Rodney Jerkins
| Rodney Jerkins | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Also known as | Darkchild |
| Born | July 29, 1977 |
| Origin | Pleasantville, New Jersey, United States |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) |
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| Years active | 1995–present |
| Associated acts | |
| Website | darkchild |
Rodney Jerkins (born July 29, 1977), better known by his stage name Darkchild, is an American record producer, songwriter and musician. He has collaborated with a broad range of popular artists, including Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Rihanna, Justin Bieber, Luther Vandross, Jennifer Lopez, Toni Braxton, Destiny's Child, Lady Gaga, Spice Girls and Britney Spears.
Jerkins is responsible for over 160 million record sales worldwide and has won four Grammy Awards. Amongst his most successful productions are "The Boy Is Mine" for Brandy and Monica, "You Rock My World" for Michael Jackson, "Holler" for the Spice Girls, "It's Not Right but It's Okay" for Whitney Houston, "Say My Name" for Destiny's Child, "If You Had My Love" for Jennifer Lopez, "Déjà Vu" for Beyoncé, "He Wasn't Man Enough" for Toni Braxton and "Telephone" for Lady Gaga.[1][2][3]
Contents
Biography
Jerkins' father was an Evangelical pastor and he began playing piano at 5 years of age, following his brother and father who both played at church gatherings. At the age of 14, Jerkins was mentored by his idol, Teddy Riley, but he did not accept a contract offer to work with the producer due to an aspiration to build an "empire" without such support.[4]
Jerkins' first recorded output was a "gospel rap" collaboration with his brother, Fred Jerkins III, entitled On the Move. He later incorporated the name "Darkchild", at the age of 17, subsequently accepting a worldwide publishing deal with the EMI Music Corporation. The producer then proceeded to establish a commercial music career, initially working with artists such as Joe, Mary J. Blige and Brandy.[4]
Jerkins has been married to singer Joy Enriquez since April 4, 2004, and they have four children: Rodney David Jr., born on May 28, 2008; Heavenly Joy, born on November 17, 2009; [5] Hannah Joy, born on October 19, 2012; and Royal David, born in early 2015.[6] He has resided in Galloway Township, New Jersey.[7]
In 2015, his daughter Heavenly Joy was a contestant on America's Got Talent.
Production
Jerkins has produced and written for Joe, The Saturdays, Toni Braxton, Vanessa Williams, Will Smith, Keyshia Cole, Monica, Brandy Norwood, Michael Jackson, Ayumi Hamasaki, Cher, Jessica Simpson, Jennifer Lopez, Aaliyah, Britney Spears, Mary Mary, The Black Eyed Peas, Destiny's Child, Spice Girls, TLC, Janet Jackson, Danity Kane, Beyoncé, Linda Király, Lady Gaga, Cascada, Tamia, Pussycat Dolls, Whitney Houston, Natasha Bedingfield, Mary J. Blige, Lionel Richie, JYJ, Wonder Girls, Austin Brown, Kanye West, Katy Perry, Utada Hikaru, Brian McKnight and LMFAO.[5][8]
He is currently[when?] producing songs for Mariah Carey, Leona Lewis, Justin Bieber, JLS, Nelly Furtado, Kylie Minogue, Ayumi Hamasaki, The Saturdays' forthcoming albums and AGNEZ MO's upcoming debut album. Jerkins was a music producer and mentor on season 10 of American Idol.
When asked by Ryan Seacrest in 2013 the favourite people he's produced for he said "Definitely The Saturdays. Without a doubt. I had a lot of fun working with them and was really impressed with their voices. They were very down to earth and I like that a lot in an artist. I wish them all the best in America and think they could end up as big as The Spice Girls."[9]
In preparation for the 2014 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony, Arab artists reached out to Rodney to help produce a song that features the young Palestinian 2013 Arab Idol winner Mohammed Assaf.
Record labels
In 1999, Jerkins joined Sony/Epic Records to promote power vocalist Rhona, Pop/R&B girl group So Plush and rapper Fats. Fats appeared on two tracks Jerkins produced for Michael Jackson's Invincible album and So Plush released the single "Things I've Heard Before". Subsequently, So Plush's singles, "Damn" and "Things I've Heard Before", were pressed and made available as promos, and Rhona's album was even released in Japan. In 2005 Darkchild Records reappeared when Jerkins signed brand new acts including Shamari Fears formerly of R&B group Blaque, female MC Asia Lee, Dancehall artist Atiba, and Gospel singer Anesha Birchett.
In 2006, he was appointed VP of Artists & repertoire (A&R) for The Island Def Jam Group. Jerkins released his wife Joy Enriquez's second album Atmosphere of Heaven, which features a religious direction, on his independent gospel imprint JoyFul Child Records. The Darkchild name has been loaned to Darkchild Gospel, a record company run by Jerkins' brother, Fred Jerkins III.[10] which released the latest album from Virtue – Testimony.
Music Mogul, Inc.
In late 2008, Jerkins joined Nicholas Longano, Ray Brown, and Jonathan E. Eubanks in creating Music Mogul, Inc.[11] MusicMogul.com represents an entirely browser-based online destination where celebrity artists can unite with their fans. Aspiring artists, songwriters and producers have a chance to be discovered as the next superstar. It is responsible for discovering up and coming producer/songwriter Keri Malena out of Dallas Texas who is making a good name for himself producing quality music. As a result of this exposure, Mr. Malena, as he is called, is now appearing on major label releases such as, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Keyshia Cole, Jamie Foxx, among others. Each quarter, members vote for the best video performances.[12] The top performers are then flown to Los Angeles to compete in front of a panel of celebrity judges. The winner gets a demo deal with Darkchild Productions.[13]
Singles discography
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This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
Appearances and production discography
Notable productions
- 1998: Brandy and Monica – "The Boy Is Mine"
- 1998: Brandy – "Angel in Disguise"
- 1998: Monica – "Angel of Mine"
- 1998: Whitney Houston – "It's Not Right but It's Okay"
- 1999: Destiny's Child – "Say My Name"
- 1999: Jennifer Lopez – "If You Had My Love"
- 2000: Toni Braxton – "He Wasn't Man Enough"
- 2000: Spice Girls – "Holler"
- 2001: Michael Jackson – "You Rock My World"
- 2001: Britney Spears – "Overprotected" (The Darkchild Remix)
- 2002: Brandy – "What About Us?"
