Ep. 217: Rodney Jerkins | How He Turned Belief Into Hits — And Changed Music Forever

And The Writer Is...with Ross Golan

And The Writer Is

Unknown, Music Interviews, Songwriting, Music, Songwriters, Education, Interviews, Music Creation, Artists

4.9 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 6 August 2025

⏱️ 71 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

He believed before anyone else did.

Before the Grammys.

Before the 39 billion streams.

Before Say My Name changed the sound of radio forever.

He was just a kid on a New Jersey bus, chasing a dream no one else could see.

In this episode, legendary producer Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins shares how faith, fire, and pure conviction took him from a basement studio to shaping the sound of a generation. From Michael Jackson to Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, and Sam Smith, Rodney opens up about the mindset behind the music — and why belief is still the most powerful tool a creator has.

You’ll hear about the reset that saved his career, the changing landscape of songwriting in the AI era, and the stories behind some of the most iconic records of the last 25 years.

And The Writer Is... Rodney Jerkins.

Topics:

The real story behind Say My Name
Working with Michael Jackson, Beyoncé, and Gaga
Why belief matters more than talent
How to stay inspired (even after burnout)
AI, music tech, and what’s missing from today's process
What every songwriter needs to know about their value

Sponsored by:

SONA, DIMA, Amazon Music, and YouTube Songwriters.

Thank you for supporting us and protecting the future of songwriting!

Produced by Ross Golan, Joe London, and Jad Saad

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcript

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0:00.0	It's now a good time to be a musician.
0:02.0	Why would you ever stop?
0:03.6	He's one of the most influential music producers in music history.
0:07.4	Rodney Darkchild Jerkin.
0:09.1	I was actually in the studio producing Beyonce, Michael Jackson, Houston, Justin Bieber.
0:16.8	I was in the studio.
0:17.8	They were in the booth and I was the ones to do that again.
0:20.5	And if this is my passion to make music, then I think that I got a good shot.
0:26.6	Here's the tricky part, right?
0:27.9	There's so many ears and so many eyeballs in the world.
0:33.4	How do I get to them?
0:35.3	I tell you how we do it.
0:38.2	What's the lowest part of your career?
0:41.5	True, that's a deep question.
0:44.8	I needed to break from everything.
0:47.5	I need to reset.
0:49.0	Even computers know they need to be refreshed.
0:51.9	And I needed to refresh.
0:53.8	And that's when I came back and did deja vu.
0:56.0	And it was my breath and telephone and one wish.
0:59.0	And as long as you love you.
1:01.0	If you learn to take certain phrases out of your vocabulary,
	...

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