Jermaine Dupri Regrets Not Introducing TLC to the World

Jermaine Dupri is one of the most successful musicians in Hip Hop history. His iconic So So Def record label was home to a number of notable artists like Bow Wow, Xscape, Jagged Edge, Da Brat, and many more. But every successful music story has missed opportunities, and JD shared one that he regrets during a Q&A on Instagram with Black Love.

When asked if Dupri had artists he regretted passing on and his reply may shock some. “I regret not trying to do TLC at the same time as Kris Kross. I was only 19- years old at the time and didn’t believe in myself as a person, as someone having the bandwidth to have both artists. I was putting so much energy into Kriss Kross, and I was only giving TLC maybe 30 to 40 percent, not even 50 percent.”

“I felt I was spreading myself thin by trying to provide both of these groups what they needed to become the success they eventually both grew to become,” Dupri continued. “So I eliminated myself from TLC being a group that I actually introduced to the world.”

The Hip Hop veteran’s ties to the girl group have been documented in the past. The super producer sat down with TV One’s Uncensored and revealed that Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes was the inspiration behind Kriss Kross’ whole swag.

“TLC was my group before they got signed to La Face,” he previously told Uncensored. “Left Eye was living at my house when I found Kris Kross. The backwards clothes came after we started getting more and more songs… The backwards clothes actually came from being around Left Eye. ‘Cause Left Eye was around here trying to cut her sleeves off of every shirt and she had me—I shaved my whole eyebrow off. I only had one eyebrow and I was walking around doing wild sh*t. I had a nose ring. We was just doing whatever we could do to get somebody’s attention.”