.@jermainedupri on .@OraTV Creating Jay-Z, Taylor Swift's Impact on Music & Being Janet Jackson's Ex- Boyfriend

Jermaine Dupri on Creating Jay-Z, Taylor Swift’s Impact on Music & Being Janet Jackson’s Ex- Boyfriend

Record-breaking producer & artist Jermaine Dupri sits down with Larry King on the Emmy nominated series Larry King Now and opens up about Taylor Swift & the state of the music industry today, helping put Jay Z on the map, working with Mariah Carey, and why he doesn’t get the respect he deserves. Plus, Dupri on how he really feels about being known as Janet Jackson’s ex-boyfriend.

Larry asks Jermaine if Taylor Swift is the next Mariah Carey… his answer may surprise you in this clip. He added though, “She's like a boxer. She jumps from heavyweight champion to lightweight. She just keeps going! She was a country artist, now she's a pop artist. So she's jumping around. […] She's smart too by the way. You can tell she's very smart.”

Jermaine also opened up about Jay-Z’s career, his relationship with Mariah Carey and being Janet Jackson’s ex-boyfriend.

“He’s [Jay-Z] probably one of the smartest people I know. He knows a little bit about everything…and if he doesn’t know about it he will definitely try to find out about it.” Dupri also added that, what really sets Mariah apart in his mind isn’t just her voice, “Just knowing what she wants to do is special because a lot of artists they don’t actually know what they want to do. A lot of them just fall into place. They just make a record and let it take them wherever it falls. The special ones actually know where they want to go before they get there and she’s one of those.”

 

“Great, incredible, smart.” Only good things were said about his ex, Janet Jackson, saying that he isn’t annoyed that he’s still associated as her ex and considers it an award of sorts. “She came from a very smart family of people who know exactly what they are doing.”

Jermaine concluded, “When you create your own artist as opposed to chasing other artists, that’s one thing I don’t do as a producer, I won’t go and be like I want to work with Beyonce or I want to work with Chris Brown. I’m always thinking about trying to create my own versions...I’m trying to find new artists. I’m always looking.”