Jermaine Dupri Celebrates: Last News

Janee Bolden A few weeks shy of Jermaine Dupri’s 50th birthday, the super-producer is deep into conversation with Variety about his long history of hits and some of the latest notches on his belt… or about as deep as he can be, with Usher repeatedly calling him to discuss the upcoming album they’re in the last stages of finishing, before Dupri finally tells him they’ll have to catch up the next day. Ironically, Dupri can’t talk to Usher right now because he’s busy talking about Usher — in particular, how their 2004 album “Confessions” became a blockbuster and altered the R&B landscape, whether or not it’s always celebrated by the culture at large as a major game-changer. But there are contemporary accomplishments to discuss as well, like how Dupri is in the middle of a public uproar over his latest contribution to R&B, “If I Get Caught Cheating (That Don’t Mean I Don’t Love You),” from the Canadian duo Dvsn, comprised of singer Daniel Daley and producer Paul “Nineteen85” Jefferies. Immediately after the song was released, it ignited fiery debates about infidelity and toxicity on Twitter that have increased Dvsn’s profile tenfold practically overnight.