Jermaine Dupri and Dallas Austin have unofficially been Atlanta royalty for years, but now they have a crown to prove it.
On Thursday (October 26), Dupri and Austin were two of the seven honorees to receive the Crown Jewel of Excellence from Atlanta’s Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame.
Along with those two ATLiens, the rest of the honorees were Lil Wayne, Queen Latifah, Magic Johnson, gospel singer Marvin Sapp, and the late gospel pioneer Mahalia Jackson.
Dupri and Austin both shared moments from the induction ceremony on social media.
Man!! I just got inducted into the @blackwalkoffame and it feels amazing !! A lady on the red carpet asked me does this mean Atlanta is the new hollywood ? No! This is Atlanta this is Black music and Black entertainment #SoSoDef30pic.twitter.com/ZJDD4moYUz
— Jermaine Dupri (@jermainedupri) October 26, 2023
“Man!! I just got inducted into the @blackwalkoffame and it feels amazing !! A lady on the red carpet asked me does this mean Atlanta is the new hollywood ? No! This is Atlanta this is Black music and Black entertainment,” wrote Dupri on X.
Austin was also grateful, writing on Instagram: “Today has been amazing ! after a long hard month this is the way to come out of it thank you @blackwalkoffame thank you for putting my name in the ground with so many greats!”
He also thanked Walk of Fame co-founder Catherine Brewton, calling her “my sister.”
Jermaine Dupri and Dallas Austin both have long careers in the music industry. Dupri’s label So So Def is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year (and he had a long career even before that).
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Austin has produced hits for groups like Boyz II Men, TLC and Another Bad Creation, as well as singers like Madonna, Gwen Stefani and Pink.
The Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame was established in 2021 by four founders, including Jermaine Dupri’s father, media executive Michael Mauldin. Their previous batch of inductees, from this past February, were Ambassador (and former Atlanta mayor) Andrew Young, Rev. Dr. Bobby Jones and actor and humanitarian Danny Glover.
The Walk of Fame’s mission is to “honor iconic individuals and organizations that have impacted Black culture and community alongside those who continue to lead us into the future.”