Jermaine Dupri remembers when he had to fight for respect for Atlanta music

Denise Truscello/Getty Images for CasamigosGrammy winner Jermaine Dupri is one of the leaders of the Atlanta music scene, but he remembers that back when he began his career, the music industry didn’t respect music from the A-T-L.

“People were fighting me being from Atlanta, then people was fighting that I was 19-years-old,” Dupri tells Rolling Stone. “People weren’t trying to actually believe that they were gonna listen to someone under 21 tell them something or allow that person under 21 to be a force in the music business. Because it had never happened before and people weren’t ready for it.”

Dupri says he finally received respect when he wrote and produced Kris Kross’ double-platinum hit, “Jump,” in 1992.

Now a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, Dupri has produced hits for A-list stars including JAY-Z, Mariah Carey, Alicia Keys and Usher. Yet despite his honors and success, Dupri says he doesn’t receive enough recognition for pioneering the mix of R&B and hip-hop heard in today’s music.

“The sounds of that R&B that you hear now, I mean, people don’t give me credit for it, but I was ahead of the curve,” he tells Rolling Stone. “I won’t say I created it, but I guess I should, because I did.”

Dupri’s producing six days of free family-friendly “Super Bowl LIVE” events at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, beginning on Saturday, January 26. The Super Bowl will be held in Atlanta on February 3.