Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins Signed a $1.8M Publishing Deal with EMI at 17 (Part 5)

Part 6: • Rodney "Darkchild" Jer...
Part 4: • Rodney Jerkins: Jodeci...
Part 1: • Rodney "Darkchild" Jer...
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In this clip, Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins recounted producing for Patti LaBelle but being sort of intimidated when he had to tell her she was flat on a note. He went into detail about signing his first publishing deal at 17 worth $1.8 million. Despite the deal being "jacked up" by today's standards, Darkchild said the deal changed his and his family's lives.

[@TheTrut416]

17 yr old millionaire, moved parents out of there house and brought them another house, brought his mom's a mercedes, MDRC, publishing,....bless him!!

[@bob-mb6ub]

Bought*

[@clarkjonathan702]

Him vs Dallas Austin in a versus would be 🔥

[@RedStl]

Bergen street Duke boy NUTZ!!!

[@YoungBreeze252]

Ah man!!!! True story

[@clarkjonathan702]

Jayda's Dad on my mama

[@bslugga9455]

FACTS!!!

[@Ghanaquankel2776]

Now I see why Tommy Motola called him. Tommy got wind that a seventeen year old black kid was about to sign a bad deal and wanted to offer him the worst deal which included more money.

[@jamelehampton4255]

The fuckin accuracy

[@BeatsByGemsmiff]

PATTI LABELLE???!!!! Mad respect for dude!

[@censordat]

Dam, Darkchild was a child prodigy! Legend now!

[@censordat]

@MrSpliffstarz Nah, but Darkchild was only 17 when he got his first deal...A 1.8 million dollar deal Lol.

[@stringbean7277]

Smart man, he didn’t complain even if the deal was crappy, He did the work gave his 600% So he can get in that drivers seat....Go Ahead Darkchild😍😍😍

[@yonkcity]

Exactly. Clearly he met and cleared the terms of that initial contract to place him in the driver's seat little more than ONE year later. He was determined to succeed, cranking out commercial hits, for multiple artists w/in a short time frame.

[@TheFreshSoundsFlorida]

Exactly!

[@Garcelle1987]

Kanye needs to pay attention to how a man with intelligence and CLASS behaves ☕

[@MarkieB89]

I mean that was his prerogative but I understand somebody being mad about it also

[@newclothes8165]

Thats comes from a strong mother and father instilling values in him at a young age. They taught him to honor his contract and do the work. Thats something you see lacking in many artist today. I always knew of Rodney Jerkins but until today never heard him utter a word. I have huge respect for him. The story about signing with EMi because the guy came to his house hit me hard because my cousin was on a dominant football team in high school. Since it was in the state of Tennessee. The coach of University of Tenn (Vols) knew all those guys would sign with him so he didn't even recruit them. He just sent letters in the mail. Mind you all these guys , my cousin included were getting offers from nearly every top school in the country. All the other guys signed with Tenn but my cousin went to Alabama because the coach at that time(not saban) was calling him,,coming by, coming to his games, flew him down,,i mean did all the work to get him and he said he signed with Alabama because of that. I always respected him for that and to hear Rodney say that's his reason for going to EMI,,love it.

[@notingham211]

This guy is a HARD worker

[@princeroyy8388]

When Michael Jackson said "Dark chiiiild, I like that." I felt that

[@giovannarodney]

He just dropped some gems . TAke note

[@EDDYGMTZ]

You get the best interviews from the folks you least expect it from

[@nalahschamber3469]

"I was in the studio on Rodney Jerkins first recording session...I whispered "Dark Child" and didn't realize they had started recording, and they just left it on the record!" - TK Kirkland

[@marionwalkerjr.7394]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@destroytmusicagan2476]

😂😂

[@BrandonThreatTV]

Bruh!!! exactly!!!😂😂😂

[@kinggokubeats5008]

😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

[@kevinumba6281]

😂😂😂😂

[@Inspirmentalist]

those publishing deals are insane.

[@DLM323]

That's why record labels hope and pray you aren't educated about them when you sign the deal. lol

[@Furybeatsgme]

Publishing deals are insane in general, I don't even see why you need em tbh.

[@nielsenmakaba5777]

@@Furybeatsgme you don't need them. But trust me you get bigger placements when you're signed to a big publishing company.....

