Music: The Hit Man Of Atlanta

Jermaine Dupri is now the hottest producer in R. and B. But can he cut it as a hard-core rapper?

Jermaine Dupri, chart-topping R.- and-B. producer and hard-core rap star-in-the-making, still lives with his mother. The 25-year-old music man likes it that way; he likes to be self-contained, to have everything he wants, everything he needs, everything he cares about close at hand. For glory, the walls of his airy Atlanta home are lined with gold and platinum records--the hits he's written and produced for such performers as Mariah Carey, TLC and Usher. For recreation, nestled about the den, he has half-a-dozen arcade-style video games--including Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter II. For work, tucked in a corner on the ground floor,...

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