
By Traci
January 16, 2009 8:27 PM | Link to this
Everyone is talking about letting Janet retire - NEVER!
She just needs to not be HIP-HOP — everybody in the game now can not - I repeat - CAN NOT sing.
who can sang?
Try Charise Pempengco
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/yt-bllG-1VUcoE/talentvidcharicepempengcoatellendegeneresshow/
By MJT
January 16, 2009 10:03 PM | Link to this
AJC is racists OR they are so involved in black folks business. Last time it was Bishop Weeks And Juanita BYnum they were mesmerized about.
By MJT
January 16, 2009 10:03 PM | Link to this
AJC is racists OR they are so involved in black folks business. Last time it was Bishop Weeks And Juanita BYnum they were mesmerized about.
By sugarlee
January 16, 2009 11:35 PM | Link to this
I can’t believe so many people believe life stops after 40. These two people have so much life left in their careers until it ain’t funny. I hope you all don’t turn on your parents because they’re getting older. Then again some of you already have. Janet, you’re still the sweetest thang I know, you make the rainbow glow. (Old School). You and JD still got it going on big time. I wish I was in either of your shoes. Heads Up.
By Jeanette Hobbs
January 17, 2009 12:08 AM | Link to this
Karma is really a b—ch. If you don’t do right about people who you associate with, especially female rappers, things will not go well for you. You seem to have “tunnell vision” when it comes to developing new artist. Janet, Mariah, Brat, Bow Wow and Kriss Kross made you millions, but it will all vanish in the blink of an eye if you don’t change your thinking. Think About It! Lots of love to you and Janet. And Janet, the soft baby voice was fine when you were younger. Now that you are 40 plus, you will have to change your style. Thats probly why your album didn’t do well. Nobody can relate.
By Keith
January 17, 2009 4:39 AM | Link to this
Janet and Jermaine both have careers that are not over. They both know the bussiness inside and out. There is a way for you both to continue to make your music and getting it to the public the way you intended. Record company’s are strapped for cash and they need to blame someone when they don’t make as much money as they wanted. It is so refreshing to hear that you guys are a strong couple and support each other. Continue to make your music because there are many fans who still love to hear your God given talents!!! We support your decisions and don’t you dare just sit down because they think you should!!!
By B
January 17, 2009 8:52 AM | Link to this
I would imagine it’s hard to work for someone who treated his girlfriend badly (as he puts it), but it’s his career & his life and you don’t cut off your nose to spite your face esp. since they’re not married & have kids and a def. future they’re building together. They seem solid but they are DATING. Janet made a lot of sacrifices for her no good hanger on ex husband Renee Elizondo and we see how that turned out. There are no guarantees so Jermaine should do as he said & keep the business and personal separate. Janet is over 40 & nobody is looking at her like she’s 20 anymore. Even Madonna makes her money through tours & not really cd sales. Her cd was bad & her only hype is over her past successes and her last name. If she could reinvent herself like Madonna & do something different she’d probably do ok, but the same old from somebody now 43 is a little sad since the generation that bought her music is now also in their 40’s and well into raising their kids, some of who are almost the age Janet was when she got her first success so they’re not thinking about her dancing, with it all pushed up and out as she always does, and her mediocre singing. Give your true fan base something new to show you’ve matured along with the rest of us who have had to as we age.
By David
January 17, 2009 9:00 AM | Link to this
One place left to go for Janet and Michael Jackson….LAS VEGAS! Cher, Tom Jones, and Wayne Newton all have careers still..because of LAS VEGAS….Think about it!
By Toni
January 17, 2009 9:01 AM | Link to this
Jermaine: the truth is Janet didn’t stay in her own lane. Just because you’re a top producer doesn’t mean you can make her stay on top as she has gotten older & needs something new. The worst mistake is thinking you’re bigger than what you are, past success is just that past. Jam & Lewis made he a star and she should have worked it out with them. I’d bet if she keeps failing, she’ll find a way to get back with them. Her old stuff is for a generation that’s now in their 40’s and dealing with real problems, like the economy and how to send my kids to college. I doubt I’m going to spend $75 - $100 on one ticket to go see Janet. Seeing her would be like reliving the past & going to a New Edition concert (it’s a one time thing to remember the good old days). If she puts out some real music then she’d get the sales. I know she’d mad at Beyonce for her comment, but at least Beyonce is diversifying herself when the time comes that put a ring on it will look stupid for somebody 40!
