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Rodolfo Antonio Franklin II (September 28, 1966 – October 24, 2024), known professionally as DJ Clark Kent, was an American hip hop DJ and record producer. His crew of DJs was called "The Supermen", and his DJ moniker was derived from the name of Superman's alter ego.

Early life and education

Franklin was born in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York, on September 28, 1966, but would often say he was born in Panama as a way to pay tribute to his family's ancestry. Franklin was raised by his mother and grandmother. He attended Brooklyn Technical High School and the Hoosac School. He also attended Emerson College but did not receive a degree. Franklin's use of the name "Clark Kent" derived from the glasses he began wearing when he was a child.

Music career

In the late 1980s, Clark Kent was rapper Dana Dane's DJ. Around this time, Kent would DJ at clubs such as one just around the block from Downtown Records on West 26th Street in Manhattan which was a short-lived hip-hop hotbed with other DJs also performing there, such as Funkmaster Flex and Kid Capri. In 1989, he produced the remix for Troop's hit song "Spread My Wings."

Around the early 1990s, DJ Clark Kent took over the job of MC for the then-titled New Music Seminar, a battle between the best DJs in hip hop. Renaming it "Clark Kent's Superman Battle for World Supremacy", he would go on to host the event for a number of years. One of the most famous battles in this arena was the legendary match between DJ Noize and DJ 8-Ball, with a victory for DJ Noize.

Clark Kent later scored his first street hit with the Junior M.A.F.I.A. song "Player's Anthem" which featured The Notorious B.I.G. and was the first record that Lil' Kim appeared on. The biggest hit he produced was "Loverboy" by Mariah Carey, which peaked at #2 in the US on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. In addition to his work with Mariah, Lil' Kim, and The Notorious B.I.G., Clark also produced tracks for artists such as Lil' Vicious, Mona Lisa, 50 Cent, Canibus, Mad Skillz, Estelle, Slick Rick and Rakim, as well as groups like The Future Sound and Original Flavor, which were signed to East West Records and Atlantic Records respectively. Both groups were signed by Clark, who was a director of A&R at Atlantic at the time.

Damon Dash, one time manager of The Future Sound and Original Flavor, has credited DJ Clark Kent with introducing him to Jay-Z. Original Flavor featured the then little known rapper on their single "Can I Get Open" in 1993. This would lead to the 1994 start of Roc-A-Fella Records, and further collaborations between Clark and Jay-Z, who met when they were teenagers, as Clark would go on to produce three tracks on Jay-Z's 1996 critically acclaimed debut album, Reasonable Doubt. The tracks were: "Brooklyn's Finest", which features The Notorious B.I.G.,"Coming of Age", which features Memphis Bleek, and "Cashmere Thoughts", which contains a conversation between Clark and Jay-Z. Clark stated that he introduced B.I.G. and Jay-Z at the studio session for their collaboration. During this time, Clark would also introduce his cousin Foxy Brown to Jay-Z, and the two would team up on the hit single "Ain't No Nigga". On 2003's The Black Album, billed as his "retirement" project, Jay-Z alludes to Clark's role in helping him break into the industry, on the album's last song (titled "My 1st Song"). He states: "Clark Kent, that was good lookin' out, nigga."

Clark discovered rapper Shyne, whom he accidentally overheard rhyming in a barbershop, in 1998. Noting the young MC's vocal similarity to The Notorious B.I.G., Clark steered him towards Bad Boy Records and Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs signed him.

Other ventures

Aside from his work in music, Clark was a sneaker enthusiast who once claimed to own 3,500 pairs of footwear. In 2010, Nike commissioned him to design and unveil a "Nike Five Boroughs AF1 Low" pack of special limited edition Nike Air Force 1 shoes. He also collaborated with other popular brands, such as Adidas and New Balance.

Personal life and death

In 1998, Franklin began dating Kesha Vernon, whom he married in 2000, and together they had a son. Franklin died from colon cancer at his home in Green Brook Township, New Jersey, on October 24, 2024, at the age of 58.

Production credits

References

1. ^ Traub, Alex (October 27, 2024). "DJ Clark Kent, Who Introduced Jay-Z to Notorious B.I.G., Dies at 58". The New York Times. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
2. Daniel Isenberg (November 11, 2011). "DJ Clark Kent Tells All: The Stories Behind His Classic Records (Part 1)". Complex. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
3. Stretch Armstrong (November 24, 2014). "Cassette Culture with Stretch Armstrong". Medium. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
4. "The New Music Seminar Battle For World Supremacy: An Oral History". Red Bull Music Academy. July 24, 2015.
5. "THE 10 BEST DJ SCRATCH BATTLES OF ALL TIME". mixmag. July 24, 2020.
6. "DJ Clark Kent Names His Favorite Song By The Notorious B.I.G." hiphopdx.com. March 14, 2012. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
7. "The Future Sound – The Whole Shabang Volume 1 (April 7, 1992)". December 18, 2015.
8. "Hip-Hop Gem: DJ Clark Kent Introduced Jay-Z To Damon Dash". Stop The Breaks.
9. "Do Remember: Original Flavor & Jay Z's Can I Get Open? (Video)". Ambrosia For Heads.
10. Mitch Findlay (March 9, 2021). "DJ Clark Kent Recalls Convincing Jay-Z To Switch From Hustling To Rap". Hot New Hip Hop.
11. "Brooklyn's Finest".
12. "Coming of Age".
13. "Cashmere Thoughts".
14. "DJ CLARK KENT RECALLS INTRODUCING JAY-Z & THE NOTORIOUS B.I.G., RECORDING "BROOKLYN'S FINEST"". hiphopdx.com. November 11, 2011. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
15. Roman Cooper (August 15, 2013). "Foxy Brown Was "Shocked" To Hear Her Name On Jay Z's "Picasso Baby"". HipHopDX. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
16. "My 1st Song".
17. "Digital Biography of Belize's Shyne".
18. Paul Dachs (April 4, 2020). "DJ CLARK KENT CONFESSES HIS SNEAKERHEAD SINS". hiphopdx.com. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
19. "Nike Air Force 1 Low x DJ Clark Kent – The Bronx – Five Boroughs Pack".
20. Barbara Schneider-Levy (August 15, 2018). "DJ Clark Kent Has 3,500 Pairs of Shoes & Hints at His Next Round of Sneaker Collaborations".
21. Phillips, Zoe G. (October 25, 2024). "DJ Clark Kent, Hip-Hop Record Producer, Dies at 58". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 26, 2024.

Sources

• "Clark Kent, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved April 8, 2018.

External links

• Discogs entry
• Five Boroughs Pack Air Force 1 Archived January 27, 2019, at the Wayback Machine
• DJ Clark Kent at IMDb

• 1966 births
• 2024 deaths
• 20th-century African-American musicians
• 21st-century African-American people
• African-American DJs
• American hip-hop DJs
• American hip-hop musicians
• American hip-hop record producers
• American people of Panamanian descent
• Brooklyn Technical High School alumni
• Deaths from cancer in New Jersey
• Deaths from colorectal cancer in the United States
• People from Green Brook Township, New Jersey