He’s worked with everyone from Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston to the King of Pop himself, Michael Jackson. But these days, ask Rodney Jerkins if R’n’B is in good hands and he immediately answers in the negative.
“For R’n’B, they’ve made it become too adult contemporary. R’n’B used to move culture. R’n’B used to be mainstream pop,” the Darkchild producer said.
When he created The Boy is Mine for Brandy and Monica in 1998, it reached No. 1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.
“Now, it’s segregated — the No. 1 R’n’B song is not the No. 1 pop song. It hasn’t been that way in a long time. Right now, I just feel like R’n’B isn’t at the forefront the way it should be,” he added.
“Justin Timberlake’s making R’n’B music, Justin Bieber’s making R’n’B music. I think that we need to find some new fresh R’n’B voices. I love what Justin is doing — what both Justins are doing — but where’s the next person that’s gonna come up that no one’s ever seen, and [who’s] gonna really shock the world with that new sound? That’s what I’m waiting to see — hopefully I’ll be able to find it.”
Jerkins is currently working with the likes of Rihanna and Ariana Grande. He was one of many big-name producers to work on Xscape, Jackson’s second posthumous album, which released in May. Though he had his hesitations over the project, he’s “absolutely, 100 per cent” pleased with the result.
“I think it’s really close to what Michael would’ve wanted in an album, knowing him and knowing what we created together and knowing what sounds like he likes,” he said.
Jerkins was in Dubai to work with Mohammad Assaf on the Fifa Congress song, but hopes to come back in the coming months.
“I want to experiment with more Middle Eastern sounds and artists. I would love to build a studio here, I would love to build a really top-notch facility here.”
