Iconic mogul Jermaine Dupri sent shockwaves through the industry when he made seemingly disparaging comments about female rappers during his Thursday (July 11) sit-down with People Magazine, describing the bulk of what’s out as merely “strippers rapping.”
“They all rapping about the same thing,” he noted. “I don’t think they’re showing us who is the best rapper. For me, it’s like strippers rapping. As far as rap goes, I’m not getting ‘who is the best rapper.’”
In a recent sit down with KXNG Crooked for the HipHopDX series Crook’s Corner, he defended and further explained his point of view, confirming to Crook that he was solely speaking on mainstream artists.
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“I was asked a personal question,” Dupri noted, as he points out the attempts to vilify him for being asked to choose his favorite from a very narrow (and similar) list of buzzing MCs. “They want to hear that I said all female rappers. It’s a blanket statement … that’s what they want to hear.“
Dupri expressed specific frustration at the insinuation that he’s somehow lost his touch — even though he’s attempted to clarify his comments a few times.
“People feel like Jermaine been doing it so long he might not be as bright as he used to be … I had seen people that I thought were the brightest people in the world when I was younger and then, later on, say, ‘Oh, what the fuck are they talking about,’” he said. “I ain’t one of them people. I know exactly what’s going on. I feel the pain of all Hip Hop.”
He continued, reminding everyone of his own background.
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“You know what people don’t understand? I’m from the South,” he explained. “I’m from a place where putting out a record wasn’t even accepted at all. To diminish women in rap or say something crazy to hurt them — I wouldn’t ever do that. But if you ask me what’s my favorite and you ask me what I feel, I have to keep it 100.”
Dupri did double down on his position, though.
“If you think I said something wrong, you’re not paying attention to the lyrics … sometimes, something has to spark for it to be [a conversation]. Somebody got to set the spark,” Dupri stated.
Watch the full episode of Crook’s Corner above.
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