Rodney ‘Darkchild’ Jerkins Breaks Down His Hits: Whitney Houston, Beyoncé, Justin Bieber and More (Exclusive)

NEED TO KNOW

• Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, the legendary producer now celebrating his induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, tells PEOPLE about the stories behind some of his most memorable songs

• Jerkins explains Brandy and Monica’s “The Boy is Mine” wasn’t necessarily inspired by Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney’s “The Girl is Mine” and details what it was like to work alongside “genius” Whitney Houston for their hit “It’s Not Right but It’s Okay”

• “I know when that phone rings that I have to step up,” Jerkins says of his role as a producer

Rodney Jerkins’ mission has never been to be the face of the operation.

While his “Darkchild” producer tag has cemented his name in popular music for eternity, with Destiny’s Child and Toni Braxton among the titans who’ve stamped his name on their records, Jerkins has always been after something more than just the name recognition as a creative. Especially for the sake of those working alongside him.

“Producers play a big role in helping artists change the trajectory of music. I know I have a responsibility to them. And I know when that phone rings that I have to step up,” the legendary songwriter, 47, tells PEOPLE days after his induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame on June 12. “I have to help these artists go to their next level, help them accomplish what they have a vision for. That’s my job.”

Over the last three decades, Jerkins’ job has continued to expand, from securing early album cuts with Aaliyah, to crafting a certain chart-topping duet between Brandy and Monica, to trusting Lady Gaga’s instincts on “Telephone” with Beyoncé. His latest recognition earlier this month at the Songwriters Hall of Fame induction ceremony, which featured a medley performed by his own musical children and some additional props from fellow songwriting giant Teddy Riley, is only a testament to what he calls his ability to “keep evolving” over the years.

“I’ve always had a thing of not trying to sit in the fragrance of something too long, but allow myself to enjoy the moment and understand that it is a moment and move on to the next,” he says. “I got to stay hungry and stay focused.”

Jerkins, now behind his faith-based label Alienz Alive with his sound continuing to leave an impact on airwaves, decided to enjoy his latest honor just a little longer this time, as he caught up with PEOPLE to share some stories behind only a few of his most memorable records.

Aaliyah, “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright” (1996)

JERKINS: [Aaliyah] was signed to Blackground Records, which was owned by Barry Hankerson, and I remember they wanted to sign me as an artist. They were trying to convince me to do the artist thing. And I didn’t want to do it. But I just remember Barry and his son, Jomo, wanted me to work with Aaliyah. I told him I was working out of Staten Island a lot at the studio called Mystic Studios. And I was like, “Hey, if we’re going to do a session, can we do [it] way out there?” Because it was off the beaten path for most people. Everybody [was] used to the same three-to-five studios in the city. And here I am trying to do something that’s out the way. But they did it. She came out.

It’s funny, that was another way of getting the name out there, tagged. You have an artist actually saying it [at the beginning of the song], “Hey Rodney, you ready?” And I just had a great session with her. I did the “One in a Million” remix then as well. Great sessions.

Brandy and Monica, “The Boy is Mine” (1998)

It wasn’t actually [inspired by Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney’s “The Girl is Mine”]. I mean, I think it was an afterthought. I think after we did “The Boy is Mine,” then we realized like, “Oh wow, ‘The Boy is Mine,’ ‘The Girl is Mine,”’ it was an afterthought. It wasn’t really like, “Hey, let’s make the female version of what that was.” I’m going to tell you why it wasn’t.

The song wasn’t meant for Brandy and Monica from the beginning. It was just a Brandy song. It wasn’t a duet. I have the original, I was actually listening to the original recording the other day, all Brandy, the whole song was all Brandy. And then we decided, “Oh, this would be stronger if it became a duet with Brandy and Monica.” So I think “The Girl is Mine” was an afterthought like, “Oh wow, Michael and Paul, now Brandy and Monica.”

Whitney Houston, “It’s Not Right but It’s Okay” (1999)

One of my dreams was to work with Whitney Houston. At a young age I said two artists that I really wanted to work with were Whitney and Michael. The reason why I wanted to work with Whitney was because I’ve always felt she was my favorite female vocalist of all time. And I also knew that we had similar backgrounds, the church background. So when I got in the studio with her, I was blown away. Because now you’re in person, it’s up front, it’s right there. The only thing that’s dividing you is the glass.

