Be part of the team Drake or team Kendrick Lamar, Jermaine Dupri says there is no denying it the months-long rivalry between the rappers brought “life back into hip-hop.”
Dupri spoke with ET’s Deidre Behar on the red carpet at the 2024 BET Awards, where the 51-year-old mega-producer opened up about the public fight that goes on over several diss tracks, a moment in pop culture that Dupri said he rejected the idea of that hip-hop was “dying.”
“It just brought life back into hip-hop,” he opined. “People were saying that hip-hop was dying and that it was a dying genre at the time and I think it just brought a lot of light back into it, made people start talking about rap again.”
The public feud apparently began with Drake and J. Cole’s October 2023 release of “First Person Shooter” — in which Cole called him, Drake, and Lamar rap’s “Big 3” — and Lamar’s response in “Like That” is what apparently sparked the lyrical war against Drake.
At one point, even the actress Uma Thurman came into action, offering support to the GRAMMY winner as he faced against several of his hip-hop peers.
More recently, Lamar, 37, put on a one-of-a-kind star-studded show“The Pop Out – Ken and Friends”, to celebrate the eleventh month, during which he gave his first live performance of his viral Drake tracks, “Euphoria” and “Not Like Us”. The Juneteenth concert, presented by pgLang and Free Lunch, featured a long list of iconic artistsmostly from Los Angeles and California, who performed in Lamar’s hometown at the Kia Forum.
The way Lamar’s show went viral is a sign of Dupri’s statement that the rappers’ feud “put a lot of fire in there.”
“I hope other people come out with records that are as hot as the ones that were made in that period and we can keep the genre where it belongs,” he added.
While Dupri preferred not to pick sides when it came to Drake, 37, and Lamar — his daughter, Jalynn, said she was proudly Team Kendrick — the producer wasn’t shy about admitting he decided to attend Sunday night’s awards show after it was announced that Will Smith will go on stage to present his new song.
O recently released single, “You Can Make It”, is a notable departure from the rapper’s classic dance hits.
“I think it’s really exciting. That was one of the things that made me really want to come,” he shared with ET. “I started seeing that kind of stuff and I was like, ‘Okay, this could be something to go to.’”
Dupri is also looking forward to watching Usher be honored with this year’s prestigious BET Lifetime Achievement Awardwhich is presented to gamechangers and industry pioneers who have left a lasting impact on culture and entertainment. The 45-year-old will join a list of previous Lifetime Achievement BET Award recipients including Whitney Houston, Prince, Queen Latifah, Anita Baker, Mary J. Blige, Samuel Jackson, Lionel Richie, New Edition and Busta Rhymes.
“He tried hard, it’s been a long, dirty journey for him and he’s still at the highest level of his game,” Dupri said of the recent headliner. Apple Music Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show. “He can go on and on, so it’s like he’s that artist, he just deserves that award.”
Meanwhile, Dupri’s longtime friends and collaborators, Ashanti It is Nellyrecently announced that they are expecting their first child together.
Ashanti, 43, and Nelly, 49, who rekindled their long-term, on-and-off romance last year, after calling it quits in 2013, have become inseparable since sending the R&B world into a frenzy after being seen together for the first time last year.
The baby will be Ashanti’s first child and Nelly’s third. The “Hot in Herre” rapper is the father of adult children, Chanelle, 29, and Cornell Haynes III, 24, from a previous relationship. Nelly also adopted her sister Jackie Donahue’s children — Shawn and Sydney Thomas — after she died of leukemia in 2005.
After months of rumors and speculation, Ashanti has officially announced her pregnancy with a video on Instagram in April. The video showed the singer getting ready for a performance. After one of her aides checks on her, Ashanti’s mother, Tina Douglas, checks in a second time, asking the singer how long she needs until she’s ready. Ashanti emerges — dressed to the nines — and replies, “I’ll need about nine months,” prompting Douglas to express shock at the pregnancy news.
Then on June 19th it was discovered that despite announcing their engagement in April, Ashanti and Nelly are already married — and have been going on for six months, according to public records in Missouri.
The wedding date is listed as December 27, 2023 in Nelly’s hometown of St. Louis County, Missouri.
“They love each other. They’ve always loved each other since day one and you know you could see that from day one,” Dupri told ET of the happy couple. “You could really see that 100 percent.”
O BET Awards 2024hosted by Taraji P. Hensonairs live on BET channel from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, June 30th at 8pm ET/PT. check out the full list of winners here.
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