Rodney Roy Jerkins (born July 29, 1977), also known by his stage name Darkchild, is an American record producer, rapper, and songwriter. He has collaborated with a broad range of popular artists. Jerkins has won multiple Grammy Awards. Among his most successful productions are " The Boy Is Mine" and " What About Us?" by Brandy, "

I Can Love You "I Can Love You" is a song by American recording artist Mary J. Blige. It was written by Blige along with her sister LaTonya Blige-DaCosta, Rodney Jerkins, and Lil' Kim for her third album, ''Share My World'' (1997), with Jerkins producing the son ...

" and " Enough Cryin" by Mary J. Blige, " Daydreamin'" by Tatyana Ali, " Angel of Mine" by

Monica Monica may refer to: People *Monica (actress) (born 1987), Indian film actress *Monica (given name), a given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Monica (singer) (born 1980), American R&B singer, songwriter, producer, ...

, " It's Not Right but It's Okay" by

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Voice", she is Whitney Houston albums discography, one of the bestselling music artists ...

, " Say My Name" and " Cater 2 U" by Destiny's Child, "

If You Had My Love "If You Had My Love" is the debut single by American actress and singer Jennifer Lopez. It was released on May 4, 1999, as the lead single from her debut studio album, ''On the 6'' (1999). The song was written by LaShawn Daniels, Cory Rooney, Je ...

" by Jennifer Lopez, " He Wasn't Man Enough" by Toni Braxton, " You Rock My World" by

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

, " One Wish" by Ray J, " Déjà Vu" by Beyoncé, "

Telephone A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into el ...

" by

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

, and " As Long as You Love Me" by Justin Bieber.

Early life

Jerkins' father, Frederick, is an Evangelical pastor and his mother was an housekeeper. Jerkins began playing piano at age five. He would follow his brother and father, who both played at church gatherings. Raised in Galloway Township, New Jersey, Jerkins is one of four children: two boys and two girls. His brother is fellow producer Fred Jerkins III. Jerkins attended

Absegami High School Absegami High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades in Galloway Township, Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States The student body comes from Galloway Township.

, and identifies as a Christian. At age 13, he was offered a chance to work at a studio in Atlantic City,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...

, but declined. At age 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. He was also offered a chance to work at Bad Boy Records, but declined. At 16, he was approached by James Jones, formerly of Uptown Records, and moved in with him to Hackensack,

to work with him. One of their first sessions was with Patti LaBelle.

Career

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. Jerkins' stated his first big projects were Blige's ''

Share My World ''Share My World'' is the third studio album by American R&B singer Mary J. Blige, released by MCA on Earth Day, April 22, 1997. The album became Blige's first to open at number one on the US ''Billboard'' 200 album chart. Moreover, it is her ...

'',

's '' It's Not Right but It's Okay'', and Brandy and

's '' The Boy Is Mine''. Over the course of his career, Jerkins has developed a "camp" of successful topline writers, including

LaShawn Daniels LaShawn Ameen Daniels (December 28, 1977 – September 3, 2019) was an American songwriter, vocal producer and arranger known for his songwriting credits on songs by artists such as Brandy, Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Destiny’s Child, Michael Jacks ...

, Kenisha Pratt,

Toni Estes Toni Estes is an American singer-songwriter and background vocalist best known for co-writing Whitney Houston's 1999 hit single "It's Not Right but It's Okay", as well as her other work with producer Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins. In 2000, Estes ...

, Anesha & Antea Birchett, Delisha Thomas,

Keli Nicole Price Keli Nicole Price is an American singer-songwriter and background vocalist, best known for her work with producer Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins and The Goldmind Inc.. She has written for Beyoncé ("Deja Vu") and Angie Stone, among others. Songwr ...

, Nora Payne,

Michaela Shiloh Michaela Shiloh (born January 25, 1992), known professionally as Mickey Shiloh, is an American songwriter, recording artist, and entrepreneur. She was signed as an artist and songwriter to Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins from 2009 until 2011 and has ...

, Isaac Phillips, Japhe Tejeda, LeToya Duggan, Andre Lindal, and Victoria Monét, among others.

Production

Jerkins has produced and written for Brandy, Patti LaBelle, Joe, The Saturdays, Toni Braxton,

Vanessa Williams Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963) is an American singer, actress, and fashion designer. She gained recognition as the first African-American woman to receive the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America 1984. She resigne ...

, Will Smith, Keyshia Cole,

, Ayumi Hamasaki,

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female autonomy in a male-dominated industr ...

, Jessica Simpson, Jennifer Lopez, Ashanti, Aaliyah, Amerie, Britney Spears, Mary Mary, Kirk Franklin, Kierra Sheard, The Black Eyed Peas, Destiny's Child, Spice Girls, TLC, Janet Jackson, Danity Kane, Beyoncé, Linda Király,

, Cascada, Tamia, Pussycat Dolls,

, Natasha Bedingfield, Mary J. Blige, B5, Lionel Richie, Tiffany Evans, JYJ, Wonder Girls, Austin Brown, Kanye West, Katy Perry, Hikaru Utada, Keke Palmer,

Hala Al Turk Hala Al Turk ( ar, حلا الترك; born May 15, 2002) is a Jordanian-Syrian Bahraini singer. She become known for being a contestant on ''Arabs Got Talent'' in 2011. Al Turk then released many singles, including "Bnayty El Habooba (2011)" fea ...

