Jermaine Dupri unexpectedly went viral thanks to his Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show outfit. Viewers joked about his look with much of the focus on his socks. JD swore his fashion choices weren’t meant to induce conversation in an interview with AllHipHop’s Chuck Creekmur.
“I never even thought nobody would say anything about the socks,” Dupri said. “I’ve worn these socks before. And I actually believe that it’s because a lack of information is being given to these kids. Because if people knew more about me, they would know I’m a dancer and I come from an era where dancers used to wear all kinda different stuff. Not where it might not have been cool for a rapper to wear, but it might’ve been cool for the dancer to wear. It might’ve been cool. I’m a Hip-Hop kid. I grew up in Hip-Hop and fashion was a big part of my life. I’m also the same person that had the whole world wearing they clothes backwards. So when people talk about my socks, I’m like, ‘You do realize everybody told me that wearing your clothes backwards wasn’t going to work?’”
He continued, “Nobody was in agreeance with that. Like, ‘Jermaine, you crazy. What y’all doing that for?’ And the fact that [Kris Kross] was younger, I think that kinda smoothed it out a little bit. But people weren’t with that. And then it’s crazy for me to go fast forward 20 years or something. People like, ‘Man, Kris Kross was my first tape that I bought and I got kicked out of school ‘cause I was wearing my clothes backwards.’ And I’m like, ‘What?’ So, I don’t think about clothes like that. I just put on stuff. This was something that I wanted to wear. I didn’t have no idea that the world was going to say it. And when I came off the stage at [the] Super Bowl, my daughter was like, ‘They on your socks, they on your head about the socks.’ I’m like, ‘Why would they be talking to me about the socks?’ So yeah, I wasn’t even paying no attention to it.”
Dupri was surprised by the reaction but intended to capitalize on it. He wore the socks again to South By Southwest, telling AllHipHop it was important to recognize what captures people’s attention.
“If you do something in entertainment and the next time people see you, they ask you about that thing that you did, you better pay attention to it,” JD said. “Now, whether it’s good or bad, you better pay attention to it. And that’s almost the secret to my success. I just pay attention to the obvious. I don’t claim to be a genius and all this. I just pay attention to the obvious.”
Dupri discussed the socks and much more while promoting the Hulu documentary Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told, which premiered on Thursday (March 21). He served as one of the film’s executive producers.
Watch AllHipHop’s interview with JD below.
