Clark Kent (producer)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Rodolfo Antonio Franklin II (September 28, 1966 – October 24, 2024), known professionally as DJ Clark Kent, was an American hip hop DJ and record producer. His crew of DJs was called "The Supermen", and his DJ moniker was derived from the name of
Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...
's alter ego.


Early life and education

Franklin was born in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York, on September 28, 1966, but would often say he was born in
Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
as a way to pay tribute to his family's ancestry. Franklin was raised by his mother and grandmother. He attended Brooklyn Technical High School and the Hoosac School. He also attended
Emerson College Emerson College is a private college in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It also maintains campuses in Los Angeles and Well, Limburg, Netherlands (Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a "school of Public Speaking, o ...
but did not receive a degree. Franklin's use of the name "Clark Kent" derived from the glasses he began wearing when he was a child.


Music career

In the late 1980s, Clark Kent was rapper Dana Dane's DJ. Around this time, Kent would DJ at clubs such as one just around the block from Downtown Records on West 26th Street in Manhattan which was a short-lived hip-hop hotbed with other DJs also performing there, such as
Funkmaster Flex Aston George Taylor Jr. (born August 5, 1967), professionally known as Funkmaster Flex, is an American DJ, rapper, record producer, and host on New York City's Hot 97 radio station. In 1992, he became host of the first hip hop radio show on Ho ...
and Kid Capri. In 1989, he produced the remix for
Troop A troop is a military sub-subunit, originally a small formation of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron. In many armies a troop is the equivalent element to the infantry section or platoon. Exceptions are the US Cavalry and the King's Troo ...
's hit song " Spread My Wings." Around the early 1990s, DJ Clark Kent took over the job of MC for the then-titled New Music Seminar, a battle between the best DJs in hip hop. Renaming it "Clark Kent's Superman Battle for World Supremacy", he would go on to host the event for a number of years. One of the most famous battles in this arena was the legendary match between DJ Noize and DJ 8-Ball, with a victory for DJ Noize. Clark Kent later scored his first street hit with the Junior M.A.F.I.A. song " Player's Anthem" which featured The Notorious B.I.G. and was the first record that
Lil' Kim Kimberly Denise Jones (born July 11, 1974), Those giving 1974 include: * * * * * better known by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper. She was born and raised in New York City and lived much of her adolescent life on the streets after ...
appeared on. The biggest hit he produced was "
Loverboy Loverboy is a Canadian Rock music, rock band formed in Calgary, Alberta in 1979. Loverboy's hit singles, particularly "Turn Me Loose (Loverboy song), Turn Me Loose" and "Working for the Weekend", have become arena rock staples and are still hear ...
" by
Mariah Carey Mariah Carey ( ; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Songbird Supreme" by ''Guinness World Records'', Carey is known for her five-octave voc ...
, which peaked at #2 in the US on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. In addition to his work with Mariah, Lil' Kim, and The Notorious B.I.G., Clark also produced tracks for artists such as Lil' Vicious,
Mona Lisa The ''Mona Lisa'' is a half-length portrait painting by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best known, the most visited, the most written about, ...
,
50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and television producer. Born in Queens, a borough of New York City, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 1996. In 1999–2000, ...
, Canibus, Mad Skillz, Estelle,
Slick Rick Richard Martin Lloyd Walters (born January 14, 1965), better known as Slick Rick, is an English-American rapper and record producer. He rose to prominence as part of Doug E. Fresh & the Get Fresh Crew in the mid-1980s. His songs " The Show" and ...
and
Rakim William Michael Griffin Jr. (born January 28, 1968), better known by his stage name Rakim (), is an American rapper. He is one half of Golden age hip-hop, golden age hip hop duo Eric B. & Rakim, with whom he released four albums: ''Paid in Full ...
, as well as groups like The Future Sound and
Original Flavor Original Flavor was an American hip hop group active in the early to mid 1990s. The group, which originally consisted of Ski and Suave Lover, released two albums—'' This Is How It Is'' (1992) and '' Beyond Flavor'' (1994). On ''Beyond Flavor'' ...
, which were signed to East West Records and
Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...
respectively. Both groups were signed by Clark, who was a director of A&R at Atlantic at the time.
Damon Dash Damon Anthony Dash (born May 3, 1971) is an American entrepreneur and record executive. He co-founded Roc-A-Fella Records with Jay-Z and Kareem Burke in 1994, and co-founded the fashion retailer Rocawear with the former in 1999. Early life ...
, one time manager of The Future Sound and Original Flavor, has credited DJ Clark Kent with introducing him to
Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...
. Original Flavor featured the then little known rapper on their single " Can I Get Open" in 1993. This would lead to the 1994 start of
Roc-A-Fella Records Roc-A-Fella Records was an American record label and music management company founded in 1994 by record executives and entrepreneurs Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Damon Dash, and Kareem "Biggs" Burke. Carter issued his debut album, '' Reasonable Doubt ...
, and further collaborations between Clark and Jay-Z, who met when they were teenagers, as Clark would go on to produce three tracks on Jay-Z's 1996 critically acclaimed debut album, ''
Reasonable Doubt Beyond (a) reasonable doubt is a legal standard of proof required to validate a criminal conviction in most adversarial legal systems. It is a higher standard of proof than the standard of balance of probabilities (US English: preponderance of ...
''. The tracks were: "Brooklyn's Finest", which features The Notorious B.I.G.,"Coming of Age", which features Memphis Bleek, and "Cashmere Thoughts", which contains a conversation between Clark and Jay-Z. Clark stated that he introduced B.I.G. and Jay-Z at the studio session for their collaboration. During this time, Clark would also introduce his cousin Foxy Brown to Jay-Z, and the two would team up on the hit single " Ain't No Nigga". On 2003's '' The Black Album'', billed as his "retirement" project, Jay-Z alludes to Clark's role in helping him break into the industry, on the album's last song (titled "My 1st Song"). He states: "Clark Kent, that was good lookin' out, nigga." Clark discovered rapper
Shyne Moses Michael Levi Barrow (born Jamal Michael Barrow; November 8, 1978), best known by his stage name Shyne, is a Belizean politician and former rapper. He served as Leader of the Opposition in the Belize House of Representatives, and the lead ...
, whom he accidentally overheard rhyming in a barbershop, in 1998. Noting the young MC's vocal similarity to The Notorious B.I.G., Clark steered him towards
Bad Boy Records Bad Boy Entertainment, doing business as Bad Boy Records, is an American independent record label. The label was founded in 1993 by rapper and record producer Sean Combs. During the mid-1990s, the label signed hip-hop and contemporary R&B, R&B a ...
, and Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs signed him.


Other ventures

Aside from his work in music, Clark was a sneaker enthusiast who once claimed to own 3,500 pairs of footwear. In 2010, Nike commissioned him to design and unveil a "Nike Five Boroughs AF1 Low" pack of special limited edition Nike Air Force 1 shoes. He also collaborated with other popular brands, such as
Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the ...
and New Balance.


Personal life and death

In 1998, Franklin began dating Kesha Vernon, whom he married in 2000, and together they had a son. Franklin died from
colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel ...
at his home in Green Brook Township, New Jersey, on October 24, 2024, at the age of 58.


Production credits


References


Sources

*


External links


Discogs entry

Five Boroughs Pack Air Force 1
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clark Kent, DJ 1966 births 2024 deaths 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American people African-American DJs American hip-hop DJs American hip-hop musicians American hip-hop record producers American people of Panamanian descent Brooklyn Technical High School alumni Deaths from cancer in New Jersey Deaths from colorectal cancer in the United States People from Green Brook Township, New Jersey