Tell me about the concept and the rap game is basically i bring five young rappers to atlanta, basically, from the age of 1216, and i basically put them through a Jermaine Dupri boot camp and, you know, i give them this Artist Development trial and drill every week, and you see them go through things of, like, if they can write their own lyrics, can they dance, can they dress, do they know how to have a conversation with people when they do interviews, everything that goes into creating a star. Sounds like the old Motown Finishing School 3100 100 . [laughter] a lot of people say you are. I know you may shy away from the title mogul no, no, ive actually got another show coming on june 28th so i dont shy away from that. He took diana ross and marvin gaye and smock key from the projects and smoky from the prompts and smoothed them out to these household names. 100 . Everything that i do i try to emulate what mr. Gordy, mr. Berry gordy did in motown. Now, what would make this different from, lets say, your voice or the american idol, you know, type shows . Well, this is giving you a view of what you probably wonder what happens once somebody wins on american idol. This is the actual process that it takes to actually get, put out a record in the music business. You know, one of those shows thats showing you this week weve got you singing somebodys song, next week somebody elses song. You never actually hear them singing their own songs until they actually say its on the radio somewhere. You never actually hear or see them going through the process of people writing songs for them and them having a difficulty this is just, you never see none of the process thats happening on my show on those shows. When you look for talent and resume thats very, very impressive as far as the careers youve launched, but what is that it factor now in this day and age versus when you were helping out a startingout usher or mariah carey . Whats the it factor nowadays . The it factor is still the same. Artist. You can tell that they, you can anyway. I can tell a genuine star as soon as i see them. If theyve got a little thing in their eyes, they talk a certain way, they move a certain way, i can tell, oh, this is going to be, this persons going to be something. When you talk about mentoring, which is what youre doing and giving back, why is that important to do . Well, i dont know how important it is for me, you know, i dont know if its important, i just know that its in me, you know, i pattern myself after what berry gordy he signed Michael Jackson at 5, Stevie Wonder at 11. I found kriskros at 11 and 12, the majority of my artists i all worked with when they were teenagers or young. Its just a thing that was brought to me, and i saw it, and im like, yes, im going to do this, and im going to do it the way that i know how to do it. It just is a perfect fit for me. Youve been in this industry a long time. Youre mentioning names and songs, you know, that i remember from when i was in college and things. When you talk about its not, its not an easy business is november gate successful all to navigate all these years. Youve managed to do it, your artists certainly have, but a lot of artists dont have the same trajectory as some of the others. Are you prepared with the rap game . Are you letting people know its not always balloons and flowers . Oh, yeah, every end stowed somebody crashes episode somebody crashes, and its looking at thinking theyre a front runner, you know . Like on this weeks episode, you should watch. I had the kids actually perform at a school, and one of the artists have a problem with their lyrics, and one of the artists, the artist im talking about is a front runner for the fans at home. When you are also going on at the same time, i just want to make a quick right to get your thoughts on something, the oscar controversy and what many are feeling as a lack of diversity for performing artists, the actors. Just your thoughts. I believe that it starts at the core, the base, the bottom, and i might be thinking corporate, i might be thinking from a business perspective, but i believe that we need more probably, we probably need more blacks on the board of what the board of who nominates what and who says what. Thats where the core of a lot of these shows actually, you know, thats where the problem actually is, i believe. And like i said, im not, i im just looking on the outside looking in, but thats what i believe. And im sure if you crack that open and look at the inside, im sure its not a young person like myself or even younger person like myself on the board of the oscars. When we look at some of your contemporaries, you, sean combs, master p, you know, you were all young men when you were starting out with these music em pures empires, you know . It happened in that degree to you. Is that something you have to pass along to the people on the rap game to say, you know what . Just because it happened for me at this age and that fast do you run into people saying i want to be the next Jermaine Dupri no, i definitely dont hear people saying [laughter] the majority of people just want me to help them be who they are. I was 19 when kriss kross came out. I wasnt even 21 years old. Yeah, huge success, you know, thats hard for me to tell you, hey, you should do that, you know . Theres a lot of hard work that came prior to me getting to that success. Who were your role models . You mentioned berry gordy. [laughter] berry gordy, quincy jones, teddy reilly, steve jobs. Just creators and inventers, and, you know, people that have a passion to create. And you can feel the passion when they talk and they speak about what they do. Yeah. You know, proud southern atlantan. Did you think at this point when you were a little kid that you would be a name, a big name in the Music Industry, in the little boy . Was that an ambition that you had . Nah, not when i was little. Smaller than i am now, i was playing football, and i wanted to play sports as a young kid. I was, like, i had to start filling this hunger for being in the Music Industry or being a part of the Music Industry in some kind of way. You like the direction its going . I mean, you survived this east coast west coast thing, you know, from like you said an outside looking in, just being in the industry itself, and now hiphop has become the biggest selling or depending upon which month it is of whether its country or hiphop music, you know, biggest selling music genre there is. Yeah. Just a cultural period. Record