Jermaine Dupri's Braves bobblehead night celebrates an Atlanta icon and the city's growing bond between sports and hip-hop

Some cities are defined by skylines; championships define others. Atlanta has long been defined by its soundtrack, and few people have shaped it more than Jermaine Dupri.

On Wednesday, the Grammy Award-winning producer became the latest hometown icon to receive the Atlanta Braves' bobblehead treatment. The team celebrated his contributions to the city's culture with a night dedicated to the So So Def founder.

"This is home," Dupri told CBS News Atlanta before the game. "It's Braves Country. That's what Atlanta is. To have a Jermaine Dupri Night at the Braves game is as big as I can see."

The celebration highlighted a partnership between two Atlanta institutions that have helped shape the city's national identity. Long before Atlanta became widely recognized as the "Hip-Hop Capital of the World" through Dupri and So So Def Recordings, the Braves had already established themselves as "America's Team." Together, they represent two pillars of Atlanta's cultural influence.

Before the first pitch, Dupri headlined a So So Def Block Party featuring a DJ set and special guests outside Truist Park. Fans also lined up at the So So Def Café food truck, where menu items paid tribute to his catalog, including "Welcome to Atlanta" lemon pepper wings named after his hit with Ludacris. The first 15,000 fans through the gates received an exclusive Dupri bobblehead before he threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

Seeing that bobblehead for the first time was an experience Dupri never imagined.

"It's pretty crazy. It's amazing just to see it come to life," he said.

Dupri said he watched the design evolve from its earliest stages.

"It started out, it didn't have no hair on the face. Just watching it change into actually looking like me, it was pretty incredible."

Asked whether he ever thought he'd have a bobblehead of his own, Dupri laughed.

"Never. Never. I think I used to be like, 'I don't want no bobblehead.' But it came out good."

While the collectible marked a milestone, Dupri said the bigger picture was seeing Atlanta's music and sports worlds finally operating in sync.

"I started making music in '92," he said, referring to Kris Kross' breakthrough hit "Jump." "As big as that record was, we didn't have this connection between the entertainment scene and the sports scene."

More than three decades later, he believes that relationship has changed dramatically.

"So just to see it come this far ... I feel like the energy is where it needs to be."

Dupri said Atlanta is still building that relationship compared with cities like Los Angeles and New York, where professional sports and music have long intersected.

"People forget that hip-hop is just 50 years old," he said. "The cities are still learning."

"I've been trying to connect these worlds for the longest. So to see it happen, it's amazing to me. And I'm happy that we are this far."

That longevity makes nights like this especially meaningful.

Since launching So So Def Recordings in 1993, Dupri has helped shape Atlanta's musical identity while producing hits for artists including Kris Kross, Xscape, Da Brat, Bow Wow, Usher, Jagged Edge and Mariah Carey. Through it all, he says earning recognition from his hometown means more than any award.

"If you ain't poppin' in your own town, I don't think you should be poppin' anywhere else," Dupri said. "To keep people loving me in Atlanta is probably at the top. This is the top. This is everything right here."