ATLANTA — Over the past year, Jermaine Dupri has been busy producing hits for Lil' Bow Wow, Jagged Edge, Janet Jackson and other artists.
Still, he found time to put out "Instructions," his second album in three years. Dupri says the follow-up to his platinum debut, "Life in 1472," did not suffer artistically because of his schedule. Like his previous disc, "Instructions" has many celebrity guests, including Nate Dogg, Jadakiss, Ludacris, as well as his own artists, including Da Brat and Jagged Edge. The disc was released last month.
"The record isn't just thrown together," Dupri said at his Atlanta studio. "The record pretty much is one for the family, for us as So So Def."
Dupri, 29, created So So Def Recordings when he was just 19 and quickly established himself as a hip-hop mogul. He discovered Da Brat, hip-hop's first female platinum artist, and rap's first child superstars, the duo Kris Kross.
Most recently, he lent his producer's touch to the all-star "What's Going On" song, Bono's benefit project to aid Africa's famine victims. Proceeds are also being donated to the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Question: How did you get involved with the "What's Going On" single?
Dupri: Bono called me and basically was like, 'You know, I've got this project. . . . And I want you to be the producer.' Of course, I was shocked, stone-faced, like, 'What?' It's a certain point in your life where you work so much and then you want to do something to give back to people.
Question: Why is your new album titled "Instructions"?
Dupri: People always ask me, 'How do you continue to be successful?' Usually when people don't know how to get from one thing to the next . . . you have to open up an instruction manual. I look at myself as an instruction booklet, a person who's got the next move. . . . I feel like there's a handful of people that watch me, that's looking for the next big thing.
Question: Many of your productions have your signature raps. Have you tried to cut back on that?
Dupri: A lot of times I try to shy away from doing stuff and people come back and say, 'You didn't put your vocals on my record so I don't know if you don't like it,' or 'What's the deal?' It's almost like I've put myself in a zone now so it's kind of hard to get away from it. Like the Janet Jackson remix (of 'Someone to Call My Lover'), I just did that not really as a keeper but I put it on there, they loved it and they wanted to shoot a video.
Question: What's the secret to your success?
Dupri: I continue to keep putting myself on the front line. What keeps me going is just believing in myself.
Question: Are you worried about how "Instructions" will be critically received?
Dupri: I ain't really looking for no Grammy Award-winning album or nothing like that. I wanted to make a record that felt comfortable.