- 2002: Monica – "All Eyez on Me"
- 2003: TLC – "Turntable"
- 2004: Destiny's Child – "Lose My Breath"
- 2005: Destiny's Child – "Cater 2 U"
- 2006: Beyoncé (featuring Jay-Z) – "Déjà Vu"
- 2008: Janet Jackson – "Feedback"
- 2008: Brandy – "Right Here (Departed)"
- 2008: The Pussycat Dolls – "When I Grow Up"
- 2008: Beyoncé – "Scared of Lonely"
- 2009: Lady Gaga – "Telephone"
- 2011: The Black Eyed Peas – "Just Can't Get Enough"
- 2012: Justin Bieber – "As Long as You Love Me"
- 2012: Leona Lewis – "Shake You Up"
Guest raps
- 1995: Hodge – "Head Nod" (Darkchild Remix)
- 1996: New Edition with AZ – "Something About You" (Darkchild Remix)
- 1997: Tasha Holiday – "Just The Way You Like It" (Darkchild Remix) with Lil' Cease, Peter Gunz and Mike Nitty
- 1997: MQ3 – "Everyday"
- 1997: Immature – "I Can't Wait" with Mike Nitty
- 1997: Mary J. Blige – "Everything" (Darkchild Remix) with Fat Joe
- 1997: K-Ball – "On the Weekend", "Love Matters"
- 1998: Kirk Franklin & The Nu Nation Project – "Revolution"
- 1998: Keith Washington – "Bring It On" (Darkchild Remix)
- 1999: Brandy – "Top of the World" (Darkchild Remix) with Fat Joe and Big Pun
- 2000: Natalie Wilson & The S.O.P. Chorale – "Act Like You Know" with LaShawn Daniels
- 2001: So Plush – "What You Do to Me" with 50 Cent and Fats, "Ain't My Fault"
- 2001: Rhona – "Satisfied" (Another Darkchild Remix) with Fats
- 2002: Jay Mathis – "Kiss" with Pain and Fats
- 2002: Mary Mary – "He Said" with Fats
- 2002: K-Young – "Ballinest Player" with Lil' Zal
- 2002: K-Young – "Ooh Wee"
- 2002: Shawn Desman – "Sexy"
- 2003: Natalie Wilson & The S.O.P. Chorale – "Good Life"
- 2004: Kierra "Kiki" Sheard – "You Don't Know"
- 2005: Joy Enriquez – "Don't You Let Go"
- 2005: Anesha Birchett – "Get Ready" with Mase
- 2005: Atiba – "Flossin" with Francisco
- 2006: The Darkchild Allstars – "We Are Family"
- 2008: The Pussycat Dolls With Diddy, Lil Wayne, & Fatman Scoop – "When I Grow Up" (Darkchild Remix)
Video cameos
- 1996: Gina Thompson (featuring Missy Elliott) – "The Things That U Do (Bad Boy Remix)"
- 1997: No Authority – "Don't Stop"
- 1998: Kirk Franklin & The Nu Nation Project – "Revolution"
- 2001: So Plush – "Things I've Heard Before"
- 2001: Rhona – "Satisfied"
- 2002: Brandy – "What About Us?"
- 2002: Monica – "All Eyez on Me"
- 2006: Natasha – "Hey, Hey, Hey" and "So Sick"
- 2006: Shareefa – "Cry No More"
- 2006: J. Holiday – "Be with Me"
- 2008: Brandy – "Right Here (Departed)"
Web series
Jerkins is currently starring with Johnny Wright in a number of episodes of the YOBI.tv Take the Stage web series.[14][15][16][17][18]
References
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- ↑ Jackson, Vincent. "MUSIC / Jerkins Brothers Have Shot At Winning Grammys Tonight", Press of Atlantic City, February 23, 2000. Accessed December 28, 2010. "Local record producer Rodney Jerkins – who had a half dozen hits in 1999 – should walk out of the Grammy Awards ceremony tonight with either a Grammy award or a certificate... The Galloway Township resident, whose DarkChild recording studio is in Pleasantville..."
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- ↑ Billboard.biz Archived September 16, 2008 at the Wayback Machine
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External links
- Rodney Jerkins on TwitterLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 28: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
- Rodney Jerkins on Beatbuggy
- Ebony Magazine Interview
- AllHipHop.com Interview[dead link]
- MixOnline Technical Interview
- Darkchild official website
- MySpace Page of Darkchild Music
- Fred Jerkins' Darkchild Gospel
- Darkchild Fansite (inc. discography)
- Thermal Soundwaves Show interview
- Le groupe SoulRnB.com consacré à Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins
- Use mdy dates from April 2015
- Articles with hCards
- Vague or ambiguous time from January 2014
- Incomplete lists from August 2015
- Articles with dead external links from August 2011
- 1977 births
- Living people
- African-American musicians
- Songwriters from New Jersey
- People from Pleasantville, New Jersey
- People from Galloway Township, New Jersey
- American record producers
- Grammy Award winners
