90's Nostalgia Commemorative Issue April 2017 | Page 10

G A M E
Changer
Changing The
Music Industry
One Hit At A Time
Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins
MADE by Ashley White
@ashley_unscripted
MADE: You came into the music industry at a
young age. Who were your musical influences
growing up?
RJ: As a child, I came up in a house where we
listened to a lot of gospel music because of my
parents. My dad was a pastor and my mom was
the choir director so we listened to a lot of The
Winans, Commissioned, Vanessa Bell Armstrong,
Andraé Crouch and The Hawkins Family. As I
got older, I started to sneak secular music in so I
was sneaking Guy, Keith Sweat, Babyface, Janet
Jackson and Michael Jackson. I came up in that
time where new jack swing was poppin’. I was
heavily influenced by new jack swing.
MADE: Did you always want to be a music
producer?
RJ: I discovered music when I was 10 years old
and how I discovered it was just interesting. I was
listening to an album by a group named Guy, a
Teddy Riley group, and I was really fascinated
with the sound—and all the beats, rhythms and
everything that was going on. To be so young
and hear that, you don’t know really know what
producer means, so I would read the credits
and it would say “Produced by Teddy Riley” and
then I noticed it said “Keyboard by Teddy Riley”,
“Drums by Teddy Riley” and I kind of put two and
two together and figured that must be what a
producer does. That’s when I decided that that’s
what I want to do.
MADE: You mentioned that you grew up listening
to Michael Jackson. How would you describe the
experience of listening to him as a child and then
eventually working so closely with him?
Nothing sparks up nostalgia like a
jam from the 90’s. When you reminisce
about the great music of that decade,
most likely you’re thinking about a
timeless record made by one of the
greatest music producers of all time,
Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins. Name any
artist and Rodney has worked with them.
In case you were drawing a blank, he’s
collaborated with the best including
Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Toni
Braxton, Mariah Carey, Brandy, Monica,
Mary J. Blige, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Sam
Smith—and the list is endless. As we
celebrate his 25 years as a GAMEChanger
in the music industry, Rodney reflects
on his long-standing career...
RJ: As a youngster coming up and admiring all
his music and you’ve seen everything he’s done
and you hear that he’s a perfectionist and you see
how great he is and then to get in the studio with
him and see all of that being truth. (Exhales) He
pushed me to the limit creatively and it was an
amazing experience because I can honestly say I
worked with the greatest of all time. That’s not to
take anything from anyone else but I truly believe
he was the greatest, just based on the work ethic
alone. It was just an amazing experience for me.
We spent so many hours working together and
outside of working, we became friends. He spent
time at my house and my mom cooked for him. It
was just an amazing experience the time that I got
to spend with Michael.
made-magazine.com |
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