DJ Clark Kent, born Rodolfo A. Franklin, died last Thursday after a three-year battle with colon cancer, his family announced. He was 58 years old. Kent, who built a reputation as a prolific producer, started his career as a DJ.
In an interview with VladTV, he said, “I played all kinds of music back then. Funny enough, it wasn’t about a certain style.”
He was already doing gigs when rapper Dana Dane hired him to be his DJ at his gig at Washington Irving High School.
Clark Kent was a quick study, learning to produce and create remixes, which allowed him to work with rappers and R&B acts. In 1995, he produced the Notorious B. I.G. Group, Junior M.A.F.I.A. hit song, Player’s Anthem, introducing us to Lil’ Kim. The following year, he produced a trio of tracks for Jay-Z’s Reasonable Doubt album, including ‘Brooklyn’s Finest,” which also included Biggie. His collaboration with Mariah Carey in 2001 for her Glitter album, “Loverboy,” reached number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.
An avid sneakerhead, the collector had amassed more than 3,000 pairs in his collection. Nike offered the following statement. “We are deeply saddened by the passing of our dear friend and true cultural icon, DJ Clark Kent. At Nike, we were honored to collaborate with Clark on projects that celebrated not only his deep love for sneakers but also his unwavering dedication to pushing creative boundaries and elevating culture,” Nike said in a statement issued to Billboard by a company spokesperson.
Clark Kent valiantly battled colon cancer for three years before succumbing to the disease. Colon cancer is the third most common cancer in our community among both men and women. We are also being diagnosed at younger ages. More than one in three Black people will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime. Check here for more information on prevention and screening.
Our sincere condolences go out to his wife, Kesha, daughter, Kabriah, and son, Antonio. And we look forward to the documentary “God’s Favorite DJ: The Story of DJ Clark Kent,” directed by Angie Martinez.
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