DJ Clark Kent, the hip-hop rap producer and elder statesman known as “God's Favorite DJ,” has died. According to a statement posted on his official Instagram account, Kent had “quietly and bravely fought a three-year battle with colon cancer” before passing away yesterday afternoon (October 24) “surrounded by his devoted wife Kesha, daughter of Kabriah and son of Antonio'. He was 58 years old.
Born Rodolfo Franklin, in Panama, DJ Clark Kent first found fame in the late 1980s in New York as a DJ for Brooklyn rapper Dana Dane. In 1989, he remixed “Spread My Wings”, by new jack swing band Troop, but his big break didn't come until six years later, when he produced Junior MAFIA's “Player's Anthem”, from their album 1995. Conspiracy. The track featured both Notorious BIG and, in her first record appearance, Lil' Kim, then a member of the group.
The following year, Kent produced three songs on Jay-Z's debut album. Reasonable doubt: “Cashmere Thoughts,” “Coming of Age,” and “Brooklyn's Finest,” the latter featuring the Notorious BIG (Kent is also said to have introduced Jay-Z to Roc-A-Fella co-founder Dame Dash.) Kent went on to produce Notorious BIG's “Sky's the Limit” and scored the biggest hit of his career with Mariah Carey's “Loverboy,” which reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Most recently, as producer , came in 2018, when he worked on Kanye West and Lil Pump's “I Love It.”
Kent is the subject of an upcoming documentary directed by New York radio personality Angie Martinez. Following news of his death, DJ Clark Kent has been honored by the likes of Tyler, The Creator, Raekwon, DJ Premier, Meek Mill, Swizz Beatz and Questlove, who wrote: “Clark will it is forever the culture.”