sales are not where they used to be, but the culture of hiphop is at a space that its never been in, you know what i mean . And i love it. I think, like, you know, ive been doing interviews every other day, and people are like why do you have a tv show on lifetime . Because thats what hiphop does. Hiphop moves in places that you think its not supposed to be at, and we make a home there. Let me ask you something. People have been trying to figure out who lucius on empire is based upon. Certain names mixed around, some said they thought it was maybe based a little bit on Jermaine Dupri. Really . Some of of the not all of the characters. Have you heard that . Never. I mean, i could imagine, you know, its the same i didnt go to jail or nothing like that. Right. Thats why we knew you didnt. A lot of little curves there. I stayed away from that side of the world. But at the same time, the way that, you know, that the companys created, the way the company moves, the way lucius goes in there and creates artists, i dont watch a lot of empire, but from what ive seen, it could, you know, theres similarities. I believe that theyve taken pieces from all of the moguls and created a show. Thats what wed heard also. When you think about black history month, what does that mean to Jermaine Dupri . A muchneeded celebration, you know what i mean . We probably need a year as opposed to a month just because music, so much great culture, so many great people. And i dont think a month is long enough to talk about the greatness of, you know, of our culture and our people. But, i mean, you know, its we got it, so lets celebrate it as hard as we can. Best piece of advice you were ever given, and if you would share with us who maybe in the industry gave it to you . [laughter] my good advice is a funny one, but its a good piece of advice. One day they love you, the next day they hate you. Just make sure you get paid for both days. [laughter] last question [laughter] last question before you go, mr. Dupri. When you how does it make you feel when you, lets say youre at a club somewhere or whether here, whether atlanta, whether on the west coast, and lets say jump, jump comes on or you dont know what youve got til its gone by ms. Jackson, when you see whos jumping to it and people, you dont see one particular race, you see everybody just appreciating your music. As a producer, a writer, a performer, how does that make you feel when you see that . Its amazing. I was just saying this last night. I was doing a thing for usher, and i was telling him when i see the crowd sing lyrics that ive written, im blown away. You know, when youre in there writing, you dont actually you dont even Pay Attention to that part. Some people might, but i dont even think about, you know, im just writing, trying to write the best song i can possibly write and say words that just come to my head, you know . Especially for me, i didnt finish high school. So, you know, people look down upon me as a person that probably didnt have a good, you know, i didnt finish my education, and people probably think im not the smartest people in the world. Some probably think that. So when i see that, you know, i it just gives me butterflies, wow, these are lyrics, words thought, you know, this person probably would never say or come up with anything like that. So its very, very special. The rap game airs on lifetime. Yeah. 10 p. M. , 9 central on friday night, this friday. This friday. Yeah. All right. Happy black history month. All right. Come back and see us again. All right. When we return, youre going modern master behind the this morning we celebrate a modern master, dancer and choreographer judith jamison. Her roots run deep, and the beauty she inspires has delighted audiences for decades. The dancer is music. You know . Were the notes come to life. My name is judith jamison, im the former artistic director of the alvin hailey american if a dancers worth their weight, you will see them in motion, life motion, you know . And your breath will be taken away. I was born in 1943. It was a very, very intense time in philadelphia artistically, spiritually, emotionally, racially. I was growing up with mothers day parades on new years eve with people in black face. There were things going on there that im glad i grew up with. Career. People ask me sometimes, well, did you know you wanted to be a dancer . It wasnt a matter of wanting to you needed to be. I needed to be a dancer. I didnt know that, but it came to me. There are always people before you that just inch the door open can get a foot in. Alvin gave that to all of us because were living on his afterburner. All the good things that he did for us so that we can exist now, and it continues. Bravo. There it is, there it is. Right. [applause] mr. Hailey and i met in 1965. He was there at this audition that donny mchale was giving. And i failed that audition, because i was really bad. I hadnt danced for three months, because i was working at the worlds fair. Right . Pushing buttons at the log flume ride. Dont ask. So as i was leaving the building, there was a man sitting on the steps. But i was so upset, i walked past him. And about three days later that man that i passed on the steps like to be a member of the alvin hailey American Dance . You know, this is how you know youre guide. You just know youre guided. I was one of his muses. He had several muses. Theres a history there thats quite wonderful, and some of the ballets are still being done like pride, which is this one. Mother, mother, mother, mother, save your child. 