Jermaine Dupri recently made some eye-opening comments about the state of Hip Hop, using Sexyy Red’s latest album as a key example. During a conversation at the United Masters’ SelectCon conference in Atlanta, Dupri didn’t hold back when asked how to save the genre.
“People gotta stop lying,” Dupri stated candidly. “That’s the beginning of the answer. The industry still tries to make you believe that if you’re a hot artist with a single, album sales don’t matter.” He highlighted this by pointing out that Sexyy Red’s new album sold only 28,000 copies. “In the era I came up in, if you sold 28,000 copies, you didn’t get another chance. It’s such a disconnect between understanding the streaming situation and what you’re actually looking at.”
Dupri reminisced about a time when selling 80,000 to 900,000 copies was the norm. For him, the current numbers feel like a step backward. Although Sexyy Red’s album ‘In Sexyy We Trust’ sold 27,000 equivalent units and landed at No. 17 on the Billboard 200, Dupri feels these numbers are not encouraging for the genre’s future.
Despite the numbers, Sexyy Red remains a significant figure in today’s rap scene. Just last week, Lil Baby announced another collaboration with her, and she confirmed it by sharing an unreleased snippet on Instagram Stories. The track, where she raps, “All my n-ggas a plug, I ain’t never gotta buy no weed,” has created buzz but no release date has been shared yet.
Sexyy Red and Lil Baby previously teamed up for the track ‘Lick Me’ on her album ‘In Sexyy We Trust’. Beyond music, she’s branching out, making her debut on WWE NXT and even hosting the upcoming Battleground event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. She also met wrestling legend Shawn Michaels, and they appeared in a light-hearted video together.
WWE’s Triple H even joked about the video on social media, saying, “Let’s all be glad he didn’t start twerking.” With moves both in and out of the studio, Sexyy Red continues to expand her influence.
Jermaine Dupri’s comments highlight a sense of urgency in addressing the current state of Hip Hop. While artists like Sexyy Red continue to make their mark, the industry grapples with evolving metrics of success. Whether Dupri’s perspective will inspire change remains to be seen, but it certainly sparks an important conversation.
