Tribune planned for Jermaine Dupri

The mega-successful career of Jermaine Dupri, the platinum prodigy of the music world, the top-charted producing and songwriting wizard behind many of today’s best-selling artists, and as of this year, president of Island Records Urban Music, a new division of the Island Def Jam Music Group – will receive a well-deserved double tribute this month.

The autobiography Young, Rich, And Dangerous: My Life in Music by Jermaine Dupri with Samantha Marshall, will be available in stores October 16th on Atria Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. One week later on October 23rd, Y’ALL KNOW WHAT THIS IS…THE HITS, a 10-song collection spanning a decade and a half of Dupri’s work – from Kris Kross’ “Jump” in 1992, to Mariah Carey’s Grammy Award-winning “We Belong Together” in 2005, and beyond – will arrive in stores on So So Def / Island Urban Music.

The final track sequence for Y’ALL KNOW WHAT THIS IS…THE HITS will be as follows:
1. Welcome To Atlanta (Jermaine Dupri & Ludacris, from Instructions, 2001) *
2. Jump (Kris Kross, from Totally Krossed Out, 1992) *
3. Sleepin’ In My Bed (So So Def Remix) (Dru Hill featuring Da Brat & Jermaine Dupri, from Dru Hill, 1997) *
4. We Belong Together (Mariah Carey, from The Emancipation Of Mimi, 2005) *
5. Money Ain’t A Thang (Jermaine Dupri & Jay-Z, from Jermaine Dupri Presents: Life in 1472 – The Original Soundtrack, 1998) *
6. Confessions Part II (Usher, from Confessions, 2004) *
7. Like You (Bow Wow featuring Ciara, from Wanted, 2005) *
8. The First Night (Monica, from The Boy Is Mine, 1998) *
9. Pullin’ Me Back (Chingy featuring Tyrese, from Hoodstar, 2006) *
10. Keep On, Keepin’ On (MC Lyte featuring Xscape, from Bad As I Wanna B, 1996).

Complementing the scope of the album, and presenting an in-depth portrait of this artist as a young man in Atlanta, is Young, Rich, And Dangerous. Reaching all the way back to his gig as an opening act dancer at age 12 on the nationwide Fresh Fest ’84 hip-hop tour (with a cast that included Whodini, Fat Boys, Run-DMC, Grandmaster Flash, and Kurtis Blow), the book pulls no punches. Dupri was just 16 when he discovered the Mack Daddy & Daddy Mack duo of 12-year olds known as Kris Kross (“Jump”); and he was just 20 when he launched his independent label, So So Def Recordings.

So So Def became known as an engine not only of hit records, but of artist develop­ment. As writer, producer and remixer, Dupri was recognized by the industry as one of the foremost young entrepreneurs driving the arrival of hip-hop as a creative and commercial force in mainstream music. He went on to sign and nurture the careers of many gold, platinum, and multi-platinum selling artists including Xscape, Da Brat, Jagged Edge, Lil’ Bow Wow, Dem Franchize Boyz, J-Kwon, Youngbloodz, and Anthony Hamilton. His long-distance run of hits with Usher, which began in 1997, culminated with 2004’s string of “Burn,” “Confessions Part II,” and “My Boo” (a duet with Alicia Keys) which drove 8-times platinum sales of Usher’s Confessions album, making it the best-selling album of the year.

In January 2007, Dupri’s appointment as president of Island Records Urban Music was announced by Antonio “L.A.” Reid, Chairman, Island Def Jam Music Group. But Dupri was no stranger to the Island roster, having co-written and co-produced the Mariah Carey #1 hits “We Belong Together” (for which he shared the Grammy award for Best R&B Song), “Shake It Off,” and “Don’t Forget About Us.” All three were from The Emancipation of Mimi, the #1 top-selling album of 2005. In addition to his collaborations with IDJ artists Jay-Z, Ludacris, and Lionel Richie, Dupri has turned out hits with Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, TLC, Run-DMC, Toni Braxton, Alicia Keyes, Nelly, Chingy, Janet Jackson, Monica, Aaliyah, Ciara, and many others.

Young, Rich, And Dangerous reveals never-before-seen photographs from studios, parties, and awards shows, as it portrays the exhilarating step-by-step moves of someone who has risen to the top of this remarkable business, yet still remembers what matters most: the discovery and the process and the music. In his foreword, close friend Teddy Riley describes the book as, “truly a gift. Only someone like Jermaine, who knows it because he lives it, is in a position to deliver such necessary and relevant insights.”