, Nelly Furtado, Justin Bieber, Brian McKnight and LMFAO. In the 2010s, he produced songs for Mariah Carey, Leona Lewis, JLS, Kylie Minogue, Ayumi Hamasaki, The Saturdays. Jerkins was a music executive and mentor on season 10 of '' American Idol''. In 2013, Jerkins was hired on to be a producer for Michael Jackson's posthumous album Xscape. He originally worked on the title track for the album from 1999 to 2001. He is the only producer to work on the original version and reworking version of the title track. 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." In preparation for the 2014 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony, Jerkins produced a song featuring the Palestinian 2013 ''Arab Idol'' winner Mohammed Assaf. In 2017, he produced ''Blind'' and ''Makings of You'' for Tamar Braxton.

Record labels

In 1999, Jerkins joined

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

/ Epic Records to promote power vocalist Rhona, Pop/R&B girl group

So Plush So Plush was an American R&B group composed of Rhonda Roussel, Donielle Carter, Raquel Campbell and T. J. Lottie who was signed to Epic Records in the 1990s. Their debut single " Damn (Should've Treated U Right)" featuring Ja Rule was released in ...

and rapper Fats. Fats appeared on two tracks Jerkins produced for

's album '' Invincible'', 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. which released the latest album from Virtue – ''Testimony''.

Music Mogul, Inc.

In late 2008, Jerkins joined

Nicholas Longano Nicholas Longano (born 28 May 1965 in Melbourne, Australia) is a video game industry executive. Early career Prior to the video game industry, Longano worked in the beauty and beverage industries. In the late 1980s he worked as a product man ...

, Ray Brown, and Jonathan E. Eubanks in creating

Music Mogul MusicMogul.com was an online music world targeting aspiring musicians. They hoped to combine the popularity of social-networking sites, music television shows like "American Idol" and online multiplayer games. History Founded in 2008, Music Mogul ...

, Inc. MusicMogul.com is an online portal where artists can communicate with their fans. Each quarter, members vote for the best video performances. 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.

Personal life

Jerkins has been married to singer Joy Enriquez since April 4, 2004. The two met when he worked on her debut album. The couple has four children. Rodney David Jerkins Jr(28 May 2008); Heavenly Joy Jerkins(17 November 17 2009);Joy Enriquez's marriage and family
. ''People.com'' Retrieved 2010-10-05 Hannah Joy Jerkins(19 October 2012); and Royal David Jerkins, in early 2015. In 2015, his five-year-old daughter Heavenly Joy was a contestant on

season 10 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

of '' America's Got Talent''.

Singles discography

Appearances and production discography

Notable productions

* 1995: Intro - "Strung Out On Your Lovin'" * 1996: Aaliyah - "Everything's Gonna Be Alright" * 1997: No Authority - “Don’t Stop” * 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: Michael Jackson - “Unbreakable” * 2001: Britney Spears – "Overprotected" (The Darkchild Remix) * 2001: Jessica Simpson – "I Never" * 2001: Jessica Simpson – "Imagination" * 2002: Brandy – "What About Us?" * 2002: Monica – "All Eyez on Me" * 2002: TLC – "Turntable" * 2004: Destiny's Child – "Lose My Breath" * 2005: Destiny's Child – "Cater 2 U" * 2006: Beyoncé (featuring Jay-Z) – "Déjà Vu" * 2006: Ciara (featuring 50 Cent) – "Can't Leave 'em Alone" * 2008: Tiffany Evans (featuring Bow Wow) - "I'm Grown" * 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 featuring Beyoncé – "Telephone" * 2011: The Black Eyed Peas – "Just Can't Get Enough" * 2011: Kelly Rowland (featuring Lil' Playy)- "Work It Man" * 2012: Justin Bieber – "As Long as You Love Me" * 2012: Leona Lewis – "Shake You Up" * 2014: Mariah Carey – "You're Mine (Eternal)" * 2014: Mary J. Blige – "A Night To Remember" * 2014: Sam Smith – "Stay with Me" * 2014: Michael Jackson - “Xscape” * 2017: Tamar Braxton – "Blind" * 2018: Chromeo (featuring French Montana and Stefflon Don) - "Don't Sleep" * 2017: Tamar Braxton – "The Makings Of You" * 2019: Baekhyun - "Diamond" * 2022: SZA - "Shirt"

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

* 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 Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name ''Franciscus''. Nicknames In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed "Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comunitatis'' (father of ...

* 2006: The Darkchild Allstars – "We Are Family" * 2007: Linda Király - "Can't Let Go" * 2008: The Pussycat Dolls With Diddy, Lil Wayne, & Fatman Scoop – " When I Grow Up" (Darkchild Remix) * 2008:

- "Reloaded" (unreleased song)

Unreleased tracks

* 1999:

- “Rampage” * 1999:

- “A Deeper Love” * 2001:

- “Cheater” (Reworked) * 2001:

- “Chicago 1945” (Reworked) * 2001:

- “Get Around” * 2001:

- “Get Your Weight Off Me” * 2001:

- “Kick It” * 2001:

- “Maybe We Can Do It” * 2001:

- “Pressure” * 2001:

- “Seduction” * 2001:

- “The Pain” * 2006: Beyoncé - “Back Up” * 2011: Jennifer Lopez - "This Cannot Be Love"

Video cameos

* 1995: Hodge – "Head Nod" (Darkchild Remix) * 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" * 1998: J'Son - I Should've Cheat on You * 2000: So Plush – "Things I've Heard Before" * 2001: Rhona – "Satisfied" * 2002: Brandy – "What About Us?" * 2002:

– "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 ''Take The Stage'' is a non-scripted singing competition starring Johnny Wright and Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, and produced by YOBI.tv. ''Take The Stage'' has been likened to shows such as American Idol, The Voice, and X Factor in that the con ...

'' web series.