[@donaldbittner4654]

Grest stuff. Been to his house in California, his wife is amazing and so is one of his sister-in-law's that I happen to meet. Really humble man and gives back a lot, and doesn't say anything.

[@chubbsescobar708]

He’s dropping a lot of jewels pay attention!

[@mask-n-gloves5280]

Fact tho!!!!🙌🏾💯

[@SedriqueDJuan]

Yep

[@ccvjd3909]

Is he though, or is he just saying he appreciated that the one record label treated him more personally and kind than the other. The other thing he said is the content of the deal matter more than the amount, as if you have a choice in what kind of work you're going to be doing. "Negotiating" is only a matter of him having a fan base and then anything he makes sellls. The company isnt "negotiating". Once an artist is popular and has a fan base, he is guaranteed profit for the record label so long as he doesn't leave for another company. At the point of signing a successful artist, so long as a profit is made on the artist, the company is winner. Even if the profit margin is smaller. No gems were dropped. Unless you consider basic business knowledge gems .

[@mask-n-gloves5280]

@@ccvjd3909 I feel you my G but the actual breakdown of the MDRC is where the 💎💎💎 is at.

[@ccvjd3909]

@@mask-n-gloves5280 I suppose it is useful to inform people of how the industry works . I don't think I would have known what an mdrc was if this dude didn't point it out. So I guess yeah , being able to google what he said is useful and I wouldn't have been able to do it without this initial info.

[@WorldwideJamal]

Monster hit maker. Legend.

[@Garcelle1987]

MORE Rodney clips, please!!!!!

[@novalove4790]

I can't wait until this full interview drops

[@agthaog1986]

Timbo th king of course is a GOAT.. but if somebody gota be right beside him it gotta be Rodney Jerkins. He kept R&B live throughout most of my Teen years

[@mccolycoken]

I love when cats who have more money than Vlad talks money to him notice he has different energy when he interviews folks he's richer than

[@lendavidhart9710]

Just started watching today, thank you for posting and sharing, this guy is really neat, love it!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@Bigredbulldog401]

Gotta love his energy and work ethic

[@yk007beats8]

Legendary producer for real 🔥🖤

[@vidsuals9987]

When your dad is already in the game big 🤷🏾‍♂️

[@Thir13eenBeatz]

Who else had no idea darkchild was a child prodigy?

[@jamessmith7205]

What a great person to look up to! Follow your DREAMS and work hard! ✌

[@TitanWave1]

Vlad i heard You was Cancelled🤣😂😭

[@coachhbosoccer]

Who thought about Lavar Ball when this guy talks about his Dad? His Dad clearly guided him but was in the background

[@amgaku]

Sooo Humble

[@804smiles]

The #'s don't matter it's what's in the deal that matters! I need all young artists 2 listen 2 this vid 4real! U see NBAYoungBoy now that he knows tryna find a way 2 get his masters! 🤷‍♂️

[@anathiphela]

Love this esp part about Patti

[@drphot6050]

Legend has it Quest Love is still waiting on his food lol

[@o.g.new-blood1681]

If ur Black I wish u Wealth, Good Health, n Success "BLACK IS KING"-Beyonce

[@NateWolfson]

Cdann because if you are white, people don’t have to wish you wealth and good health, you’re born with it.

[@kaafaa5944]

Racist,+ when Beyonce go to Africa its to 5 stars hotel and safari she just a tourist , marketing

[@angiesroom7602]

Patti is his cousin...I know because I found out about 14-15 yrs ago , after my grandma went to her family reunion in Detroit, that him and Patti are actually related to us...not to take away from his talent but just an FYI as to how he may have ended up producing music for her...family or not, if he was trash, I'm sure Patti wouldn't have let him produce music for her lol

[@ashleyscarsgard]

The Halloween story....was so sweet...🎃

[@taurusjohnson4203]

It’s funny how Vlad chuckles every time at the short comings of all his guest smh

[@TheNotoriousKID]

Wow! I have so much more respect for this guy now.

