JERMAINE DUPRI - DUPRI 'IDENTIFIES' WITH 50 CENT

DUPRI 'IDENTIFIES' WITH 50 CENT

Rap mogul JERMAINE DUPRI likens himself to 50 Cent - because people refuse to acknowledge his greatness. The hip-hop star claims he has not received adequate recognition for his skills as a producer, rapper and talent spotter in his 16 years in the music industry - despite being the man behind Mariah Carey's hit comeback album, The Emancipation of Mimi, in 2005. And Dupri is convinced his critics are so bitter about his success, they wish he would fail - just like his rap counterpart, 50 Cent. He tells Vibe magazine, "I'm programmed to think nobody in the music industry likes me. I believe that when you're as good as me - and I don't say that to be cocky - you never get your props. That's why I identify with 50 Cent. "50 has sold (too many) records for people to be acting the way they're acting. N**gers just want him to fall off. It's like, 'He made his money... F**k 50.' I get treated the same way."