Jermaine Dupri was one of the guests on the most recent episode of Cam’ron and Ma$e‘s sports talk show It Is What It Is, and both hosts made sure the Atlanta artist and producer got his flowers.
Murda Ma$e and Killa Cam took time during the show to praise Dupri — who appeared alongside Nelly and former running back Maurice Clarett — for his contribution to their respective careers.
Cam’ron kicked it off around the 2:07 mark paid tribute to Dupri, thanking J.D. for his work on the Dipset member’s debut album, 1998’s Confessions of Fire.
“[H]e’s on my first album with two different cuts, actually did a hook for me,” Cam explained. He went on to explain that he probably didn’t give Dupri proper credit at the time.
“When I was young, I was real arrogant because my man Ma$e just sold four million records, and I’m thinking I’m supposed to sell four million records,” Cam explained. “And I don’t think I ever gave J.D. his flowers for even doing what he did for me.”
“It meant a lot to me that you did that for me, because you invited me to your house and you didn’t have to do that. So I just want to tell you thank you in front of everybody, because I probably never even did it privately, let alone publicly.”
Nearly an hour later, Ma$e, whose group Harlem World was signed to Dupri’s So So Def label, said that the ATL mogul was “the first guy to ever pay me what I was really worth talent-wise.”
“I want to tell you thank you from my heart…,” Ma$e said. “I’m forever indebted to you for allowing me to be rich. You gave me my first million dollars.”
In addition to getting praises for his late-’90s work with Cam and Ma$e, J.D. has taking his own trip down memory lane recently in other ways as well.
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Earlier this month, he teased a new song with Nelly, Ashanti and Juicy J whose chorus borrows from the 1995 track “This Lil’ Game We Play” by Subway and 702.
Dupri shared a teaser of the tune to social media on January 3 and explained that it will land on his upcoming EP, which is set to be released later in 2024 via Mass Appeal.
Dupri previously teased the record back in November, a couple of months after Nelly confirmed he had rekindled his relationship with Ashanti.
This will serve as Ashanti and Nelly’s first time reuniting on wax since 2008’s “Body On Me.”