[@TyWerks]

I'm mad I took so long to watch this interview

[@1tmproductions]

To have a 16 songs was a lot. To break it down a song in publishing terms is 100 percent. So let's say you have a song with an artist and a featured artist and a co producer. In most cases the publishing would get split four ways. And it doesn't necessarily mean 25% each. If it's a huge artist featured, they may get a larger percentage than a moderately successful artist. It's all in how you negotiate your splits. So a new producer could get 20 percent of a song. But that song could be hot and blow up and make millions but that still is 20 percent. It doesn't change once the song blows up. So what does that mean? That only counts as 1/5 of a song. So no matter what that song made for the label, under that same structure you would still have to do that four more times to equal one song. Yes that would only be counted as 1 song! Darckchild had to do 16 songs. That's crazy. That's why a lot of those albums back then, you had certain R and B producers who might do the whole album. It wasn't an album full of co producers and they didn't sample a lot. I think they were working like crazy to meet their quota. Because what could happen is you work slowly and then your name is not buzzing as hard and the sound changes, now you are stuck because you still have obligation to put out on a major release. But you may only be doing a record on an album here and there. But now almost every song you see it is multiple co-writers. They see the money quicker because of streaming so they collaborate more and have multiple big songs streaming at one time. And they use samples. Like Drake "Nice for What". It samples three songs and has multiple writers. I don't know their deal but as big as that record might be like 1/6 of a song for a producer in song terms. Now don't think these people aren't getting paid. On the writing credits for "The Boy is Mine" alone he was getting crazy checks on performance royalties. And that's just one stream. Just in terms of the deal and his ability to move on a negotiate a more lucrative contract, I get his point.

[@pambrown6319]

Didn't know bout him, discovered him when listening to Jesse Powell, i didn't know he produced so many

[@pambrown6319]

Is this the same "Dark Child" that worked with Jesse Powell?

[@RedStl]

Pam Brown yes.

[@BtrDaze]

Take a wild guess

[@anjelheaven]

There's only ONE Darkchild!

[@derrienscott23]

His attitude is what more artist should have going into a deal. Your not going to get the best deal but you out work the deal to get to the next one and cashout!

[@kdbyers]

Vlad you need to get Devante on a serious interview! That cat has to talk! He is so shut in. Would love to see that interview!

[@76shian]

Nope

[@sunnyside9273]

Vlad slobbers over money

[@charli3b257]

@CT-8903 dont 4get 2pac

[@TheFreshSoundsFlorida]

So does P Diddy many others in the business

[@whitlock1988]

😂😂😂

[@fawkkyutuu8851]

That's really all Vlad has going for him , and he's Jewish so...

[@blessme366]

Rodney's dad is smart.👍

[@fuzzyflick9905]

UNBELIEVABLE 💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪💪☮️💪💪🐕🐾✌️🙏🙏✌️🙏

[@Saxology219]

BEAUTIFUL! The part abt buying his parents a house in a safe neighborhood they took him trick or treatn in was dope! And him not complaining abt the deal he signed after he became successful. Understanding and appreciating whatt that signing did for him. How it changed his life. He need to go have a talk withKanye, Pharell and the rest of these frauds out here!💯

[@dukefrio]

Meg, uzi, migos.....all need to listen to this guy. Loyalty should be natural

[@LboogieEntertainmentTv]

vlad always counting someone's pockets lol

[@djflash7503]

It’s all about money with Vlad.

[@danieltaylor3398]

16 MDRC. That’s fucking insane. That should be criminal. Outside of Rodney jerkins very few producers would make that yearly requirement. For those that don’t know that’s realistically like 35-45 major placements in a year

[@RedStl]

CT-8903 one of very few

[@kevindube7096]

“M” not “N”, right? Minimum Delivery & Release Commitment

[@RedStl]

Kevin Dube yes it’s M

[@dianevrules]

Daniel Taylor Where the f^$%$ did you get 35-45 from a 16 MDRC??? The number is the minimum amount of songs. 16 means 16 mother%%$. Any producer couldve done 16 song, back in those days and Today. All they have to do is produce an entire album with 16 or more song on it. Shut the f%$$ up if you dont know what the f^$% your b&^%$ a&% is talking about.

[@Debonair73]

@@dianevrules MDRC mean 100% publishing on a song. If you working with major artists, you not going to get 100% publishing on the song because you going to co-write most of the songs that's been placed. So if he made the beat and somebody else wrote the song. The publishing would be 50%. Darkchild had to get 1600%. So yeah he had to place like 35-45 songs to meet that rate but I can't believe it would be yearly but maybe for the term of the contract. I mean they gave him 1.8 million.

