Kori Barnes 
Raised in the College Park community of Atlanta, it’s a well-known fact that Jermaine Dupri continuously makes appearances at Atlanta events and gives back to his supporters. Recently, Dupri and LVRN hosted an album listening party for DSVN at the Red Martini in Atlanta, GA. This was a private event to receive feedback regarding the release of Dupri’s album that was recently released.
Dupri titled his newest album Karma and explained to the crowd at the listening party what the inspiration was behind it. “Working on my Karma” is the theme behind his album as it takes you through a personal journey as to what it means to be better than where or who you were yesterday. That it’s important to see and accept the flaws of yourself and others, but to make sure you hold them both equally accountable. The life lesson that what you give out is often what you get back – so be careful of Karma.
I appreciated the concept of Dupri not only focusing on the ups and downs throughout relationships, but also the experiences of life trials as well. The preview of tracks “Tired” and “What goes around, comes back around” stood out to me as I bobbed my head to the melody. I could see that other attendees thoroughly enjoyed the tracks as well, so they decided to restart them again due to the praise. Taraji P. Henson sat in with Dupri and the DSVN section supporting the brand throughout the preview of the album.
Atlanta has always been known for its eccentric fashion and this event was nothing less of it. Some guests expressed their fashion through an entire leather jacket and pant attire and others wore different prints mixed together with bold colors. The backdrop of the event played images of a woman with neon hair, clothes, and lips in different colors, so the attendees definitely dressed for the occasion.
Although the event was held from 7:00-9:00 pm, Dupri was able to play the album a few times so that more people could resonate with the tracks and the inspiration behind them. As soon as certain songs were replayed, he gave the audience a chance to react positively or negatively to the track. Overall, the audience and fans were highly pleased with Working on my Karma.
By Kori Barnes, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Instagram: @korixnicole
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