Soul Train to honr Jermaine Dupri

ATLANTA, GA - Grammy Award winning producer, Jermaine "JD" Dupri is starting off 2007 with a host of honors. First up, Dupri will receive the Quincy Jones Lifetime Achievement Award at the 21st Annual Soul Train Music Awards being taped in Pasadena, CA on March 10, 2007.

Then one month later, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) will present honor JD with his sixth award as Songwriter of the Year Award during the 24th Annual ASCAP Pop Music Awards.

The invitation-only awards celebration will be held on Wednesday, April 18, 2007 at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, California and will honor the songwriters and publishers of ASCAP's most performed songs of 2006. As this year's Pop Songwriter recipient, JD proves he is still one of the most influential songwriters and producers of his generation.

In 2005, JD won a Grammy in the category of Best R&B Song for "We Belong Together" which also won Song of the Year at the 23rd Annual ASCAP Pop Music Awards. Also in 2005, JD received the prestigious ASCAP Golden Note Award in recognition of his groundbreaking achievements and was named Songwriter of the Year at the ASCAP Rhythm and Soul Music Awards in 2005 and 2006 for songs by artists Bow Wow, Mariah Carey, and Usher. JD will share this year's Pop Songwriter of the Year honors with his protégé singer/songwriter, Johnta Austin.

As CEO of So So Def Recordings, JD has helmed the release of dozens of platinum and gold albums. He's also crafted platinum albums for himself and has become one of only a few producers in music history to garner four positions in the Top 10 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart at one time and the top three spots on the R&B/Hip-Hop charts.

Receiving these esteemed honors from Soul Train and ASCAP come on the heels of JD being appointed president of Island Records Urban Music, a new division of the Island Def Jam Music Group. JD will oversee Island's Urban Music operation and lend his production services to the whole stable of music labels under parent company Universal Music Group.