Jermaine Dupri Addresses Claims That He ‘Dropped The Ball’ On Latto, Says No One Was Listening To Rapper Until ‘She Started Making More Vulgar Records’

Jermaine Dupri Addresses Claims That He ‘Dropped The Ball’ On Latto, Says No One Was Listening To Rapper Until ‘She Started Making More Vulgar Records’

Jermaine Dupri has no regrets about how things played out with his former “Rap Game” contestants.

The famed producer – known for turning talented children into superstars – recently addressed claims that he “dropped the ball” with popular rapper Latto. You may recall that Latto — born Alyssa Stephens — appeared on Jermaine Dupri’s reality television series “The Rap Game” in 2016. The show centered around finding the next big teen rapper. The “Put It On The Floor” artist won season one, however, she ultimately declined the record deal from Jermaine Dupri that came along with the victory.

During a recent interveiw with HipHopDX, Jermaine seemingly let it be known that the Latto we know today, isn’t the same rapper he once offered a record deal to. He said:

“People keep always saying ‘Jermaine you dropped the ball on Latto. And what I don’t think people understand is I put Latto’s record out. The deal was if you win on ‘The Rap Game’ you get a single from Jermaine Dupri on So So Def.”

He continued:

“That single came out. The problem was that Latto was 16-years-old and the outlets didn’t support it and nobody was speaking on it, nobody talked about it. If you watched the TV show you saw it.”

He added:

“People didn’t start talking about Latto ‘til she started making more vulgar records, dressing more sexual, being an adult. So it made me be like ‘d*mn, so [are] these kids not accepted?’”

Latto may have skipped out on signing a deal with Jermaine but she seems to be doing just fine without his backing. As previously reported, she was nominated for Best New Artist at the 2023 Grammy Awards. She was also up for Best Melodic Rap Performance for her hit song “Big Energy.” Latto didn’t take home any Grammys this year, but she did recently win an IHeartRadio Music Award for Best New Hip-Hop Artist.

Do you think Jermaine Dupri dropped the ball on Latto? Tell us below.

[VIA]