Jermaine Dupri Explains Why He Never ‘Wanted’ to Produce Music For Janet Jackson

It only made sense for Jermaine Dupri and Janet Jackson to create music together during their seven years of dating. But it wasn’t something the So So Def creator was seeking when pursuing the award-winning singer.

Dupri and Jackson dated from 2002 to 2009. The two already boasted extensive music catalogs prior to getting involved. During their time together, Dupri produced classic albums like Usher’s Confessions and Mariah Carey’s The Emancipation of Mimi.

While he managed to produce hits

incontent-ad1"> for other chart-topping artists, Dupri didn’t have the same success with his ex-girlfriend. But it also was never his intention to produce music with Jackson, as he revealed during a recent appearance on Million Dollaz Worth of Game.

“It wasn’t about no music sh*t,” he explained. “I was just on some like hang out. I wasn’t on no music sh*t, though. I never wanted to produce her.”

Dupri’s revelation came after the podcast hosts asked the hip-hop mogul if he used his skill as a producer to court Jackson. Although the “Welcome to Atlanta” rapper had no desire to produce for Jackson,  it did cause some tension in their relationship.

“We got in an argument about me not producing her because she was around me watching everybody else get hit records,” he said.

The Grammy-winning producer was aware of all the speculation surrounding his relationship with Jackson and didn’t want the singer to start believing the rumors.

“I never wanted her

to think that’s what my agenda was. ’Cause so many people was saying that,” he explained. “When Janet met me she got picked up from the airport in a [Bentley] Continental T. … It wasn’t never no situation where I wanted her to believe that I was trying to do this.”

Dupri added that he didn’t want to “be the person to mess it up.”

With Jackson still working with her producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis at the time, Dupri didn’t think his services were needed.

“You don’t need me, but in her eyes… It didn’t sound right,” he said. But his reluctance to produce for Janet caused “a little bit” of tension throughout their relationship.

The “Money Ain’t A Thing” rapper faced criticism when he produced songs on Jackson’s 2006 album 20 Y.O.

, as noted by Hip Hop DX. In 2020, when he was asked if he would ever reunite for a musical collaboration with Jackson, Dupri explained why fans shouldn’t hold their breath.

“The only reason I say that is because I feel cheated in a way from the 20 Y.O. album that I did… a lot of people discredit me for that album. It has nothing to do with me and her,” he told Page Six.

“I saw a lot of fans say, ‘JD messed her career up with that album,’” he continued. “That album almost sold 400,000 copies in its first week and produced a No. 1 hit. I don’t know why that’s not a success.”