By Lena
January 17, 2009 9:10 AM | Link to this
sugarlee: Life doesn’t end after 40 but it sure as heck better mature. If I walked around like I did 20 years ago, they’d lock me up for being crazy! If my husband walked around with a high top fade, his gym shoe laces undone & his baseball cap turned to the back talking about yeaaahhhhh boooooy, he’d be in that same cell with me. You make yourself look older when you fight against time and refuse to grow and change. All the dancing onstage & tight clothes is cool for somebody 20, but it and people get older. Trying too hard to make people look at her like she was when she was 20 truly shows how old she really is and how desperate. Unfortunately it seems it’s all she knows how to do since she can’t sing. Rihanna, Ciara, and all the rest had better invest their money and take some singing lessons so in 20 years they don’t end up in the same boat prancing around talking about look at me I’m still sexy, for real ya’ll, don’t I still look good? You look good for somebody in their 40’s!
By Tina
January 17, 2009 9:18 AM | Link to this
Someone who has done a fantastic job of maturing is MJB. She used to be Miss hip-hop with Puffy (make up your mind on a name boy), now Diddy, and she left her label, left Diddy, grew up and changed her music and her life. Even she is now married with kids. Her style has changed from all hip-hop to sexy elegance and she can sing. Her My Life cd wasn’t her first, but it came out in 1994 and people wondered if she’d still be around and here she is. ALL ages of people relate to her music. Even wild Prince has changed. No more costumes and wild makeup. He now wears suits and knows his time for what it used to be has passed & he is now respected for his long career and his talent and makes his money off of concerts. If he still walked around looking like Little Richard in Puffy shirts, see through pants, and more makeup than I wear, I’d have no respect for him. Janet is in competition with a whole new generation and with a whole new generation of kids & young adults that see her as being old.
By Diane
January 17, 2009 9:26 AM | Link to this
The only reason I’d ever go to see Janet is if she promoted her old stuff. If she’d advertise her concerts with a good mix of old and new she’d get the sales. If she would give a blowout concert 2+ hours of some new mixed in, but came out in sets of old stuff wearing the all black with the baseball hat & ponytail from Rhythm nation, or the black coat & bustier with chains from When I think of you, or the outfit from that’s the way love goes, she’d have people running to see her because of fantastic reviews and for taking them back to remind them why they like her in the first place instead of abandoning who she was completely and still trying to be that same 20 year old with now crappy music. Taking your fans on a journey through your life will make people appreciate you and show them through the years how you’ve changed and maybe even gain a new fan base of younger people who can see why you have been so successful for so many years. Her formula now is not working.
By Jeff
January 17, 2009 9:35 AM | Link to this
Jermaine can work with anybody and nobody is looking at him to look good. He has a roster of artists on his resume. Janet on the other hand only has herself & if she did like Prince maybe who in 2004 had the highest grossing concert tour of the year and pocketed $50 million with an ok cd and one ok song, Musicology, she’d do ok. She doesn’t do well because she refuses to get older. If she did a couple of blow out shows with all the old music & some new with all the old costumes from her videos and a long show, people would love her and the buzz would be up and her tour would do great. Madonna made her money from touring last year, not her album sales. Jermaine has a good looking woman, not girl, but she needs to be real.
By Dayla
January 17, 2009 12:26 PM | Link to this
I think Janet need to re-invent yourself so that she can reach the younger generation. I dont think the record company made a good selection of producers in helping her make that transition. If jermaine Dupre can revive Mariah Carey’s career (although her last CD was Crap) he can also revive Janet Jackson. I think she needs music that appeals to the younger generation. MJB and P Diddy has done an excellant job of staying on top of the music charts by staying in touch with the younger generation and also maintaining their origanal fan base. Ialso think Janet needs more control over the songs she selects on her album because LA reid or any other record Executive can make a bad decision with song selections, it’s her career & she needs to control it.
By Taylor
January 17, 2009 6:41 PM | Link to this
Wow!!
OK listen up everyone over 40, you are OLD now!!! Time to put away the jeans, tennis shoes, anything that may be mistaken for YOUNG, or anything remotely sexy, and pull the old polyester!!
I also hope you have a good NEST EGG put away, sounds to me like some of you will be heading to a retirement or nursing home soon.
By Rajj
January 20, 2009 4:26 PM | Link to this
F U Taylor…40 is the new 30 and i’m never going to rock the polyester, o-k!!! Both people in this story will be fine. Next topic, please.