American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, record executive, entrepreneur, and DJ. Raised in Atlanta as the son of Columbia Records executive Michael Mauldin, he began his career in music production at the age of nine. In 1991, he discovered the teen hip hop duo Kris Kross. Dupri wrote and produced their breakout 1992 single "Jump," which peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100 and was named the 23rd most successful song of that decade. He established his own record label, So So Def Recordings in a joint venture with Columbia the following year
