Rumors that influential hip-hop producer DJ Clark Kent had died became reality when his family recently confirmed his death.
“It is with deep sadness that we share the passing of the beloved Rodolfo A. Franklin, known to the world as DJ Clark Kent. Clark passed away [Oct. 24] surrounded by his devoted wife Kesha, daughter Kabriah, and son Antonio,” read an Instagram statement. “Clark quietly and valiantly fought a three-year battle with colon cancer, while continuing to share his gifts with the world.”
He was 58.
Social media was soon flooded with tributes to Kent. On Instagram, Jamaica-born, Brooklyn-bred hip-hop star Chubb Rock, 56, posted, “As all of Brooklyn and the Caribbean community mourn our brilliant brother DJ Clark Kent, it is clearly apparent that we never really own anything but memories.”
Chubb Rock recalled how Kent helped him get into the music business decades ago. “I think about how he helped my career with his brilliance on three different occasions. We were just teenagers in Brooklyn with a dream, and the memories are endless. Rest in power my brother, your legacy lives on.”
Born in Brooklyn with proud Panamanian roots, Kent’s aspirations for success in the music industry were achieved through hard work and devotion to his craft. After DJ-ing for popular rapper Dana Dane in the late 1980s, Kent expanded into music production and A&R and was employed by major labels. He worked with Notorious B.I.G., Mariah Carey, Jay-Z and other stars before they hit it big because he started in the music business before the term hip hop existed.
“I’m from the beginning and before the beginning of hip hop, so when it was happening I was a part of it,” said Clark in a 2014 interview on the COMPLEX hip-hop culture website.
His start in the music business came when he was about 12 years old, when pioneering Brooklyn DJ Grandmaster Flowers let the up-and-coming youngster select and spin records for hundreds of people in nearby Lincoln Terrace Park.
Years later, Kent moved from his Crown Heights brownstone home into a nearby house and built a studio, where he recorded artists such as Jay-Z and worked on the gold-selling “Junior M.A.F.I.A. (Masters At Finding Intelligent Attitudes)” album that featured emerging superstar rapper Notorious B.I.G.
Hip-hop pioneer Fab 5 Freddy; Raekwon The Chef, a founding member of the influential Wu-Tang Clan hip-hop group; music and TV personality DJ Kid Capri; drummer, producer, and filmmaker Questlove; and platinum-selling rapper Foxy Brown — Kent’s cousin — were among the many celebrities who paid tribute to the late producer for his talent, vast industry connections, and supportive, mentoring demeanor.
Bronx-born, Jamaica-rooted producer DJ Pete Rock, now 54, was 13 when he met Kent. He posted on Instagram, “I knew you was the right person to be around if I wanted to sharpen my skills. Thank you for all that you have taught me.”
MC Lyte, 54, a pioneering female rapper who broke ground in the male-dominated hip hop scene of the late 1980s, recalled Kent as “the first man that believed in my voice.”
Radio broadcaster Angie Martinez posted on her Instagram page, “The world was just better with u in it,” said Martinez, who began directing the “God’s Favorite DJ: The Story of DJ Clark Kent” documentary before the hip-hop producer’s death.
Kent’s mother, the late Cynthia Brown Franklin — a musical prodigy who gained a full scholarship to study voice at Manhattan’s prestigious Juilliard School — later became a respected vice consul general for Panama’s consulate in New York, and an active Panamanian American community leader in the city.
