Jermaine Dupri Mauldin was born in Asheville, North Carolina. He grew up in College Park, Georgia. His father is Michael Mauldin, a former president of Columbia Records. Dupri was introduced to the music business at the early age of 6 months by his father, a concert promoter and manager of rap and R&B groups. He dropped his last name as a teenager and started out as a breakdancer for artists such as Diana Ross and Cameo. One of his earlier appearances was breakdancing in Whodini's music video "The Freaks Come Out at Night." When he got more familiar with the business, Jermaine produced hits for platinum artists such as TLC, Monica, Jay-Z, Ludacris, Bow Wow, Da Brat, Usher, Chante Moore, Destiny's Child, Jagged Edge and also helped get Mariah Carey back on top with the top selling album of 2005, The Emancipation of Mimi'.