Four months after ending a ten year relationship with Sony’s Columbia Records, leading hip-hop producer Jermaine Dupri and his So So Def label yesterday signed a similar deal with BMG label Arista. The new deal will mean all future So So Def Recordings will be distributed worldwide by Arista. Meanwhile Dupri, who will become a senior vice president of the company, will release a solo album through Arista and commit to only performing producer duties with artists signed to BMG imprints.
Dupri will continue to be based in his hometown of Atlanta, and will record as a solo artist for Arista as well as lending his production and artist development skills to the label. Under the terms of the deal, Dupri will only produce artists in the BMG family of labels, which includes Arista, RCA, and Jive.
Announcing the deal Arista boss Antonio Reid told reporters "Jermaine has been one of the outstanding creative forces in the Atlanta music scene. We have known each other for more than a decade, and it has been a source of personal satisfaction for me to watch him work with and guide many of Atlanta's hip-hop and R&B artists to superstar status. Jermaine has produced some of the greatest names in contemporary music, and I welcome the opportunity to bring him into the Arista family."
Dupri, whose first major producing duties were with teen rappers Kriss Kross, of all people, has since worked with a plethora of acts including Mariah Carey, Jay-Z, Elton John, Janet Jackson, Destiny's Child, Usher, TLC, Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Toni Braxton, and Run DMC.
So So Def's past roster, including the likes of Jagged Edge and Bow Wow, will remain signed to Columbia.