Photo Credit: J-Roc Tha Ghost

Jerome “J-Roc Tha Ghost” Harmon is a Grammy-winning producer whose genre-defying sound has shaped the careers of music icons including Michael Jackson, Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z, Chris Cornell, and Shakira. With more than 11 million albums and 17 million singles sold in the U.S. alone, J-Roc’s impact spans Hip Hop. R&B, pop, rock, and beyond. His work on chart-topping singles like Beyoncé’s “Drunk in Love” and Jay-Z’s “Holy Grail” earned him multiple Grammy and BMI awards, solidifying his status as one of the industry’s most trusted and versatile producers.

J-Roc’s ability to cross musical boundaries while staying true to an artist’s vision has made him a trusted collaborator of Timbaland and a behind-the-scenes force in shaping modern music.

The Hip Hop Museum caught up with J-Roc to discuss his career-defining collaborations with artists like Beyoncé and Jay-Z, the backlash Timbaland faced over his comments about AI in music production, and which Canadian artist gave him his first number-one.

Adam Aziz: How did you originally come to connect with Timbaland?

J-ROC: I originally linked with Timbo in 2000. One of Tim’s former producers wasn’t able to join them to start working on production for ‘Shock Value.’ A good friend of mine, who was already producing with Timbaland, named King Logan, gave me a call and asked what I could come up with.

During that time, I was producing for Fred Hammond and touring with him as one of his co-music directors. Once I finished Fred’s project, I flew to Vegas. This was when Justin Timberlake was touring, and his “SexyBack” tour was underway. That’s when I met them all in Vegas, and the rest is history.

Justin Timberlake, J-Roc and Timbaland in the studio – Photo Credit: jeromeharmon.com

AA: I’m jumping around a bit, but Timbaland has been in the press a lot lately for his work with Suno and the use of AI in music production and creation. What are your thoughts on that?

J-ROC: People think AI is some alien that came from Mars, landed on Earth and dropped a chip in our head. If people knew the history of generated software, they would know that this has been going on since the creation of sound effects for movies in the 1930s. This is nothing new. They don’t know how to omit the “intelligent” and put “generator.” These sounds have been generated from Moogs, organs, and keyboards. 

If you sing in the studio now, most of these singers aren’t trained, so they often use Auto-Tune. Everything is artificially generated. That’s why they’re called generators. 

They think this is some intelligence that came down to kick everyone out of music production. If you have enough security in yourself, then this shouldn’t bother you. I don’t understand the problem. We’ve had AI in movies for years. The issue is that it’s coming from Timbaland, a person of high standards who has been doing music production for years, and their perception is that he creates everything. Tim started as a DJ and then started using AI in sampling. Fruity Loops is AI-generated. They think he’s stealing from other artists, which is preposterous. You still have to tell the computer what to do. 

As long as we have technology, we will continue to change and progress. They’re more scared of what’s happening than what Tim did. Tim didn’t do anything. He just uploaded a sound and showed people, okay, if you prompt it like this, you can do this. 

AA: You’ve won Grammy Awards. Worked on some of the most influential albums of the 2010s. I wanted to know if there was a moment that stood out to you as your “I made it” moment.

J-ROC: I guess when Jay-Z walked into the studio, looked me up and down and said, “yeah, you official. Come on in.” That was when I knew I had made it. Jay doesn’t let just anyone around him. He knew that I had good-quality production. That was a moment working with Jay-Z. I would have worked with him for free.

The knowledge Jay possesses and the business savvy he has are just priceless. 

AA: You worked on Jay’s ‘Magna Carta Holy Grail’ album. Why do you think that is such a polarizing album in Jay’s catalogue?

J-ROC: Because of what was going on around that time. Obama was in office. There were major hurricanes. Him getting the permission to go to Cuba. His wife and him having issues. At the same time we were working on that album, we were working on Justin Timberlake’s ‘The 20/20 Experience’ album. We were also working on Beyoncé’s self-titled album. All three of those albums were being recorded at the same studio at the same time.

There was a cohesiveness you will hear and a similar structure across all those albums. As far as ‘Magna Carta Holy Grail’, I think back to other albums that came out that weren’t initially so well received, like The Beatles ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.’ Now, it’s one of the most popular albums of all time.

‘Magna Carta Holy Grail’ is a conversation piece. You can strike so many different subject matters from that album. 

AA: You’ve worked with so many different artists. What’s the difference between producing for Jay-Z versus Chris Brown, as an example?

J-ROC: In sports, when I played basketball, they would always say know your personnel. You have to know who you’re working with, do your homework, and facilitate production that fits them for that time. It’s about studying the person and the people around you. 

AA: Is there an interesting story you can tell us about the creation of Beyoncé’s “Drunk In Love”?

J-ROC: I was in the studio working on Beyoncé’s “Rocket,” arranging it, and B and Kelly Rowland came into the studio. They had been in Alicia Keys’ room. And they were like, “Hey, what are you doing?”  And I said, ‘I’m working on this,’ and Beyoncé said, ‘I have this song; I need you to come in and complete it for me.’ It was “Drunk In Love,” and I don’t think she had even sung or written her part yet. She said it was missing something, so I said I would work on it. And I did the whole bridge. Someone had sent it to her, but it just needed to be completed, so that’s what I did. And then Timbaland came in and put some sounds on top of it.

AA: Do you have a favorite record or album you’ve produced, and why that one?

J-ROC: There are two albums that are my favorites that are slept-on. The first is Ashlee Simpson’s ‘Bittersweet World.’ Her song “Rule Breaker” was ranked by Rolling Stone in the top 50 hard rock songs. That album was way ahead of her talent.

Another one that was slept on and heavily criticized was Chris Cornell’s ‘Scream.’ That album is what I would call a prelude to a kiss. We worked on that album non-stop. I did interludes and segues from one song to the next. That was so complicated. That type of album hadn’t been done since The Beatles. The album didn’t sit well with a lot of his audience, and he being a Rock guy. ‘Scream’ was very experimental and led us into doing Justin Timberlake’s ’20/20 Experience.’ If we hadn’t done that album with Chris, there probably wouldn’t be a ’20/20 Experience.’

AA: What new artists or producers excite you today?

J-ROC: Tyler the Creator stands out to me because he dares to push the envelope and not blend in with other producers and writers. I think he’s going to be the next guy. I compare him to will.i.am. So innovative and ahead of his time. He’s like Kanye as well – so forward-thinking. It will take people five to ten years to catch up with what he is doing.

AA: Was there a beat that you produced that you almost threw in the trash bin that ended up being something?

J-ROC: Yeah, Justin Timberlake’s “Mirrors.” The way the drums were, I couldn’t think of anything. I was going through different ideas, and Justin heard it, and he was like, give me some more, man. And I was like, oh shit, I guess he likes it because I was about to throw that idea away. 

AA: You worked on Timbaland’s original ‘Shock Value’ album, correct?

J-ROC: I came on towards the end of the recording of that album. That’s where I met Timbaland in Vegas.

AA: One of my favorite records is “Say Something” with Drake.

J-ROC: That was when I first ever met Drake. Jay-Z told Timbaland, “Hey, I got this dude you should use for your album. His name is Drake.” Jay sent us Drake. We also worked with Drake on Jay’s ‘Blueprint 3’ album. Drake gave me my first number one.

Follow J-Roc Tha Ghost on Instagram.