15, 16minute solo. Thats very difficult to do. Once the curtain went down and there was thunderous applause and people kept applauding and kept applauding, that opened all kinds of doors. Im so proud of not just this generation, but the generation before them and the engeneration before that, that i was responsible for making them lift themselves even higher than they thought they could. Connection with your soul and to, hopefully, connect with someone elses. Will they remember you just for how high your leg went or how many peer wets you did pirouettes you did, or will they be touched in the inner most part of their being . Thats what dance is supposed to for you. And coming up, saving a piece of baseball history from the ravages of time. The big makeover on deck for st an old new jersey ball park once used by Negro League Teams will be restored. Dan bowans shows us the efforts being remain to being made to rebuild the stadium. To see it here in solitude is an eerie feeling, recognizing so it does need a lot of work. But sometimes the things that need the most work and the most love are the most important, and this is really about the future of patterson not today or tomorrow, but maybe 20 years out. If you can look beyond the structural cracks and old, rust ared ticket bars of the stadium in patterson, new jersey, mayor joey torres says there is still hope. I believe that by restoring the stadium and bringing life back to it, were actually going to create revenue, its going to affect the economy, but were also going to put people back to work. The stadium first opened back in the 1930s and was home so so to some of the original negro league. Larry dove i have, the first africanamerican in the american league, played here. But then in the 1990s this stadium closed and fell into disrepair. In 2013, a glimmer of hope. This was the first baseball stadium to be declared a National Historic landmark. Were standing right in shallow right field. More than 20 hall of famers, Josh Gibson Brian is with friends of the stadium, a volunteer nonprofit group. He says a recent donation of 300,000 from American Express means those rusty ticket booths can be restored. And thats our first Major Corporate donor. So were hoping that this could maybe have a trickle effect, and maybe well see more folks coming forward with some monies. But there is a long way to go. A complete makeover remaking interior and exterior walls and renovating the field will cost between 30 40 million, so they need more corporate donations. The stadium has to be returned to its rightful owners, and thats the people. It should be used for high school sports, football and baseball, but concerts, boxing matches, rodeos. I could close my eyes, and i could hear east side stomping on the benches making some noise, and i could hear kennedy on this side making some noise. Thats a good thought. The dream he hopes will become reality. Dan bowans, fox 5 news. Coming up, master p and how generation, when we return. Master p has expand his empire, and now hes working on teens. Allison morris has more. Star, father and entrepreneur, but today master p is playing one of his favorite roles and taking us along. I feel like im a life coach. Were heading to Frederick Douglass academy in brownsville, brooklyn, a tough neighborhood that didnt even have a high school until 2001. To talk to the kids about education and Financial Literacy. Education is so important. Like, it changed my life and, hopefully, i can inspire other people in these kids that your education starts right there. You dont have to be embarrassed about getting good grades, you know . Like, its important. Its going to change your life in the future. Cool to be a nerd, i love it. Yeah. You know what . Like, when people would say to me, oh, if somebody tell you you a square. Yeah . Im a rich square. Started in the ghetto, im cook in the hills. Worth 350 million in 2013 according to forbes. We here. You know, i grew up in poverty, next generation, i feel like kids can look at me and say, you know what . P come from where i come from, and if he decided to do whats right and education is so important, maybe it might be a good thing. [applause] who knows what Financial Literacy is . Everybody want to make money, right . So what are you going to do with that money when you get it . There was one old lady in my neighborhood named miss irene. She said, boy, youre going to be a star. Everybody else saying, boy, you gonna be nothing. Im telling all you guys you gotta believe. Its easier to catch up now than to catch up later. Staying in school from Frederick Douglass we head to the plaza hotel to chat business the selfmade star. You talked so much to the kids about the importance of education, and i know you went to college and majored in get started . Classroom, i mean, no amount of money could pay for the education that i have. I feel like i have a billion dollars worth of knowledge. Right here, million dollars, i got a check for a million dollars. You told them an amazing story about how you turned down a million dollars. I saw their jaws drop when you started telling that story. I had 500 in my pocket, and the owner of the company, they had just signed puffy, they had just signed suge, and those guys was pretty big at that time. They said you gonna be the next guy, im going to give you a million dollars. Who was that . Jimmy ivine. I opened up doors to another deal, i got the first hiphop deal which was well, not just hiphop, i think in any music genre, an 80 20 deal where i got 20. It was a distribution deal. So at that time i think that changed the game. It changed hiphop. Was there one thing that was, like, the smartest investment really bad that you laugh about . I invested into this Technology Thatll be coming out real soon. I got the master camera thatll be coming, so youll be able to download your videos directly to youtube. Been work on that for maybe like six years. I think the worst thing i ever did was buying the gold ceilings. I never could get my money back out of it. [laughter] do you worry about that, that someday something could happen, or you know if it did, youd just build it back up again . I come from new orleans. The hurricane might wash everything away, but people the strong people will get back up. So i dont do i dont live for money, i make money. I could always go back to the projects. I tell people all the time, im like instant grits. I can make money, just add water. Youll always think of of something new. Just add water to me, im going to be all right. [laughter] we thank you so much for celebration of black history month. For all of us here at fox 5, im antwan lewis, and well see you emale narrator the following is a paid presentation for the Bye Bye Foundation beautiful you collection from it cosmetics by jamie kern lima. Brought to you by guthy renker. Imagine having skin that looks this beautiful, this flawless, without having to wear foundation. Imagine a product that covers everything but looks and feels like youre wearing nothing. Imagine one product that is clinically shown to make your skin youngerlooking in just ten days and can make you look up to five years younger instantly. This life changing product is Bye Bye Foundation, the first ever full coverage moisturizer from it cosmetics. Its proven skincare and full coverage, plus Broad Spectrum spf 50 sunscreen all in one simple step. So say, byebye, foundation, and, hello, beautiful, flawless looking skin