JERMAINE DUPRI - DUPRI 'LOST HEART' IN RECORD LABEL

DUPRI 'LOST HEART' IN RECORD LABEL

Producer JERMAINE DUPRI was dropped from his position as President of Island Records Urban Music because he failed to turn up for work when his girlfriend JANET JACKSON's album flopped, according to reports.
The star has headed up the label, a division of the Island Def Jam Music Group, since 2007, overseeing the firm's entire urban music operation and producing tracks for several of its artists, including Mariah Carey and Jackson.
But reports surfaced earlier this week (beg05Jan09) alleging Dupri's role has been "terminated effective immediately".
And although there has been no official announcement from Dupri or the label, sources claim Dupri's departure was because he "lost heart" after Jackson's 2008 LP Discipline failed to impress.
The insider tells New York gossip column PageSix, "After (his girlfriend) Janet Jackson's album and tour bombed, he basically didn't come back to work.
"He still collected a paycheck, but didn't bother to do anything that he was supposed to do, like find artists, release records or actually show up. Executives tried to talk to him, but he just lost heart. Very few producers have turned into good executives, with the exception of Dr. Dre."
Discipline was released last February (08), but had only shifted an estimated 415,000 copies in the U.S. by September that year. Island Def Jam reportedly stopped promoting the album in June 2008.