As the latest guest on the Joe Budden Podcast, Jermaine Dupri, an award-winning producer and songwriter, shared an interesting perspective on collaborating on music with R&B singer Chris Brown, citing his close friendship with Usher. JD shared his desire to collaborate with Brown on a record; however, as history has shown, if the producer does work with Brown, it could create a possible issue with Usher.
The topic arose while Jermaine Dupri and JBP discussed a possible Verzuz between Chris Brown and Usher. JD wants to see the two superstars compete against each other, but is siding with Usher as most of the superstar’s classics were produced by JD.
“I know everybody — you know people — have this thing about Usher and Chris Brown,” JD tells Joe Budden. “I’m never gonna say Chris Brown, and I fuck with Chris Brown, but I wrote half of the Usher songs. Y’all want me to go against myself? Like, I’m not doing that.”
Jermaine may be picking Usher, but he still wants to see a Verzuz happen. He continued: “Like, however you feel going to happen in the Verzuz, that’s how y’all feel. These my songs. I wrote these songs, I’m going for my songs. I’m never going to go against myself, but at the same time, like I said, with being competitive, I’m also saying, I want Usher to stay Usher. I want Chris Brown to stay Chris Brown. Let’s fight it out.”
Usher and Chris Brown come from two different eras, but both have been mentioned in the debate over which artists can be the sole heirs to Michael Jackson’s throne. According to Jermaine Dupri, both superstars have signature styles that he doesn’t want to see emulated in the Verzuz.
“Be who you got to be,” said JD. “Like, don’t do his dance. That’s like Mike … that’s like Prince doing “Smooth Criminal”. I would have been mad as fuck by seeing him with his ass out in his little high heels on trying to move like Michael.”
JD’s comment would lead to Joe Budden asking about the producer working with Chris Brown. Referring to a similar previous situation with Dru Hill and JD’s former group Jagged Edge, Dupri revealed that working with Brown is “dangerous.”
“If Chris Brown calls today, on some Dru Hill/Jagged Edge shit, ‘JD, I need something, come through, are you coming to give him the slaps?” Budden asked JD.
“It’s dangerous at this point,” JD replied. “Because like, I said, I don’t go to the studio thinking about, ‘let me hold this, hold some other shit, hold this, let me keep this.’ I might fuck around and go in the studio, Chris Brown and make Thriller. Usher will hate me for the rest of my life.”
Then, Jermaine Dupri would acknowledge that he had created a number-one hit with Chris Brown before and knows what a collaboration between them is capable of. He elaborated:
“I would love to work with Chris Brown. I have worked with Chris Brown before. Bow Wow and Chris Brown got a number one record. As soon as we put him on the song. Number one, you ain’t got to tell me what’s going to happen. I know what’s going to happen, but I’m just saying.. I have the experience of doing this with Jagged Edge, Dru Hill, where I know the danger in it, right? And I’m also so confident in myself that I know I’m going, if I go in the studio with Chris Brown, I’m not fucking around. I’m going to come out with a record that goes.”
Usher and Jermaine Dupri’s friendship has endured for nearly three decades, built on music, mentorship, and unwavering loyalty. Their connection began in the mid-1990s, when Dupri, already a respected producer, helped shape the young singer’s career during a critical moment.
After Usher’s 1994 debut received a lukewarm reception, Dupri stepped in to guide him toward a more refined, mature sound. That partnership produced the 1997 album My Way, which delivered career-defining hits including “You Make Me Wanna…” and “Nice & Slow.” The record established Usher as a rising R&B star while cementing Dupri’s reputation as one of the industry’s top hitmakers.
Their creative synergy continued on 8701 and the blockbuster Confessions, which became one of the best-selling R&B albums in history. Together, they crafted timeless records that influenced the sound of a generation.
Usher and Chris Brown defined R&B’s momentum in 2024 and 2025. Usher’s ninth studio album, Coming Home, debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, later winning R&B Album of the Year at the 2025 iHeartRadio Music Awards. His Past, Present & Future Tour ballooned to 58 dates, drawing massive North American and European crowds.
Meanwhile, Brown’s 11:11 Tour grossed over $82 million across 36 sold-out U.S. shows before expanding to record-breaking stadium stops in South Africa and Brazil. His single “Residuals” climbed to his 11th No. 1 on R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, solidifying both artists as pillars of modern R&B’s global reach. Brown’s anticipated Breezy Bowl XX world tour kicked off this month.
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