In the wake of Lil Wayne‘s highly-publicized opinion of a sect of mixtape deejays [click to read], another bold statement comes from another rap superstar. In what appears to be a video blog for TheMostAccess.com, Jermaine Dupri [click to read] said, “The deejay is dead at this point in time now.” Analogizing Hip Hop compared to track and field, the Atlanta-based mogul added that deejays used to forward to progress of rappers, saying that they now, “run the other way.”
Dupri, whose career began as a back-up dancer for the acclaimed group he would later sign, Whodini, said that that his mentors depended on people like New York’s DJ Mr. Magic. “[Magic] used to take the baton and run with it, and do what a deejay is supposed to do. These deejays today is [sic] doing what they want to do. And they’re doing what they see [the rapper] doing. When you pass them a CD, they’re handing you a CD. The attention level ain’t even the same.”
At So So Def Records, Dupri had once signed The So So Def DJ’s, which included a young Lil Jon, among other notable stars of the south. Earlier this year, Dupri also linked with prominent mixtape deejay and Los Angeles radio personality DJ Felli Fel for the single “Finer Things,” from his ironically titled forthcoming album Go DJ!.
