Jermaine Dupri isn't happy with people claiming he's no longer relevant: 'I've had a hit record every year that you can think of'

• Jermaine Dupri is not happy with people claiming he's no longer relevant.
• Dupri, 50, has produced hit records for Ari Lennox, Summer Walker, and dvsn in recent years.

Jermaine Dupri is not happy with people claiming he's no longer relevant.

"I done heard people say, 'JD ain't relevant no more.' I've had a hit record every year that you can think of, you just don't even really realize it," said the Grammy Award-winning producer during an appearance on the "I Am Athlete" podcast on Tuesday.

Dupri, 50, launched So So Def Records in 1993. During the 1990s and '00s, he produced No. 1 records for Kriss Kross, Mariah Carey, Usher, Monica, and Nelly.

In recent years, he's produced songs for Ari Lennox, Summer Walker, and dvsn, while he's also worked on records for Tory Lanez, Snoop Dogg, A Boogie wit a Hoodie, and Anthony Hamilton.

"2020 was Usher and Ella Mai," Dupri added. "If you from the rap world and you listening to only trap music, then you gon' be like, 'JD ain't made no music.' Cause you ain't listening to R&B music. You don't know. Matter fact, I left something out. I put out Anthony Hamilton's album last year.

"So I'm saying, if you not really into what's going on, you might have missed it. So you can say what you want to say, but that's a reckless statement for you to put it out there unless you know what's happening."

Dupri's So So Def Recordings turned 30 this year.

Reflecting on the label's legacy in a recent interview with Forbes, Dupri said that So So Def helped transform hip-hop into a "young person's game."

"I brought youth into hip-hop and I'm the one who inserted the idea of kids rapping and I did it at the highest level," he said.

Dupri's first No. 1 record as a producer was "Jump" by duo Kriss Kross, who at the time of recording were only 12 and 13 years old.

"People never took So So Def seriously because, at the time when we came in, it was an adult sport," Dupri went on. "There were no other kids in the business, so everything we see now on YouTube and SoundCloud with kids in their houses, making records, and becoming stars were nonexistent."