Major congratulations are in order! Music vet Jermaine Dupri, who's been in the game for over 20 years, will be inducted into the 2018 Songwriters Hall of Fame.
According to Billboard, this major achievement will happen for the 45-year-old on June 14. Other inductees include Alan Jackson, John Mellencamp, Kool & the Gang and more. What makes this honor even more special is that Dupri is only the second hip hop artist who has achieved this landmark. JAY-Z became the first rapper inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame last year.
“The 2018 roster of Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees is a prodigious representation of creators of cross-genre hits, certain to resonate with everyone,” the organization’s co-chairs, Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff, and President/CEO Linda Moran, said in a joint statement. “Each year, the slate of songwriters we induct is more diverse and illustrative of the history and contributions that we strive to acknowledge and honor.”
Dupri has written some of the most classics songs in music history for stars like Janet Jackson Usher, Mariah Carey, Xscape, Jagged Edge and more. You already know tracks like Usher's infamous "Confessions Part II," "Burn," and "You Got It Bad," or Carey's "Always Be My Baby," "We Belong Together," and "It's Like That" or even Ms. Jackson's "Rock With U" and "Call On Me." That's right! Those tracks -- and so much more -- are all of Dupri's babies! He does this, for real.