Jermaine Dupri boasts a pretty unrivaled catalog of hits in the R&B world, but at what cost? The happiness of his collaborators. The producer and record label executive recently appeared on the R&B Money podcast, on which he recalled his beat for the "In My Bed" remix for Dru Hill. Apparently, he didn't know Jagged Edge saw this group as competition, so they called him to press him about it. In fact, even Usher called Dupri with anger over this decision, and he says both collaborators are still mad at him to this day over it. However, at least he was able to produce another hit remix for J.E. in the aftermath, so at least he made up for it.
Still, all this baggage doesn't mean Jermaine Dupri can't reminisce on his Usher collabs. "For one, [Usher's 'Nice And Slow'] was his first number one across-the-board record…" he told HipHopDX back in 2022 when they asked what the best song he's ever worked on is. "That’s the one song that I completely wrote by myself as far as the lyrics go."
Jermaine Dupri Usher Collabs
"Once it got to a space where me and Usher started doctoring it up, then I brought in Jagged Edge," Jermaine Dupri continued. "So I feel like that was one of the ones that taught me, like, collaborating. Bringing in Jagged Edge to help the song go bigger than what it was. Me and Usher teaching each other back and forth, I feel like that was the one in my earlier times of writing music that taught me a lot. To see people still singing that song at the top of their lungs, so that’s the one."
With a Magic City docuseries on the way, Jermaine Dupri has a lot more on his plate these days than just reflecting on his illustrious career. Usher and Jagged Edge still get a lot of play, and despite that continued success, we understand why they would tease Dupri about this Dru Hill collab. But his story also shows the best remedy for musical rifts is to get right back in the booth for another hit.
Read More: Jagged Edge: Where Are They Now?
