This is an analogy that the ladies of The Real didn’t see coming. In an interview with the bubbly and diverse cast of the daytime talk show, Jermaine Dupri sat down for a revealing interview on working with Aretha Franklin, and why he thinks that being a producer is also like being a gynecologist.
To the cast’s bewilderment, Dupri further elaborates on the comparison, stating, “I only use that because as women, when y’all go to the doctor, you know what his job is. So you can’t sit there and act crazy, you just got to do what he says. ‘Open up and let’s go.'”
Co-host Adrienne Bailon later added to the comment, mentioning, “it’s your job to sometimes deliver bad news,” to which Dupri responded, “Yeah, so when they come to the studio or when they come to the house or whatever it is… ‘Open up and let’s go.’ I’m not getting ready to like… Like, you want to address his name. He’s…he’s married to that name, but if I want to be like, Okay listen, ‘I just did The Real. They don’t like your name.'”
He further explained his analogy by using Aretha Franklin as an example. “When I got in the studio with her, she sang the song so well, I didn’t say even anything as a producer,” he said. “And she hit the button like, ‘Are you going to tell me what to do?’ And I’m like, ‘You’re Aretha Franklin. I don’t know what to tell you to do.’ She said, ‘Well, listen, you’re supposed to be the producer.’ And she has a way of telling you, you know… ‘You’re supposed to be doing… We spent money to have you here. You’re supposed to do what you got to do.’ And from that day I knew that that was my job. My job is to tell these artists or whoever I’m working with exactly what’s going on.”
Check out the clip below ahead of the show’s airing on Jan. 22.