With his distinctive "Darkchild" tag introducing his presence on the track, prolific American producer, rapper, and songwriter Rodney Jerkins amassed decades of hits with a who's-who of talent from the worlds of R&B, rap, gospel, pop, and more. Rodney Jerkins' name runs deep through 90s R&B history.
In the late '90s, he gained a foothold in the industry, penning songs for the likes of Mary J. Blige, Aaliyah, and Whitney Houston before crashing the mainstream with the chart-topping 1998 single "The Boy Is Mine" by Brandy and Monica. From there, subsequent Hot 100 number ones followed.
The highly decorated producer has a laundry list of accomplishments worthy of recognition, including 18 Grammy nominations over the course of 24 years — taking home two wins for best R&B song in 2000 with Destiny Child’s “Say My Name,” and record of the year for Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me (Darkchild Version)” in 2014. With sixteen top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, more than 170 million records sold worldwide, and Countless classics across multiple genres, Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins’ musical impact is undeniable. He’s one of the greatest producers of all time.
Here are a few personal favorites from one of R&B's unsung heroes.
10. B5 - "All I Do"
"All I Do Is Think of You" by B5 is a cover of The Jackson 5's "All I Do Is Think of You." The ballad, released on July 19, 2005, peaked at No. 71 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Though the song found little chart success, the combination of strong lyrics and vocal performances from B5 make this song one of Jenkins' strongest compositions.
9. Ciara ft. 50 Cent - "Can't Leave Em Alone"
"Can't Leave Em Alone" is the third single from Ciara's second album, Ciara: The Evolution, which was released in 2006. The 808 drums featured in the 1980s-inspired mid-tempo ballad along with 50 Cent's "easy groove" verse is definitely a "Darkshild" product that slipped under the radar peaking at number 40 on the Billboard Top 100 chart. The track is still nothing short of that "Darkshild" sound.
8. Destiny's Child - "Lose My Breath"
The first track off of Destiny's Child's final album, Destiny Fulfilled, “Lose My Breath” is a woman empowerment anthem asking men if they can keep up instead of being full of empty promises. It was written by Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, Michelle Williams, Rodney Jerkins, LaShawn Daniels, Fred Jerkins III, Sean Garrett, and Jay-Z. The song was partially developed by Jerkins before being presented to Destiny's Child; its chorus was afterward rewritten by Jay-Z. "Lose My Breath" was commercially successful, peaking at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 and reaching the top spot on numerous international charts, as well as appearing within the top ten in almost every country it charted in.
7. Joe - "Don't Wanna Be A Player"
Released as a single from the Booty Call (1997) soundtrack as well as All That I Am's second single, "Don't Wanna Be A Player," by Joe reached number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became Joe's second top ten hit on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Rodney Jerkins contributes his writing, producing, and mixing skills to the track.
6. Brandy & Monica "The Boy Is Mine"
The duet sung by singers, Brandy and Monica, was written by LaShawn Daniels, Japhe Tejeda, Fred Jerkins III, Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, and Brandy, while production was helmed by Jerkins, Brandy, and Dallas Austin. It was released as the lead single from both singers' second albums from 1998, Never Say Never by Brandy, and the title track by Monica. Inspired by Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney's 1982 duet "The Girl Is Mine", the lyrics of the mid-tempo R&B track revolve around two women fighting over a man.
Brandy and Rodney came up with its concept while watching an episode of The Jerry Springer Show tabloid talk show, where love triangles among the guests was the theme. Created as a solo track, Brandy originally recorded the song alone. After listening to the result, however, she and Jerkins thought it would work better as a duet. At Brandy's request, her label Atlantic Records approached fellow R&B teen singer Monica to collaborate.
"The Boy Is Mine" became both singers' first number-one hit and fifth top ten entry for each on the US Billboard Hot 100. Bouncing from number 23 to the number 1 spot, it became the second song in the history of the chart to ascend directly to number one from a previous position beneath the Top 20.
