Jermaine Dupri quotes: on music, tech, competing, reppin’ ATL, and more.
“When you stick to what you’re doing, sometimes that road ain’t as easy as the rest of them.”
“If you see there’s an empty space and a slot open for you to be there, that should be your driving force to make you go harder to do what you have to do.”
“When you create your own path, that’s the beginning of the road to becoming a legend or doing something legendary. When people start walking or driving down that path that you created, those are the things that matter.”
“When you have the talent to do something, and that something you want to do requires your talent, it’s easier than when you want to do something but you don’t have the talent.”
“If you don’t know by now, you’re never going to know.”
“As an employee, you can’t work for someone forever.”
“I’m not afraid of taking long walks. A lot of people want to be great, but they want to cheat to get to the greatness. I’m cool with taking the walk around the block to get to where I want to go as opposed to the cheat, because the cheat has flaws.”
“I know I’ve paid very close attention to everybody and everything that’s going on and if you pay attention to everything, you should be able to find your way because of other people’s mistakes. Teach yourself from others’ mistakes.”
“Attend events to meet like-minded entrepreneurs and to learn about what’s going on in the tech space. You should want to be a part of everything. Being in the space so you can see what’s missing is possibly the most important thing.”
“The one thing I love about tech is that there is an open door policy. People are nice and willing to share their ideas.”
“If you sound like you have a good idea in the startup world, you can get a lot of people to listen to you. If you sound like you’ve got a great artist in the music industry, people still won’t listen to you. Because of this and the attitudes associated with both industries, breaking into music is a lot harder than breaking into the startup world.”
“Tech has put younger people in a more powerful space.”
“I’ve always thought that I could create some kind of business. I’ve always had that feeling.”
“A person like myself will keep challenging to see if I can keep doing it over and over again.”
“People don’t understand that you got to move on; you got to do something else. You have to evolve and go to something else. And most of the time, when it’s time for you to move, other people are not prepared for that move.”
“Is there such a thing as being too competitive? Yeah, definitely. Sometimes I’ve been trying to compete with people that don’t even pay attention to me—they’re not even thinking about me. So then it’s like I’m really not competing with them, you know? It’s only a competition when you’re actually competing with somebody that’s going to push you a little bit harder and they’re playing the game.”
“My father was a promoter of Fresh Fest, and they needed an opening act. He got me a slot as a dancer. We tried it out the first time in Atlanta and the crowd went crazy. I was the opening clown. I’d go dance at talent shows, and because I was young I had the upper hand on a lot of other crews. People thought it was cute. I used that to my advantage.”
“When I was around 11 or 12, I used to go around the neighborhood to cut people’s grass and go house to house to cut a deal with them. I may have gotten my start cutting grass, but my passion was for music. When trying to make the cut in the music industry at the age of a 12, I didn’t have money or experience, but that didn’t stop me from pursuing my dream. People always talk about the money they need to do it. I was always the guy who said I was going to do it. With ideas, talent and a passion for music, I saw an opportunity to bring my unique skills and vision to the music industry. I’ve been making beats since I was, like, 12.”
“When I wanted to make records, I was out here trying to get other people to make the music for me. I would go to producers and tell them things I would want them to do. Those producers couldn’t even translate what I was saying to real life, which is what drove me to be a producer.”
“I didn’t invest in nothing, I just worked my butt off.”
“My gradual gain of things that I needed to get to the places I was headed to came from my ambition and my attitude to do it.”
“Things always work when I put my heart into it, and more brands need to do the same thing.”
“I wanted to feel like an artist for once in my life. I wanted to use other producers for respect, to let them know that I listen to other people’s music and that I’m just not out here on my own page.”
“My life has never been about what’s outside the studio. It’s about what happens in the studio.”
“How fans are getting your music may be changing, but in terms of what makes them pay attention to it, that’s timeless. I mean, are there a zillion, million ways for people to hear the music that I’m putting out? Yeah, but you gotta get it in people’s faces, and touch them, and show them that you’re passionate about your tracks. You gotta be up on stage; you gotta be in the studio, recording. Because people aren’t going to believe in you until you show them that you believe in yourself.”
“Artists still need an experienced industry hand that can steer their development, shape their image, offer advice on beats and lyrics. That’s what The Rap Game is about, that grind, that hard work.”
“If I can help inspire people who want to sing again then I would be really proud of myself.”
“I won’t complain. It’s what I signed up for. You don’t get this career by not working.”
“I’ve always been a champion of overcoming. I cry when I see people do things that I can feel others saying is impossible. Take LeBron winning the championship, I shed a little tear for him. I’m always going to cheer on and champion people overcoming… just overcoming, period. If it’s something that’s been in front of you, and you figure out a way to move that, or go over it, or go around it, I’m always going to champion that.”
“My primary social tribe is Twitter, Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram. All of that. It’s all like the barometer. It’s basically the same as me putting out music. I can see the reaction of people instantly.”
“I have a social network called Global 14 that I started about five or six years ago. My love for social media goes way deeper. I created my own social network.”
“Why do I love sports so much? I just love to see people compete. I love to see how far you can take competition. It’s funny, because I looked at Instagram and I saw this message from Carolina Panthers’ quarterback Cam Newton that says, ‘I have the beast in my eyes, like I’m Tyson.’ And I thought about it, like, ‘Wow, I never say anything like that about my posts.’ Right? And I think that’s a sports attitude: ‘I have the beast in my eyes.’ I have that same beast in music. I’m very competitive and that’s what sport does for me.”
“I’m first-generation money in my family.”
“In the Ferrari or Jaguar, switchin’ four lanes wit’ the top down screaming out money ain’t a thang.”
“I make music not to make money but because it’s in me.”
“I am a very low-key person, I am competitive, and with every ounce of my spirit, I will ensure that this label is taken seriously.”
“To be mentioned in the same breath as people I admire means everything to me.”
“The hardest barrier to overcome is to have so many ideas and not be able to make them happen when you want them to happen or when you need them to happen. I struggle with wanting to do so many things at one time. There’s always something that prevents me from doing something that I want to do.”
“The most important factor to my success is being able to do what I’ve done from Atlanta.”
“My life is incredible. My life is crazy sometimes.”
“I’ll be here for the rest of my life. And I’ll tell you, that’s okay with me.”
Related: Usher quotes.
