Jermaine Dupri, the GRAMMY-winning producer and Songwriters Corridor of Famer behind So So Def, is giving Emory College college students a front-row seat to the music enterprise. At its peak within the late ’90s and early 2000s, So So Def was a powerhouse, launching USHER, Xscape and Bow Wow, shaping Atlanta’s hip-hop and R&B dominance. Now, Dupri is paying it ahead.
Initially set for 2 college students, Dupri expanded his So So Def Internship Program after seeing the caliber of expertise among the many candidates, choosing 4 Emory undergraduates: Ella Furgeson, Luccas Perez, David Qiu and Emmett Roth. The six-week spring 2025 program will give them hands-on publicity to probably the most influential labels in music historical past.
“Over 25 years in the past and earlier than lots of my label friends, we started providing faculty college students the chance to earn credit score by means of our So So Def Internship Program,” Dupri mentioned. “I’m excited to construct on this legacy and welcome our incoming class of 2025.”
Introduced on the Emory Concepts Pageant, this system bridges academia and real-world trade expertise, with college students incomes credit score below the mentorship of each Dupri and Emory college. For Furgeson, a DJ/producer from Fort Value, Texas, it’s a chance to hitch a label that formed tradition. “So So Def created tendencies whereas continually giving again to Atlanta,” she mentioned.
Perez, an aspiring musician from Broward County, Florida, is keen to step into knowledgeable studio for the primary time. “Working with Jermaine Dupri is an unbelievable alternative. His legacy speaks for itself,” he mentioned.
Qiu, a fourth-year pupil at Goizueta Enterprise College, values So So Def’s historical past of artist improvement. “Being in that atmosphere and studying from trade leaders is a chance I couldn’t cross up,” he mentioned.
With a curriculum co-developed by Oxford college, this system ensures a structured but immersive expertise. Dupri’s initiative reaffirms his standing as a forward-thinking trade chief, persevering with So So Def’s affect nicely past its peak.