To hear her vocals on the microphone come out, there’s not much you can really tell Whitney. So, if you’re used to coaching artists, there’s not much you can say, but just, “Let me hear you sing and do it again because, it sounds so good I want another take of it.” You know what I mean? “Do it a third time because I might not have you here again tomorrow, so let me get as many vocals as I can get.” She was a genius. That microphone and that booth, when she was in there, was just … The best way to describe it was like she took me to church inside the studio. She’s giving you full-throttle effort at all times. It wasn’t like she opened her voice and you’re like, “Could you sing it stronger.” It wasn’t that. She’s Whitney, she just does it the same extraordinary way every time.

Jennifer Lopez, “If You Had My Love” (1999)

She was a new artist, so when you’re working with a new artist you don’t know what’s to come. But I did know that her team at Sony believed in her. Because I remember that call when Tommy Mottola first called me to work with her. And he was like, “I have signed this artist who’s going to do really well. She just came off this movie.” I think it was Money Train at the time and Selena. “She’s a star, but she needs a hit record.”

I was trying to figure it out, “Okay, she’s Latin, she’s from the Bronx,” I was looking at all of those things, how can I add some Latin flavor? That’s why you hear those sounds in the beginning, they give you a little bit of that. But then how can I create a groove — because they said she could dance — so how can I create a groove where she can dance, but is also lyrically emotionally vulnerable? You always get that feeling like, “I think we might have a hit.” But you really don’t know. I’ll never forget when I pressed play for Charlie Walk, who was the promo radio point, he was like, “It’s going number one.” He was jumping on the table pretty much. “It’s going to go to number one.” And then we were just like, “I hope so.” And I never forget, I went to some release party, and it was number one while I’m at the release party.

Destiny’s Child, “Say My Name” (1999)

It’s everything that I wanted it to become. Because that song has so many different moving parts. I thought I had finished that song, and then I went back into the studio and re-did it in a way because I wasn’t pleased. And people, they really wasn’t liking it that much. My track was somewhat distracting at the time. So I had to figure out a way to balance it out. And so once I got it right, I always believed in that song, I always was the one saying “This is going to be a hit.” I felt like it had the catchphrase that pays. I felt like the musicality was still there, that represented what I was trying to establish myself with. And of course, the girls sounded amazing on it. And so I felt like it had all the elements in it to become a success.

I didn’t know it would become as big as it is today still. It’s still one of my favorite song that I’ve ever produced, for sure. But everywhere I go, people somehow refer to me [with] that song. Maybe because I didn’t say “Darkchild” on “The Boy Is Mine,” but I say it on this song. So everywhere I go, “Darkchild ‘99,” I hear it so much wherever I go. It’s almost like it’s synonymous with the song now, that first tag is part of the song.

Toni Braxton, “He Wasn’t Man Enough” (2000)

I mean, at the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame, I had a medley done. First my kids performed “The Boy is Mine,” and it was beautiful seeing my four children playing… It was literally an eight-and-a-half minute medley of these different songs. And it starts off with “Say My Name” and then it goes into “It’s Not Right but It’s Okay,” and then it goes to “He Wasn’t Man Enough.” And when “He Wasn’t Man Enough” comes in, there’s a different type of reaction.

For some reason, when it comes in, everybody just goes crazy. And maybe it’s because Burna Boy sampled it [on the 2022 single “Last Last”] and there’s a familiarity to it in today’s world. Everybody just immediately started going crazy for it.

Michael Jackson, “You Rock My World” (2001)

I had met Michael, we wrote together. And then he went away, he put me in a studio. While he was away I was just creating demos, demo after demo. The sixth demo I did was “You Rock My World.” And right after I was done, I told everybody, “This is the one, this is going to be the single.” I worked with him for over two years. And that was the first one that I said “That’s going to be the single.” I stood by it, no matter what else I created for him, no matter what song it was.

I literally told everyone in the studio. I told Michael, I said, “That’s the one we got to go with.” And it became what we all imagined. Again, another song that lives on, in new formats, finds its way to different people’s hearts.

