Rodney Jerkins
Rodney Jerkins has served as the man behind the boards for a number of pop superstars, including Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez, Whitney Houston, Luther Vandross and even Michael Jackson. In short, he became the man superstars came to when they need a hit. It’s no wonder why Janet Jackson enlisted the musical prodigy for her tenth album, Discipline.
Jerkins handled the lion’s share of the production duties on Discipline, with Janet's then-boyfriend Jermaine Dupri. While Dupri was responsible for a few decent tracks, Jerkins was able to craft Janet’s biggest single since 2001’s “Someone to Call My Lover,” the experimental electro-pop track “Feedback.” Unfortunately, the much lauded second single, “Luv,” failed to make a similar impact due to lack of promotion and no video.
However, Jackson and Jerkins apparently had great chemistry in the studio and continued to work on new music, even inspiring Janet to write again. The studio had become a refuge for Janet to deal with the death of her brother, the end of her relationship and other personal issues. The duo collaborated on the dance single “Make Me,” for her Number Ones greatest-hits album, but nothing else has been released from their studio sessions.
