It takes a lot of energy to run a successful record label, and even more to be an R&B, hip-hop music mogul. No one knows this more than Jermaine Dupri, legendary songwriter, record executive, producer and vegan advocate. When VEGWORLD was contacted to interview Jermaine, we were happy and humbled.
“Feel the Beets and Lose the Meats,” is Jermaine’s message to fans. He’s the star of a new PETA campaign to promote kindness to animals and why living vegan is the best lifestyle. Video clips and ads find the superstar holding beets up to his ears, advocating his two great passions.
Dupri’s music career began at a young age. He hit the stage at age10 as a hip-hop dancer in the 1980’s, and by 1990, he produced his first multi-platinum record and debut hit single, “Jump,” by Kris Kross. If you’re old enough to remember the lyrics, “The Mac Dad will make you jump jump / Daddy Mac will make you jump jump / Kris Kross will make you jump jump,” you were witness to the 90’s hip-hop explosion.
At age 21, Jermaine established his So So Def record label. He’s managed artists such as Kris Kross, TLC, and Usher, and has collaborated with Jay Z, Aretha Franklin, and Mariah Carey.To top off his celebrity status, his personal life made headlines during a seven-year relationship with Janet Jackson. The year 2018 has been huge for Jermaine. In June, he was indoctrinated into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and is finishing 2018 with his So So Def 25th Anniversary Tour.
Dupri said it was curiosity that made him ditch the fast-food lifestyle. After a 25-day master cleanse, he was surprised by his boost in energy and figured what better way to keep the ‘beet” than to eliminate all animal by-products for good.
Jermaine describes a time before hip-hop went vegan. Plant-based foods were limited at celebrity clubs and parties. He recounts stories at Jay Z’s nightclub, 40/40 Club. Jay Z would greet him with snarky comments over Dupri’s diet. “Then one day I look up and see him and Beyoncé are being vegan,” says Jermaine. “I told her, ‘You know, he used to make fun of me for that and now he wants to be vegan.’ I had to ride him about that.”
Bottom line, Jermaine Dupri feels that “the vegan lifestyle puts you on the track to just be healthy. That’s the lifestyle that you have to take on.” And he has done so passionately. Twelve years later, he is among a long list of influential celebrities such as Beyoncé, Jay-Z, RZA, Paul McCartney, Keesha and Pink who all advocate a healthier and kinder diet.
