Jermaine Dupri has had people talking since he debuted his hi-top fade “Hot Boy” hairstyle earlier this year, and he recently explained his reasoning for the new look.
Amid a conversation on Twitter Spaces on Tuesday (March 22), the So So Def mogul attributed the ‘do to one reason: he’s paying homage to Hip Hop as it celebrates its 50th year.
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“I did a hi-top fade paying respect to Hip Hop 50,” JD explained. “Because like, I see everybody talking about, ‘We celebrating Hip Hop 50.’ And all I know is that Hip Hop made me cut three slits in my eyebrows. Hip Hop made me have a box. Hip Hop made me put blonde dye at the top of my head. Hip Hop made me wear gloves in the summer time. Hip Hop made me do all kinds of shit. For real! I’m telling you.”
He continued: “Hip Hop made me get tattoos. Hip Hop made me get my tattoos on my neck. Hip Hop made me do so much, so I’m like, what is people doing to show what Hip Hop has done for them? Everybody just talking about celebrating. We all keep talking about it but how are you celebrating it? I celebrated it by wearing that hi top fade and just, you know, it’s Hip Hop.”
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He also addressed the controversy, comparing the backlash he received over it to the topic of Chris Rock’s recent Netflix comedy special, Selective Outrage.
“It’s crazy to me because I was watching the Chris Rock special and I realized that’s what people have with my hi-top – they got selective outrage with me,” he said. “Listen, by the way, I never heard nobody say nothing about Tyler, The Creator wearing a wig. I never seen nobody say nothing about Lil Yachty wearing a wig. I never seen nobody say nothing about André 3000 wearing a wig. They was wearing wigs, by the way! I just got on a hi-top fade and I look normal. N-ggas got selective outrage!”
While his hair may be a quintessential Hip Hop look from way back when, Jermaine Dupri is none too impressed with the current state of rap.
In an interview with VIBE earlier this year, the legendary producer shared his thoughts after he was asked why he’s been producing more on the R&B side in recent years.
“I feel like Hip Hop is definitely hurting and needs reviving,” JD said. “I have to go ahead and say this: For the last 20 years Atlanta’s always had at least five to six top rappers at one time. Right now, Atlanta’s dropped down to two top artists: Lil Baby and Future.”
“There’s a lot of talent in the city still,” he continued. “I don’t want anybody to screw what I’m saying, but that top tier where you have Ludacris, Jeezy, 2 Chainz, Migos, Future, Lil Baby – I mean, at one point, all of this was Atlanta. This was where all the top-tier rap artists came from.”
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He added: “I’m not talking about artists that just make records, but No. 1 songs. Artists that people feel like define the game. Rap to me became a little stale, but I’ve never stopped making rap records. As a producer, people continue to want me to produce R&B records.”
He wrapped up his thoughts by revealing that he was dropping a rap project with Curren$y. Just this week, he revealed that the album, titled For Motivational Use Only, will arrive on April 4.
