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Rodney Roy Jerkins (born July 29, 1977), better known by his stage name Darkchild, is an American record producer, rapper, and songwriter. He has collaborated with a broad range of popular artists.
/ref> Among his most successful productions are "The Boy Is Mine" by Brandy Norwood and Monica, "It's Not Right but It's Okay" by Whitney Houston, "Say My Name" by Destiny's Child, "If You Had My Love" by Jennifer Lopez, "Déjà Vu" by Beyoncé, "Holler" by Spice Girls, "He Wasn’t Man Enough" by Toni Braxton, "Telephone" by Lady Gaga, and "As Long as You Love Me" by Justin Bieber.
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.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..." Jerkins attended Absegami High School, and identifies as a Christianity.Jackson, Vincent. "(Rodney) Jerkin's Journey / How Hometown Musician Got To The Grammy Awards", The Press of Atlantic City, February 21, 1999. Accessed January 31, 2011. "Six years ago, record producer Rodney Jerkins, 15, was an Absegami High School sophomore trying to sell cassettes of his Christian rap album. Now, Jerkins is the producer of the No. 1 pop song in the country, has his own record label and has been asked to work with Michael Jackson."
At age 13, he was offered a chance to work at a studio in Atlantic City, 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.
Over the course of his career, Jerkins has developed a "camp" of successful topline writers, including LaShawn Daniels, Keri Malena aka Malena ICON, Kenisha Pratt, Toni Estes, Anesha & Antea Birchett, Jordan Omley, Jon Jon Traxx, Tommy Brown, Delisha Thomas, Marvin Hemmings, Michael Mani, Kalenna Harper, Keli Nicole Price, Nora Payne, Michaela Shiloh, Isaac Phillips, Japhe Tejeda, LeToya Duggan, Mischke Butler, Andre Lindal, and Victoria Monét, among others.
In June 2025, Jerkins was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame
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.
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.
Jerkins also founded Alienz Alive, a gospel label with a roster of faith-based artists including Christian rapper Jon Keith, Alex Jean, former Reach Records artist/producer Gawvi among others.
The site appears to be defunct as of 2024.
In 2015, his five-year-old daughter Heavenly Joy was a contestant on season 10 of America's Got Talent.
| 1995 | "The Way That You Love" (Remix) | Vanessa Williams | 23 | 67 | 52 |
| 1996 | "The Things That You Do" | Gina Thompson | 12 | 41 | — |
| 1997 | "Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!" | Simone Hines | 38 | — | — |
| "Don't Wanna Be a Player" | Joe | 5 | 25 | 16 | |
| "I Can Love You" | Mary J. Blige (featuring Lil' Kim) | 2 | 28 | — | |
| "Share My World" | Mary J. Blige | — | — | — | |
| "Searching" | Mary J. Blige (featuring Roy Ayers) | — | — | — | |
| 1998 | "The Boy Is Mine" | Brandy Norwood & Monica | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| "Angel of Mine" | Monica | 2 | 1 | 55 | |
| "Daydreamin'" | Tatyana Ali | 6 | 5 | 3 | |
| "All the Way (Freaky Style)" | Color Me Badd | — | — | — | |
| 1999 | "If You Had My Love" | Jennifer Lopez | 6 | 1 | 4 |
| "It's Not That Serious" | — | — | — | ||
