Jermaine Dupri chats with THR at the 2025 BET Awards and shares what BET has meant to him saying, "this is my home." Plus, he reacts to the passing of music legend Sly Stone and talks about his upcoming Quincy Jones tribute.
00:00Is it fair to assume you're behind the Mariah Carey Tribune?
00:02No, no, no, not at all. Mariah's behind, no, no, no.
00:05So you're just here having a good time?
00:07No, I'm just here, yeah, yeah.
00:09What has Big Team meant to you over this 45 years that they're celebrating?
00:13Everything. I mean, it means everything.
00:15It's like, this is our home.
00:17This is, you know, I think when people heard me talk about creating 106 and Park
00:24or being involved with it, what I wanted with 106 and Park was that
00:28I created, I had an artist named Bow Wow, and I wanted that artist to have a home.
00:32I didn't want that artist to have to look for a place or look for validation from anywhere else besides this home.
00:40And BT and Stephen Hill, they created that home for us to watch.
00:45They created that home for Bow Wow to actually be, to deliver his music.
00:49I continue to keep writing songs and producing Bow Wow so we can keep giving music to this home.
00:55So tonight means everything. That's what it means.
00:57As an Ohio native, I have to especially thank you.
00:59That's right, that's right, that's right.
01:02And so, you know, we also are just learning about the passing of Sly Stone, an icon who's meant so much to music.
01:07What should people know about him and his legacy?
01:09He's one of one.
01:11And when you see other people, you see Sly in them, starting with Prince.
01:16I'm scared, I'm sad that Prince is not here to give us a tribute on Sly because he would have did it.
01:26He would have did it.
01:27But Sly definitely, like I said, one of one, probably one of the most creative black men in music that we'll see ever.
01:37You know, his sound, the funk, the idea, the look, everything.
01:46He just had it all.
01:47Yeah.
01:48Now, I do believe you are doing a Quincy Jones tribute, Essence Fest.
01:51Is that okay?
01:52Can you tell us anything about that or what's it been like kind of putting that?
01:55I mean, my goal is just to try to, like, connect the two worlds, right?
02:01It's older people that know Quincy Jones music and it's younger people that don't know that they have listened to Quincy Jones music, but they think it's somebody else, right?
02:10So I'm just trying to make sure that I collide those worlds because I come from the other world of the kids that don't know.
02:17But I also am old enough to be part of the world of the kids that do know.
02:21So I'm just going to try to, you know, make my mind do something that I don't believe they've done for Quincy this year or last year and it needs to happen.
