Word: dupri
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Dates: during 1998-1998
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...ARETHA FRANKLIN A Rose Is Still a Rose (Arista) On her latest album, Franklin teams up with some of the hottest producers in pop, including Sean ("Puffy") Combs, Dallas Austin and Jermaine Dupri. The rejuvenating cross-generational collaborations are more than a marketing move: this is Franklin's most rewarding album in more than two decades. The queen's long reign continues...
Although he is short in stature, Dupri is not short on self-confidence. Asked if he was intimidated by the rap stars on his album, he replies, "I feel like I could rap better than all of them if I wanted to. But that's not what I do--I'm a producer. But if I was a full-time rapper, they'd be intimidated by me. That's how I see it." And he fends off Puffy comparisons by asserting, "The shoes I wear are a whole lot bigger than the shoes that he wears. I'm more hands...
...Dupri's productions tend to be uncluttered, with clear melodic thrust; his particular talent is in creating songs that sound of the moment but are so sturdily constructed that they may be radio staples for years to come. Five songs he co-wrote and co-produced are currently on the Billboard Top 100 singles chart. His best recent work includes Usher's sleek album My Way, whose songs were almost all co-written and co-produced by Dupri, and the female vocal group Xscape's CD Traces of My Lipstick, which features several elegantly funky Dupri-penned songs...
...Life in 1472, Dupri proves he can perform as well as produce--his rapping is relaxed but engaging. The CD's best cut is Sweetheart, Dupri's duet with Carey. Her lilting, soulful voice is a good match for his prodding raps. Much of the CD, however, is tainted with misogyny; the word bitch poisons many tracks. It's a relief when rapper Da Brat, on the war-between-the-sexes song, All That's Got to Go, shows up to defend women and fire shots at pushy "players...
...Dupri expects his album to be a hit, but no matter how it does, he says he had to make it. "It's like Michael Jordan when he went off to play baseball," he says. "People didn't understand why. But there was a baseball player in him--maybe not a good one--but there was one. Same with me. There's an artist in me--it may not be a good one, I don't know. But I think the art is good...