| "Sunshine" | Coko | 19 | 70 | — | |
| "Say My Name" | Destiny's Child | 1 | 1 | 3 | |
| "U Don't Know Me (Like U Used To)" (Darkchild Mix) | Brandy Norwood (featuring Shaunta & Da Brat) | 25 | 79 | — | |
| "Damn" | So Plush (featuring Ja Rule) | 41 | — | — | |
| 2000 | "He Wasn't Man Enough" | Toni Braxton | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| "Let Love Lead the Way" | Spice Girls | — | — | 1 | |
| "Holler" | — | 112 | 1 | ||
| "Shining Star" | Backstreet Boys | — | — | — | |
| "If I Told You That" | Whitney Houston & George Michael | — | — | 9 | |
| "Time Limit" | Hikaru Utada | — | — | — | |
| 2001 | "I Sings" | Mary Mary (featuring BB Jay) | 68 | — | — |
| "I Ain't the One" | Tyrese Gibson | 68 | — | — | |
| "You Rock My World" | Michael Jackson | 13 | 10 | 2 | |
| "Unbreakable" | — | — | — | ||
| "Heartbreaker" | — | — | — | ||
| "Invincible" | — | — | — | ||
| "Privacy" | — | — | — | ||
| "Threatened" | — | — | — | ||
| "That's the Way" | Jennifer Lopez | — | — | — | |
| "Dame (Touch Me)" (duet with Chayanne) | — | — | — | ||
| "Satisfied" | Rhona Bennett | — | — | — | |
| "Everything" | Canela Cox | — | — | — | |
| "I Remember" (Remix) | Debelah Morgan | — | — | — | |
| "Celebrity" | NSYNC | — | — | — | |
| 2002 | "Overprotected" (Darkchild Remix) | Britney Spears | — | 86 | 4 |
| "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" | — | — | 13 | ||
| "What About Us?" | Brandy Norwood | 3 | 7 | 4 | |
| "All Eyez on Me" | Monica | 32 | 69 | — | |
| "A Different Kind of Love Song" (Remix) | Cher | — | — | — | |
| "Get with Me" | 3rd Storee | 85 | — | — | |
| "If You Only Knew" | Prymary Colorz | 78 | — | — | |
| "Turntable" | TLC | — | — | — | |
| 2003 | "I'm Good" | Blaque | 95 | — | — |
| "All I Do" | B5 | 71 | — | — | |
| 2004 | "You Don't Know" | Kierra "Kiki" Sheard | 84 | — | — |
| "Lose My Breath" | Destiny's Child | 10 | 3 | 2 | |
| "One Wish" | Ray J | 3 | 11 | 13 | |
| "We've Had Enough" | Michael Jackson | — | — | — | |
| 2005 | "Cater 2 U" | Destiny's Child | 3 | 14 | — |
| "What I Need" | Ray J | 58 | — | — | |
| "Step Into My World" | Jennifer Lopez | — | — | — | |
| "I Got U" | — | — | — | ||
| 2006 | "Enough Cryin'" | Mary J. Blige | 2 | 32 | 46 |
| "Hold Me Down" | Danity Kane | — | — | — | |
| "Need a Boss" | Shareefa | 10 | 67 | — | |
| "Cry No More" | 43 | — | — | ||
| "Déjà Vu" | Beyoncé (featuring Jay-Z) | 1 | 4 | 1 | |
| "So Lonely" | Mariah Carey (featuring Twista) | 65 | — | — | |
| "The One You Need" | Megan Rochell (featuring Fabolous) | 41 | — | — | |
| "Heartbreak" | Megan Rochell | — | — | — | |
| "Can't Get Enough" | Tamia | 26 | — | — | |
| "Turn the Page" | 63 | — | — | ||
| "Make It Last Forever" | Ciara | — | — | — | |
| 2007 | "Be with Me" | J. Holiday | 83 | — | — |
| "Can't Leave 'Em Alone" | Ciara (featuring 50 Cent) | 10 | 40 | 109 | |
| "Shoulda Let You Go" | Keyshia Cole | 6 | 41 | — | |
| "Hey Hey Hey" | Natasha | — | — | — | |
| "So Sick" | — | — | — | ||
| "Feedback" | Janet Jackson | 39 | 19 | — | |
| 2008 | "What Them Girls Like" | Ludacris (featuring Chris Brown & Sean Garrett) | 17 | 33 | — |
| "I'm Grown" | Tiffany Evans (featuring Bow Wow) | 98 | — | — | |
| "Luv" | Janet Jackson | 34 | 101 | — | |
