Jermaine Dupri -- Be Careful Chet Haze ... You Ain't MY N**ga

Jermaine Dupri is giving white rapper Chet Haze the green light to drop the n-word ... under one very specific circumstance.

Chet, aka Tom Hanks' son, is kicking up some controversy by claiming it's no big deal if he uses the n-word ... in his music and when talking to his friends.

So hip-hop mega-producer Jermaine weighed in ... on his way out of Craig's -- and we were kind of shocked. Watch the vid ... sounds like JD 100% backs Chet's n-word argument -- in ONE situation.