Exclusive: So So Def 20th Year Anniversary Concert Brought the Top Guns Out
When Jermaine Dupri announced that he was doing a 20 year reunion with some of the acts that made him a household name, some were a bit reluctant wondering if the JD of the 90’s could in fact deliver on his promise to produce one of the biggest reunion concerts in history.
Not only did he deliverer, he brought out some of the biggest names in hip hop history and showed us why he has been coined the unofficial Mayor of Atlanta.
90’s rap duo Kris Kross was the opening act and they got the crowd on their feet when DJ Nabs (official So So Def DJ) put on the track to Jump Jump. From that point on, concert attendees were treated to a who’s who of entertainment royalty that included Usher Raymond, Ludacris Anthony Hamilton, Jay Z, Young Jeezy, Nelly Bow Wow, Bonecrusher, Youngbloodz, T Pain, Tamika and Latocha Scott, Dondria and one or two others.
The Fox Theatre was alive with the sounds of classic songs like “Money Ain’t a Thang” (JD & Jay-Z), “Jump” (Kris Kross), “Yeah” (Usher, Ludacris, Lil Jon), “Who Can I Run To” (Xscape), “I Gotta Be” (Jagged Edge), “Welcome to Atlanta” (JD, Ludacris), “Give It 2 U” (Da Brat), “I Think They Like Me” (Dem Franchize Boyz), “Coming From Where I’m From” (Anthony Hamilton) and so many more!
To cap the evening off was a special appearance by Mariah Carey who told JD..“Congratulations to my friend, as she wheeled out a So So Def cake at the end of the show.
Overwhelmed by the energy of the crowd and the support and well-wishes of his celebrity friends, Dupri was humbled: “Wow…this is crazy,” he said. “We did it! Thank you everyone – the fans, the artists..ain’t nobody f’in with my clique!”
Usher toyed with the crowd while running through a few of his number one hits and he even told the crowd, “I’ve made more hits with this man than any other producer”
Story and images by: Dennis Byron
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