| "So Over You" | Ashanti | — | — | — | |
| "Angel" | Natasha Bedingfield | — | 63 | — | |
| "Right Here (Departed)" | Brandy Norwood | 22 | 34 | — | |
| "Long Distance" | 42 | 101 | — | ||
| "The Definition" | 116 | — | — | ||
| 2009 | "I Look So Good (Without You)" | Jessie James | — | 104 | — |
| "Girls" | Se7en (featuring Lil' Kim) | — | — | — | |
| "Make Me" | Janet Jackson | 71 | — | 73 | |
| "Telephone" | Lady Gaga (featuring Beyoncé) | — | 3 | 1 | |
| "The One" | Mary J. Blige (featuring Drake) | 32 | 63 | — | |
| "Pucker Up" | Ciara | — | — | — | |
| 2010 | "Shake My" | Three 6 Mafia (featuring Kalenna) | — | 75 | — |
| "Perfect Nightmare" | Shontelle | — | — | — | |
| "I Hate That You Love Me" | Dirty Money | — | — | — | |
| "Target Practice" | Austin Brown | — | — | — | |
| 2011 | "The One You Call" | Keke Palmer | — | — | — |
| "Ain't Nobody" | Mary J. Blige | — | — | — | |
| "What Are Words" | Chris Medina | — | 83 | — | |
| "Just Can't Get Enough" | The Black Eyed Peas | — | 3 | 3 | |
| "Stitch by Stitch" | Javier Colon | — | 17 | — | |
| "I Forgive You" | Kelly Clarkson | — | — | — | |
| "Turn the Lights Out" | Priscilla Renea | — | — | — | |
| 2012 | "Big Hoops (Bigger the Better)" | Nelly Furtado | — | — | 14 |
| "Spirit Indestructible" | — | — | — | ||
| "Parking Lot" | — | — | — | ||
| "Got Me Good" | Ciara | — | — | — | |
| "Die in Your Arms" | Justin Bieber | — | 17 | 34 | |
| "As Long as You Love Me" | 116 | 6 | 22 | ||
| 2013 | "Waiting for the Night" | Nelly Furtado | — | — | — |
| "Bucket List" | — | — | — | ||
| "The Art of Letting Go" | Mariah Carey | 46 | — | — | |
| "Perfect World" | Tone Damli | — | — | — | |
| "My Heart Is Open" | Maroon 5 (featuring Gwen Stefani) | — | — | — | |
| "Roller Coaster" | Justin Bieber | — | — | — | |
| "Lease My Love" | The Saturdays | — | — | — | |
| "Read My Lips" | Ciara | — | — | — | |
| 2014 | "Xscape" | Michael Jackson | — | — | — |
| "Xscape (Original Version)" | — | — | — | ||
| "Coulda Been Me" | Candice Glover | — | — | — | |
| Therapy | Mary J. Blige | — | — | — | |
| "Doubt" | 37 | — | — | ||
| "When You're Gone" | — | — | — | ||
| "You're Mine (Eternal)" | Mariah Carey | 24 | — | — | |
| 2017 | "Blind" | Tamar Braxton | — | — | — |
| 2018 | "Dose" | Ciara | — | — | — |
| "Hard Place" | H.E.R. | — | — | — | |
| "Just Say When" | Capital Cities | — | — | — | |
| "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" | Jessie J | — | — | — | |
| "Jingle Bell Rock" | — | — | — | ||
| "This Christmas Day" | — | — | — | ||
| "At Least I Know" | T.I. (featuring Anderson .Paak) | — | — | — | |
| "SWIZZMONTANA" (PROD. BY SWIZZ BEATZ) | Swizz Beatz & French Montana | — | — | — | |
| "3Way" | Teyana Taylor | — | — | — | |
| "Look Back at It" | A Boogie wit da Hoodie | 25 | 41 | — | |
| "Don't Sleep" | Chromeo (featuring French Montana and Stefflon Don) | — | — | — | |
| 2019 | "Right Back" | Khalid (featuring A Boogie wit da Hoodie) | 29 | 73 | 71 |
| "Playing Games" | Summer Walker | 9 | 16 | 24 | |
| 2022 | "Shirt" | SZA | 4 | 11 | 17 |
| "Forgiveless" | SZA (featuring Ol' Dirty Bastard) | 35 | 76 | — | |
| 2024 | "Boy for a Day" | Kylie Cantrall | — | — | — |
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