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Jermaine Dupri Sued For Missing Child Support Payments

Christian Allaire — Tue, 10 May 2011 21:11:20 +0000

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An Atlanta woman is suing music producer Jermaine Dupri over missed child support payments, reports Billboard.

After a judge recently ordered him to pay her, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Margaret Dorsey told the Grammy-winning producer in March to pay $2,500 a month and an additional $7,500 to Sarai Jones, based on the results of a paternity test.

Jones’ attorney, Randy Kessler, said Jones hopes that she and Dupri “can work together to co-parent their beautiful baby girl,” who is 7 months old.

Dupri’s lawyer, James Kane, declined to comment.

The lawsuit was filed at a time when Dupri is facing financial troubles. His mansion was up for foreclosure and set to be auctioned last week, but the sale was canceled at the last minute. WSB-TV obtained records from the Georgia Department of Revenue, saying that Dupri owes the state more than $493,000 in back taxes for 2007.

Based off his 2006 income, Forbes.com said Dupri was one of hip-hop’s top earners, taking home $12 million. Dupri has produced hits for artists including Usher and Mariah Carey, and had a seven-year relationship with Janet Jackson that ended a couple years ago.

Shame, must be rough for him. I don’t know where all his money went, but he better start gathering some pronto because this is no joke. If you don’t wear the glove, you have to deal with the consequences.

Rapper J-Kwon has Gone Missing

Angelina Irinici — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 22:16:40 +0000

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Rapper J-Kwon has gone missing, and we don’t mean from record sales. E! reported that the “Tipsy” rapper hasn’t been seen in almost a month, even his record label, Gracie Productions, has no clue of his whereabouts. The label has been asking fans for help in finding the rapper, including setting up a Twitter page, @WhereisJKwon, asking anyone for information or sightings.

“J-Kwon is a big part of the Gracie family, and we are obviously increasingly worried and want to make sure he is OK,” Gracie Productions CEO and President Tony Bucher said.

Fans are worried and have showed their support, but the label is still unaware of where or how to contact the 23-year-old rapper.

“We’ve already received thousands of emails from fans and supporters who are worried about J-Kwon, and we want everyone to know how much we appreciate the love and support,” Bucher said. “If anyone has seen J-Kwon or has access to him, please let him know we are worried about him, and to please let us know everything is OK.”

Originally from St. Louis, J-Kwon’s real name is Jarrel Jones and was last thought to be working in the studio on his fourth release, a self-titled CD.

Gracie Productions is based out of St. Louis and Noblesville, Ind. where authorities were not aware of his disappearance, nor had anyone reported him missing, but are now looking into the situation.

“We have no record of that name,” Bruce Barnes, spokesman for the Noblesville Police Department, tells E! News.

You may remember J-Kwon’s first hit that lead to stardom, a club track called “Tipsy.” He had lyrics that started with “teen drinking is very bad. Yo, I got a fake ID though.” Makes sense, as J-Kwon had a troubled background growing up. He was 12 years of age when he was expelled from home, which lead to homelessness and drug dealing. He scored an audition with former Arista mogul Antonio “L.A.” and rapper Jermaine Dupri, which got him out of streets and onto a record label.

Although his first album Hood Hop, released in 2004, was a success, the star faded away and was almost forgotten. He released follow-ups; Hood Hop 2 in 2008 and Hood Hop 2.5 last year, both resulting in poor record sales.

Weezer-Weezy Collaboration

Stephen Baldwin — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 19:19:22 +0000

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Weezer will include a track featuring hip-hop star Lil Wayne on their new album, MTV News reports.

Raditude, scheduled to debut on November 3rd, is the seventh studio album by the rock group, and front man Rivers Cuomo said it was a chance, “to do something totally different.”

If you’re familiar with Weezer’s edgy, upbeat rock sound, urban music is far from characteristic of their style. Cuomo told MTV News that he wrote the song, titled “Can’t Stop Partying,” with music industry dynamo Jermaine Dupri. “It was a real challenge for me, taking his ideas, which are very slick, R&B party [ideas], and giving it some kind of edge, some darkness, making it work with rock, making it work with Weezer,” said Cuomo.

But Lil Wayne is no stranger to Rock. He appeared on Fallout Boy’s last album, and is continuing to pursue his own solo rock-inspired project named Rebirth. Experience, though, doesn’t necessarily imply success. His rock endeavours have been praised for their daring ingenuity, but not necessarily their sound. Ingenuity is one thing that the music pair share though, so it will be interesting to hear the final product of their collaboration.

It wasn’t stated whether Weezer got the idea from the A Millie-Say it Ain’t So mash-up put together by American sampling and mash-up artist Girl Talk. The mix of arguably the two most popular songs by both artists is actually a pretty good blend, but it wasn’t necessarily received as well by fans of either camp as it was by Girl Talk fans.
The same can be said of Mash-up artist Mole Star with their 10-song Weezer/Weezy album he cleverly named Weezyer. The horrible blend of the two names is comparable to the album itself; it just doesn’t sound right. While he does make a strong attempt at blending oil and water, the mix lacks the natural flow that a rock/hip-hop mash-up requires (See a few tracks from Jaydiohead, a Radiohead/Jay-Z mash-up album by Minty Fresh productions, or Jay-zeezer, or even emineezer – ok, I made that last one up)

What’s worse about the Weezyer album is that Weezer fans who visit the official Weezer website absolutely hated the mash-up. Among the comments are a “Fu** that sh**,” followed later by a, “Why bother?” But it’s too early to get cynical, especially in this musical age of samples, mixes and mash-ups – you can never predict which sounds will work together.

Thinking about a room full of Weezer fans joined by a group of Lil Wayne fans is almost cataclysmic: the two groups are bound to fundamentally different music and lifestyle philosophies. But in this era of musical innovation, this combination shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. Hardcore fans in each group will need to bite their lips and adapt to a changing music schema. If the song is a complete failure though, they’ll have plenty to bitch about for the next little while.

Dupri, Yellowcard, and Fat Joe to Play Free, Last Minute Concerts

Michael Levine — Mon, 11 Jul 2005 13:51:43 +0000

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Ford and Sony have announced the creation of Fusion Flash Concerts, a free, “unannounced until the last minute” series of concerts that will feature many popular and up and coming artists.

Artists already announced include:
- Jermain Dupri
- Fat Joe
- Yellowcard
- Pete Yorn
- The Roots

To find out the secret locations and to get tickets to these free concerts, fans must register online at http://www.fusionflashconcerts.com or they can text the word ‘Go’ to 35274 using their cell phone.

The concerts will help Ford launch its 2006 new Fusion sedan.

“We’re really excited to get this summer-long party started in New York,” said The Roots’ ?uestlove. “With our music fusing together an audience of hip hop, rock, jazz and funk fans, we’re a perfect fit for this one-of-a-kind concert series.

“There’s a spontaneity factor unique to this concert series,” said Jermaine Dupri, multi-platinum-selling solo artist, songwriter and producer. “The last minute release of show details and ongoing interaction with fans really builds energy and excitement.”