Destiny’s Child, “Lose My Breath” (2005)

It was pretty special, presenting it to Beyoncé and her loving it. But then her saying, “I want to put Jay on this.” And then [Jay-Z] coming in the studio the next day, me and him just sitting down, going over it together and him adding his two cents [to the chorus] and then jumping in the booth was like, “Whoa.”

After working with Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston, you start to ask yourself, “Who else, who’s next?” And then Beyoncé starts to become the next face of R&B, pop. So now I’m working with her. And Jay-Z is the face of hip-hop. So, I’m like, “Man, I’m working with the best of the best, the greatest, the top one in that era of their jobs.”

Beyoncé, “Deja Vu” (2006)

When we had “Say My Name” and whatever else, she was of course in the group element. But when I got in the studio with her, it was a different Beyoncé. It was a more mature, it was an adult Beyoncé. A fully focused Beyonce who knew exactly who she was. She knew what she wanted to accomplish and what she wanted to say, the story she wanted to tell. The entertainment factor of it all, how the music needed to have a bigness to it for her to be able to perform in a way. So everything was led by Beyoncé.

Lady Gaga ft. Beyoncé, “Telephone” (2009)

Gaga called me. She was getting ready to master the song, and she called me and was like, “What if we got Beyoncé on this?” I think she said Beyoncé already told her she was willing to work with her or something. They had met or something. I called Beyoncé, and I said, “Hey, I’m finishing up a song with Gaga, and wanted to see if you could jump on it?”

So, I played it for Beyoncé. She was in Japan when I sent it to her, and we only had one day to get it done because we were getting ready to mix and master. At first listen, Beyoncé said, “I can’t do it because it’s not really my style. It’s like a techno-pop style and that’s not really what I’m on.” I said, “Well, give me 30 minutes and let me adjust it a little bit and send it back to you.” So I went back in the studio with our writers. Redid the track to give it a little bit of an R&B, hip-hop thing for the second verse, just changed it to half-time and little things like 808s. And then sent it back to her. Later that day, she recorded all the vocals and sent it back.

I’ve always believed in that song. There’s video footage of me creating that song with Lady Gaga out there. I’ve always believed in it from that creation. But then to have Beyoncé on it is just like … in my mind I start thinking like, “Man, here we go again with the two girls, like Brandy and Monica, now Beyoncé and Gaga,” I start thinking like that. This could be something really magical. I purposely used my harp sound in the beginning of that song. It’s the same harp sound I used on “The Boy is Mine.”

Justin Bieber, “As Long As You Love Me” (2012)

When I would hear him in the studio be able to do exactly what was necessary, I said “This kid’s got it.” And I was excited, jumping around the room because he was doing things. What people don’t understand is, when you’re in the studio, you hear certain things and you’re trying to convey what you want them to sound like. And then they do it and deliver it. It’s one of the best feelings you get when you’re in the studio. He over-delivered it. He did it, but he added his twist on it.

There was something that he did — specifically in that moment — with his vibrato that just really made us go crazy in the studio. So working with him early on, I already knew that he was going to be a huge star because he got it early on, he understood. He understood the task, and he nailed it.

Sam Smith, “Stay With Me (Darkchild Version)” (2014)

I just took it to church. I think the song was already a smash to be honest. I can’t tell you that the song wouldn’t have been as big with or without me. I just think it was a great song. But I think when he asked me to work on it, I almost took away from the song, I was adding a little bit too much at first.

But then my instinct was, “No, let me pull back actually, pull some of the elements back out that I was adding. And let me just make sure that the organ is taking it to church, the organ, the tambourine, some subtle church things that I would do if I was in church to that type of song.” The label loved it, and then it went out and the people loved it as well. I’m just happy. I’m blessed that I was part of such an amazing song.

SZA, “Shirt” (2022)

When you’re able to record that much and write that much, that lets you know the chemistry is that good. It lets you know there’s something I’m doing that she must like [to make seven songs in a day]. There must be something happening that makes her be able to be that creative. So it was just an easy-breezy time for me working with her. I do wish some of the other things we did would’ve come out or eventually come out. I do think there’s some really cool things that was going on.

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