Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins is recalling his work on Destiny FulfilledThe album celebrates its 20th anniversary on FridayIt was Destiny Child’s final album before their hiatus
For legendary producer Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, Destiny’s Child’s Destiny Fulfilled album was “really important to me” due to its indelible impact on R&B music for the last two decades.
On Nov. 15, 2004, the R&B trio – Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams – released their final album via Sony Entertainment after a years-long hiatus to pursue individual projects. Darkchild remembers being tapped by the “Crazy In Love” singer, now 43, by chance in New York to see if he had any tracks that could make the cut.
“I was on 54th Street in Manhattan because there’s two studios on the same street, Sony Studios, and the Hit Factory. I was going back and forth to each studio,” Darkchild, now 47, tells PEOPLE in an exclusive interview via Zoom.
Destiny’s Child.
SGranitz/WireImage
“I’m getting out of my car to leave the studio. Beyoncé was walking into the studio and she’s like, “Hey.” I hadn’t seen her since ‘Say My Name.’ She was like, ‘Hey, Rodney.’ I was like, ‘Hey, how’s it?’ And she said, ‘We doing this Destiny’s Child album, you got anything?’ ”
Darkchild continues, “I literally had a CD on me, and on that CD had the track to ‘Cater 2 U’ on it. I gave her the CD, and then she went into the studio, and I went on my way. And then they called me later and said they wanted me to come back to the studio later on that night… They gave me another room downstairs at Sony, and that’s when I worked on ‘Lose My Breath.’ All that was done in just on the spur of the moment type thing.”
Darkchild recognized that there was something special about the aforementioned records when he was done working on them. He got the same feeling in 1999 after he completed “Say My Name” – and at the time, the group included Beyoncé, Rowland, 43, LaTavia Roberson, and LeToya Luckett.
“You never know what’s going to be the single, you just — you hope,” Darkchild says. “Of course, as a producer, songwriter, you’re always hoping to get the single. But when you’re creating it, you get a feeling: ‘OK, this sound like this could be something.’ And that was what I definitely got from both of those songs when I’m working on them.”
Destiny Fulfilled was an undeniable success, having sold over seven million copies worldwide. According to Darkchild, the girls figured out a formula for girl group success that hasn’t been done since.
“When you really think about it, have we had a group since Destiny’s Child in the R&B, urban space that crossed over and has done it since then?” Darkchild says, adding, “I don’t think so. Not on that level at least. There’s been groups, but not on the level of Destiny’s Child. So that lets you know how long it’s been for someone else to crack the code and figure it out.”
Following Darkchild’s work on Destiny Fulfilled, he was also tapped for Beyoncé’s 2006 single, “Déjà Vu,” featuring her now-husband JAY-Z. The producer said he was brought on to “(create) a groove that she could really sing and really dance to and have a lot of energy.” He also noted that there was a clear shift in Beyoncé’s energy not having the comfort of her former band members to rely on. The group officially disbanded in 2006.
JAY-Z and Beyoncé performing at the BET Awards in Los Angeles in June 2006.
Frazer Harrison/Getty
“Maybe because she was surrounded by the girls in the group and Kelly’s like her sister, and so it was just like a natural playfulness and whatever. Now, I felt like when we got to ‘Déjà Vu,’ there was a seriousness that was different about her. There was a laser individual focus. It’s not that she wasn’t focused before, but it was just more locked in.”
Like many Destiny’s Child fans, Darkchild would love to see the trio collaborate musically once more for old time’s sake. Beyoncé’s April 2018 Coachella set marked the last time the girls hit the stage, surprising the crowd with “Say My Name,” “Lose My Breath” and “Soldier.”
“Destiny’s Child reunion – I would love for that to happen. I would pray that that happens and they would call me because we pick up right where we left off,” Darkchild says.
Michelle Williams, Beyonce Knowles and Kelly Rowland perform at Coachella in April 2018.
Kevin Mazur/Getty
In addition to his work with Destiny’s Child, Darkchild has also worked with Michael Jackson, Brandy, Toni Braxton, Ashanti, Britney Spears, Ariana Grande and more. More recently, Darkchild has launched a record label, ALIENZ ALIVEa faith-based, hip-hop sound featuring artists Alex Jean, Jon Keith, IMRSQD, TJ Carroll and Gawvi.
“We love where it’s going and where it’s headed to be able to do faith-based music that’s uplifting, inspiring, clean, but still the quality is there, and the innovation is still there, and the elevation of the content that we’re putting out is still there,” Darkchild says of the label founded with his son and daughter.
“It’s not like it’s in this little bubble or in this little box, it’s something that you could really appreciate and listen to and move to and groove to and have a good feeling. I’m excited about it.”
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