Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins (born July 29 1977 in Pleasantville, New Jersey) is a Grammy Award-winning songwriter, record producer, and musician. Working largely with his brother Fred Jerkins III & writer LaShawn Daniels, Jerkins has been an extremely in-demand producer for over a decade, being requested by such artists as Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston and Lionel Richie. The words "Darkchild" appear in some form in many of his tracks. He is currently working on forthcoming albums from Brandy,Rap-Up TV: Rodney Jerkins on Britney Spears [[Ciara], Beyoncé, LeToya, Teairra Marí, Britney Spears, Anastacia and Melanie Brown. Monica Mania:// The Suga Mama of Music Blogsand Korean pop sensation Se7en.

Biography

Jerkins was born into a religious family as the youngest son of a minister and choir director mother. He grew up in Pleasantville, New Jersey.Norment, Lynn. "Rodney Jerkins: music maestro on a mission.", Ebony (magazine), June 1, 2002. Accessed December 19, 2007. "Jerkins is pop music's newest and youngest hit-making wiz. At age 24, the Pleasantville, N.J., native is a fascinating coming-of-age success story and stands out among hundreds of rags-to-riches tales." He began taking classical music lessons on the piano as a small child. As a teenager he had already decided to become a record producer. At 15, he and his brother Fred Jerkins III wrote and produced their own gospel rap album - On the Move. He began making more demos, one of which caught the attention of idol Teddy Riley, who gave him advice on the music industry. Finally, his first professional writing and producing job came in 1994 when he contributed two tracks to the debut album of R&B artist Casserine. Riley also subsequently let Jerkins share writing and production duties on tracks by Pure Soul, Men Of Vizion & Wreckx-N-Effect in 1995 & 1996.Rodney Jerkins: music maestro on a mission - Interview | Ebony | Find Articles at BNET.com