J.R. Rotem on breaking free from his classical and jazz roots
From classical and jazz, to pop and hip-hop — producer and songwriter J.R. Rotem knows his music.
Rotem started out as a classically trained pianist before falling for jazz when he attended Berklee College of Music, but it was his yearning to leave an impression that saw his move into contemporary music and then composing.
"It was really just the sheer wanting to create relevant music," Rotem tells Shad.
As part of q's series The Hit Makers, Rotem goes through some of the biggest moments of his career so far — from working with Destiny's Child, Sean Kingston, Rihanna and Gwen Stefani, to his move into television, producing hit songs for Empire.
WEB EXTRA | If you want to hear more of Shad's conversation with J.R. Rotem, below is their talk in its entirety, raw and unedited.
Then listen to some of the songs from this segment that Rotem produced, now that you know the story behind them.
This segment is part of q's ongoing series, The Hit Makers. With it we reveal the creative minds behind the songs you know and the surprising ways pop music gets put together today. We talk to the Grammy-winning producers, chart-topping songwriters, rising young beat-makers, top-liners and hook-writers who contribute key ingredients to today's hit songs.