Jonathan "J.R." Rotem

Jonathan “J.R.” Rotem: Saving the Day
By Deshair Foskey, WBG

From day to day, with so much going on, you just never know when you’re going to need saving. At or around any or every corner is an obstacle that is just waiting to challenge the very fibers of our existence. At that moment, some people will handle that challenge on their own. Others will put out an, “S.O.S.”

Well when Def Jam Recording artist Rihanna needed a little saving, multi-platinum; multi-faceted producer Jonathan “J.R.” Rotem came to her rescue. When 50 Cent was looking for a “Best Friend” J.R. and Hi-Tek stepped in for another save. Logging in time with some of the biggest artists in the industry, including the pregnant Britney Spears, Jonathan is making more in the clutch saves than Ilja Bryzgalov of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks (yes, I watch Sports Center).

On May 4th, Billboard Magazine announced that Rihanna’s single S.O.S. jumped to #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 Chart, making it the second biggest leap to #1 in history.” It has been said that the reason for this drastic jump is because Def Jam has recently taken into practice of waiting for the release of an album before making singles available for sale. But in any case, Mr. Rotem is sitting on top of the world with his decision to use the 1982 Soft Cell sample from their hit song “Tainted Love.”

In this compelling sit down, Jonathan will introduce you to the man behind, the man behind the boards… yes, you read that right. If you’re a producer that is working on your craft, grab yourself a drink and a snack for this exclusive. Learning is half the battle…

If you only had a minute to describe yourself to someone that you just met, how would you do it?

Jonathan Rotem: Well, I would say that my name is Jonathan, but you can call me, “J.R.” I’m a producer with a classical and jazz piano background which makes me a musician first. I’ve worked very, very hard to get to where I am today. I’ve worked with everyone from Snoop Dogg to Rihanna. Currently, I have 3 singles that are on the radio from “Best Friend” featuring 50 Cent and Olivia that I co-produced with Hi-Tek, to “Whoa” that I produced for Lil’ Kim (the theme song for Kimberly’s successful reality show) and “S.O.S.” that I produced for Rihanna. Besides that, I’m in the studio with artists like the Game, which I produced the title track on his new album. I’m working with Britney Spears quite a bit. I’m also working with Mya, JoJo and everyone in between.

It would be tough to describe myself without talking about music, because it is my life and my passion. Ever since I was 5 years old, it has always been the biggest thing for me. I’m just trying to do the best I can and work my hardest. It’s just hard to separate myself from music, because I really don’t do much else. I don’t consider being a producer my job; it’s what I do.

Describe the job specifications of what you do as a producer.

Jonathan Rotem: Being a producer is more involved than just making tracks if you’re really trying to do it. In urban music, the producer is usually the one who creates the track or composes the music. For me, I feel that you have to oversee the song from start to finish. That includes making sure that the track is musically sound. If it is an R&B song, you have to make sure that you have songwriters who fit the outlook of your vision and that they can execute your vision, lyrically. Then you have to make sure that the vocalist executes the song in the right way.

What was it like in the beginning, trying to build a name for yourself?

Jonathan Rotem: It was very hard. Although I had a strong musical background, I didn’t know anybody when I moved to LA. I knew like one entertainment lawyer and that was it. It was extremely hard. As time went on, one person lead me to another person, which lead me to another person and so on. I ended up working on an album that never came out, but I was still meeting people. But once I met up with my current manager Zach Katz, things started to happen for me. He helped me to shape my sound by leading me in a direction to make my beats grimier for hip-hop. Zach connected me with other producers so that I can learn more about the craft. I feel like I am proof, that if I can make things happen in this industry, anybody can because I started out from scratch. I just really had the drive to be successful.

How do you handle “Vision” disagreements when you’re in the studio with an artist.

Jonathan Rotem: When you’re a producer, you have to please a lot of people. First of all, the people who are cutting your check are the record label. So the A&R and the CEO of the label has to approve of the song overall they have to like the song and approve of its’ direction. Then you have the artist. They usually have their own vision of how they would like the song to be done. Sometimes their vision is the same vision that the company wants and other times it is the complete opposite. And then as a producer, you have your own vision. When you have a song that goes mainstream, that song is an example of a product that appeals to everybody. I want for everybody to be happy with the music that I produce. I want the artist to love it and for their label to love it. I want to love it and I want for dudes from the hood to love it, as well as 14 year old girls from the suburbs. You have to find a way to play the middle as a producer.

If you had the opportunity to teach a class to a room full of up and coming producer’s, what do you feel would be the most important lesson that you could teach them?

Jonathan Rotem: From my perspective being a student of the Berklee College of Music in Boston, I can honestly say that I’m not a huge fan of learning about music from books or people. The advise that I would give anyone is to have faith in your talents, send out positive energy and work very hard. That’s the main thing to me – everything else is out of your control. Develop your own sound and learn through trial and error. I feel that you learn the most from just doing it. So I wouldn’t want to teach anyone how to be a producer, because you need to learn how in your own way. I can show you how to use equipment, but at the end of the day we all have our own vision for how music should sound.

If you want to be a producer that gets their songs on the radio, you should listen to the radio and study what people are enjoying. There’s a certain amount of innovativeness; bring something different to the mix. But your music must still conform to a certain format that appeals to your audience. You can’t do some experimental, 3 hour long rant and expect for it to hit. It has to be in a format of a 3 to 4 minute song. It has to make people want to move a certain way. You just have to figure out how you are going to do it your way.

If you would like to learn more about the multi-platinum producer, go to www.JonathanRotem.com