The single won many awards throughout 1998 and 1999. It was nominated for three Grammy Awards at the 41st annual ceremony, winning both singers their first prize by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences in the Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals category. It, however, lost in its nominations for Record of the Year and Best R&B Song to Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" and Lauryn Hill's "Doo Wop (That Thing)" respectively. The song garnered three Billboard Music Awards. It was listed as number 55 of the Hot 100 singles of all time by Billboard in 1998. This position was raised to number 54 in 2008. In addition, it was listed 18th on the All-Time Top R&B/Hip-Hop Songs countdown. In 2008, Billboard ranked the song third on a special The 40 Biggest Duets of All Time listing. The song is the best-selling song of 1998 in the United States with 4.5 million copies sold.
5. Ray J - "One Wish"
"One Wish" is the first single from Ray J's third album Raydiation. Released in July 2005, the Darkchild-produced track became a national hit, peaking at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart on January 17, 2006. There’s some solid piano work, some solid MIDI-orchestra work leading into the hook, it has a nice swing to it. It became Ray J's first single to reach the Top 20.
4. Michael Jackson - "You Rock My World"
"You Rock My World" is the first single from Michael Jackson's 10th album Invincible. The single was commercially successful, generally charting within the top ten on music charts worldwide. The song was one of Jackson's last hit singles in the United States in the final years of his career. The song was co-written and composed by Michael Jackson with Darkchild and produced by Jackson and Jerkins.
3. Kirk Franklin & The Family - "Revolution"
Before Kirk Franklin came along, there wasn’t gospel music that you could dance and shake your booty to and just have fun with. The single "Revolution" off of Kirk Franklin's The Nu Nation Project, collabs with Jerkins on this track to be Jesus-centered, but he used hip-hop, R&B melodies, and smooth jazz instrumentals to make us young people want to actually listen to the message in the music. In the early ’90s, he gave us hits like “Stomp” and “Melodies from Heaven.” His videos were featured on MTV and they looked like something Hype Williams might direct; they were so bright, futuristic, and full of energy. Franklin sampled Funkadelic, he collaborated with people we knew like Cheryl James of Salt-N-Pepa, Stevie Wonder, and Mary J. Blige.
But “Revolution” was a revolutionary track in other ways. The lyrics touched on myriad subjects including premarital sex, racism, lying politicians, and people struggling to make ends meet. The song even mentions the environment and pollution, topics that were rare for a gospel song. Kirk Franklin was a man who later came to be known as the man who revolutionized the gospel music industry.
2. Destiny's Child - "Say My Name"
"Say My Name" was one of the singles released off of Destiny's Child's second studio album, Writings On The Wall (1999). It was written by Beyoncé Knowles, LeToya Luckett, LaTavia Roberson, Kelly Rowland, LaShawn Daniels, Fred Jerkins III, and Rodney Jerkins. While the song features the vocals of the group's original line-up consisting of Luckett and Roberson, the music video for the single marked the introduction of the group's second line-up with then-new members Michelle Williams and Farrah Franklin, whom they were replaced with. "Say My Name" was the most successful of the four singles from The Writing's on the Wall, becoming Destiny's Child's second number-one single on the US Billboard Hot 100.
The accompanying music video for "Say My Name" won the 2000 MTV Video Music Award for Best R&B Video. The song also won a Soul Train Lady of Soul Award for Best R&B/Soul Single, Group, Band, or Duo and a BMI Pop Award for Most Played Song. Billboard ranked the song at number seven on their list of the "100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time" and named it the best song of 2000. In 2021, Rolling Stone placed the song at number 285 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time while Pitchfork ranked it at number eight on their 2022 list of "The 250 Best Songs of the 1990s." "Say My Name" was the group's first collaboration with producer-songwriter Rodney Jerkins.
1. Mary J. Blige ft. Lil' Kim - "I Can Love You"
Coming in at the number one spot is none other than Mary J. Blige's, "I Can Love You." Released as the second single from her third album, Share My World, "I Can Love You," features a dynamic and unforgettable verse from Lil' Kim, and includes production from Rodney Jerkins. With Miss Blige getting sultry over layers of soothing love chants tightly arranged by Rodney Jerkins, the result is a wickedly catchy jam that will sooth a brow fevered by the ongoing spree of factory-like funk that crowds the airwaves. The single peaked at number 28 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins seldom rests, constantly raising the musical bar as he sets a new standard and creating his own unique niche in music. He loves his work and it shows in all the carefully crafted projects that he fashions. It's apparent that he was destined for greatness; his singular focus on quality and excellence in music is what sets him apart from the rest.
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