So So Def Recordings has found a new home.
The iconic label, founded by Jermaine Dupri in 1993 and the company behind acts like Bow Wow and Xscape, has inked a multi-year contract with Create Music Group, the two brands announced on Wednesday. The media and technology company has acquired So So Def’s recordings, publishing, and back catalog with the new deal.
Dupri will move from CEO and will now serve as the founder and chairman of the label and the creative director for Create Music Group, where he hopes to “expand” the company’s focus on music and culture. “I have been looking for a home for the entire So So Def brand so I can continue to do what I started,” the music producer said in a press release about his decision to approve the deal.
The partnership will allow Dupri to sign new artists and create new music, according to the release. The producer, who helped foster the careers of Usher, Jagged Edge, and TLC, has appointed Bryan Patrick as the new CEO and Joe Romulus Esq. as head of legal business affairs.
“Jermaine has been one of the most successful and impactful forces in music for the last three decades,” Create Music Group Founder and CEO Jonathan Strauss said in the release. “We are honored that he and his team have decided to partner with us for both his catalog and future output.”
The two companies hope the partnership will usher in a “new day” at So So Def Recordings. A powerhouse in the ‘90s and 2000s, So So Def was the label behind Xscape’s three platinum albums, Da Brat’s debut LP, “Funkdafied,” which also went platinum, and Jagged Edge’s double-platinum album “J.E. Heartbreak.” Dupri became the first person to produce the top three singles on the US R&B chart in 2005 with Mariah Carey’s “We Belong Together” and “Shake It Off,” and Bow Wow’s “Let Me Hold You,” according to the release.
“We Belong Together” broke several records in early aughts, spending 14 nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. Dupri is also producer of Usher’s three-times platinum ‘90s single, “Nice & Slow,” Xscape’s platinum song “Just Kickin’ It,” and his own chart-topping single “Money Ain’t A Thang” feat. Jay-Z.
Founded in 2015, Create Music Group works with major artists, independent and mainstream record labels, as well as international media brands, including Marshmello and PepsiCo. The company was named one of Inc’s 5000 Fastest Growth Companies in America in 2020. Create Music Group is based in Hollywood, California.
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