When Jermaine Dupri was producing Mariah Carey he was shocked to discover that she wanted to sing over Wu-Tang Clan tracks.
During an interview with the R&B Money Podcast, Dupri recalled connecting with Carey to work on “Always Be My Baby,” which kicked off their creative relationship. The So So Def founder recalled that Carey loved his production on Xscape’s 1993 hit “Just Kickin’ It” and eventually landed him in the studio to work with the legendary songstress.
“She wanted a record that felt like that on her album. I got the call to go in the studio with Mariah,” Dupri told co-host Tank and J. Valentine. “I didn’t know that that’s what she wanted, but that’s what she was looking for.”
Dupri also revealed that she was nervous because he didn’t have his own equipment as he traveled to New York along with instrumentalist Manuel Seal on his first project that he worked on outside of his Atlanta studio.
“I’m like, ‘She’s a superstar, and I’m little n***a,’ I don’t know why I’m here … I’m thinking they use all different chords, they got different keyboards,” he said.
Upon meeting Carey, she immediately pitched him her idea to sing over a Wu-Tang classic.
“She came in the studio and she was like, ‘I want to make a record like this.’ And I’m like, ‘What do you want me to do with this?’ She said, ‘I want to sing over this.’ And it was ‘C.R.E.A.M.’ Wu-Tang Clan.”
Dupri said he wasn’t convinced at first and didn’t want to be “the person who f**k this sh*t up.”
“I started following her lead and she was like, ‘You know, I need something like ‘Just Kickin’ It.’ But I want it to be pretty, but I wanted to have that ghetto shit on it that y’all got on ‘Just Kickin’ It,” he said. “I was also not completely dialed into Mariah yet as far as putting her over top of ‘C.R.E.A.M.,’ It didn’t make sense to me.”
Eventually, the duo came out with “Always Be My Baby” and peaked at the No. 1 spot on the Hot 100 in May 1996, according to Billboard. The song also became Carey’s 11th No. 1, tying her at the time with Whitney Houston and Madonna for the most by a woman. She would later break the tie with “Honey” in 1997.