[@gusfree8445]

Dam.. Thought it was Mike Vick from the thumbnail..

[@reggiefurlow1]

Darkchild came from TK Kirkland being the first black baby born in the continental united states

[@p.a.i.nentertainment8786]

He sounds like Toosii 2x.

[@danemartin2992]

Everybody want patti food...you heard Vlad ummm😂😂😂😂...

[@fcuktheseyoutubers]

Y'all went to the neighborhood where the good candy at...

[@youcant3xmakethisuptv752]

IN VLAD VOICE( ONEEEEEEE 👉 8TEEEEEEEEEEEEEE MMMILLLLON.🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@fuzzyflick9905]

Hilarious 😂😂😂 Halloween 💀💀💀💀💀💀

[@potential100x2]

HOW DOPE.. he bought his parents a house in the upscale part...big candy bars and soda pop..those days are long gone ..fu dolphin with chovida -19

[@capo-amg6755]

I see ceelo greens big brother I click

[@JohnnyBarton85]

Also check out doggie diamonds tv podcast 💪💯

[@anthonymcclarytv5342]

Rodney I'm actually looking for a publishing deal right now

[@mask-n-gloves5280]

@3:20💎💎💎💎💎💎

[@LboogieEntertainmentTv]

Facts these rappers so spoiled nowadays...

[@PharaohLawLess1]

Real knowledge being passed out here

[@OmarScruggs]

Patti Patti always cooking

[@fuzzyflick9905]

🐕🐾✌️🙏

[@lancematthews195]

BRIAN JACKSON ALSO SIGNED ME TO EMI MUSIC PUBLISHING DECEMBER 15, 1993 THROUGH MARTY BANDIER AND RODNEY AND I HAD A SIMILAR DEAL BUT I WAS HAPPY TO HEAR RODNEY GOT A WAY MUCH MUCH MUCH BIGGER ADVANCE THAN I DID, BUT BRIAN JACKSON WAS A REAL GOOD MUSIC INDUSTRY GUY, REAL STRAIGHT UP DUDE... I WILL REACH OUT TO RODNEY SOON TO WORK ON MY 26TH LANCE ROMANCE ALBUM FOR 2021 🎵LANCE ROMANCE 😊😎✊🎶

[@rastwet]

Dj flashback

[@steveperry7799]

LEYKIS 101 !!!

[@adamhunt607]

Vlad a cop

[@BEERLIGHTBROKER]

If you want to sell your publishing please contact me.

[@sharonjo7630]

😕

[@moiznicees]

Alot a bs to music industry

[@sammynogo559]

Get dl hughley to talk about the debate @vladtv

[@DoinLifeProductions]

He sound like cameron

[@Thir13eenBeatz]

Create success and you can always go back and renegotiate your deal. why? Because now you have LEVERAGE

[@Ronnieayo]

QUESTLOVE IS PISSED AT PATTY EVEN MORE NOW THAT DARKCHILD GOT THAT FOOD 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 P.S QUESTLOVE JAGUAR IS ON YO ASS BOI 😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@t_mfn_y]

Soon as I say We all need to quit fucking with Vlad he drops an interesting interview! But we do all need to quit fucking with him for the culture!

[@THEGOD93A]

Did Rodney not get the message. Vlad is cancelled!

[@erickiam25]

SPORTN LIFE vlad effects rich folks lol

[@clarisafarley8194]

Icons know when they not their best man pattie tina Aretha diana nattie cole stephanie mills phyllis hyman paid the for whitney houston

[@kaedre1211]

Vlad nosey Azz is always in somebody's pocket & want the actual number, but if someone asked him how much he make off investments he wouldn't say Shit ! ! ! It's like, u dislike this dude but he gets the bomb interviews. UGH

[@anthonyhall3425]

IF YOU'RE READING THIS MESSAGE KNOW THAT JESUS LOVES YOU..HE DIED FOR YOUR SINS AND ROSE AGAIN..HE WANTS TO BE A PART OF YOUR LIFE.. HE'S WAITING ON YOU TO GIVE YOU PEACE.. GIVE HIM A CHANCE.