January 14, 2009 23:33

Jermaine Dupri: 'LA Reid was jealous of me'

Producer blasts ex-boss after splitting with label

Jermaine Dupri has spoken out about his departure from his post as president of Island Records Urban Music division, having been at the company for under two years,

Dupri, who is currently dating Janet Jackson, says he has not spoken to label boss LA Reid in three months after seeing a jealous side to him during his tenure at the company.

“I saw a side of him that I had never seen before and that to me was a jealous side", Dupri told Essence. "I don't know if I should be around people who are jealous of me.”

Dupri was hired in February 2007 to oversee Tag Records, a label that was a partnership between Island Def Jam and Procter & Gamble's Tag brand, but recently left abruptly mid-contract.

Responding to rumours that he was fired after overseeing poor-selling records, the producer said that the label will lie to make itself look good.

“Island [Def Jam Records] is going to say what makes them look good. They are not going to tell the truth and say, "He just stopped dealing with us on a daily basis."

He also says that ageing executives at the label are responsible for the current state of the industry because they are “living off old times”

"The music business thrives on young music, young ideas, newness and freshness. We have a bunch of old guys running all the record companies and they get in these meetings and argue with these young people like myself about what we know and try to make us believe that what we're doing won't work. I don't see them beating the streets to find any of the artists… I never see these people out anywhere because they are still living off the old times.”

--By our New York staff.
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