“Darkchild 99” · Rodney Jerkins
People still mishear it. Jerkins told VladTV in 2020 that listeners thought he was saying something like “nah nah,” when he was saying ninety-nine, for the year (play: Rodney Jerkins on his “Darkchild 99” tag, VladTV, 2020), in his Jersey accent. He has said “Darkchild” on many records, he added, but that is the one people repeat to him wherever he goes.[2]
The tag didn’t always need his voice. People counts Destiny’s Child and Toni Braxton among the stars who have stamped his name on their records,[1] and on Ciara’s “Can’t Leave ’Em Alone,” a single from Ciara: The Evolution, it is 50 Cent who says “Darkchild,” (play: Ciara and 50 Cent, “Can’t Leave ’Em Alone,” official video: “Darkchild”) as Revolt pointed out in 2025.[3]
“Ladies and gentlemen” · Jazze Pha
Jazze Pha announces himself like a master of ceremonies. He is known for opening, and sometimes closing, the songs he produces with “Ladies and gentlemen” or “This is a Jazze Phizzle product-shizzle.”[4] His label, Sho’nuff Records, signed Ciara in 2003, and the single he produced and wrote with her, “1, 2 Step,” featuring Missy Elliott, reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.[5] It opens with the full routine (play: Ciara featuring Missy Elliott, “1, 2 Step,” official video: “Ladies and gentlemen … this is a Jazze Phizzle product-shizzle”): “Ladies and gentlemen,” then “This is a Jazze Phizzle,” then a welcome for Missy and “the princess,” Ciara.[6]
The announcement works by its absence too. Talking with the R&B Money podcast in 2023 about Mary J. Blige’s “Just Fine,” which he produced with Tricky Stewart and helped write with them and The-Dream,[7] Jazze Pha heard one of the hosts say he hadn’t known the record was his. He offered the reason at once: he hadn’t said “ladies and gentlemen” on it.[8]
“Y’all know what this is” · Jermaine Dupri
Jermaine Dupri’s announcement often comes with the name of his label, So So Def. Life+Times introduced him as Mr. “Y’all Know What This Is” in its 2013 interview about his work with artists including Mariah Carey and Usher.[9]
On Mariah Carey’s “Don’t Forget About Us,” his voice cuts into the introduction (play: Jermaine Dupri’s tag on Mariah Carey’s “Don’t Forget About Us”). Stereogum’s Tom Breihan singled out that brief appearance in his account of the song: Dupri’s hypeman delivery arrives before a song about an old breakup.[10]
“1, 2, 3, 4” · Polow Da Don
Polow Da Don’s signature is a count-in: four numbers, clipped into the rhythm. The French-language Wikipedia biography identifies it as one of his trademarks, alongside “Get Money.”[11]
Jennifer Hudson’s “My Heart” opens with the spoken count (play: Polow Da Don’s count-in on Jennifer Hudson’s “My Heart”). The official recording credits Polow as producer, while the published lyrics include the four numbers in the introduction.[12][13]
“Radio Killa” · The-Dream
Terius Nash, The-Dream, had co-written Rihanna’s “Umbrella” before Def Jam signed him as an artist, and he produced his debut single, 2007’s “Shawty Is a 10,” with his longtime collaborator Carlos McKinney.[14] Within its first 10 seconds he says “Radio Killa,” (play: The-Dream, “Shawty Is A 10,” official video: “Radio Killa”) which DJBooth’s Yoh described in 2018 as “a tag that doubles as both declaration and record label imprint.”[15] The single came out on Radio Killa/Def Jam.[14]
Yoh read it as a new voice on the radio vouching for himself. The follow-up singles, “Falsetto” and “I Luv Your Girl,” reached Nos. 30 and 20 on the Hot 100.[15]
“Jason Derulo” · Jason Derulo
Jason Derulo sings his own name at the front of his records. That identifies the performer, rather than crediting a separate producer. He retired the habit for a while. When Meghan Trainor wanted to sing it at the start of their 2015 duet, “Painkiller,” he told her no, “it’s retired,” he said in an MTV News interview quoted by Songfacts. Then he heard her do it: “It’s pretty dope.”[16]
By 2020 it was back. Asked on The Ellen DeGeneres Show why he had stopped and started again, he answered: “Well, it’s a bigger hit if I sing my name at the front, obviously.” Then, at the host’s request, he sang hers (play: Jason Derulo on singing his name, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, 2020) the same way.[17]
It’s a bigger hit if I sing my name at the front, obviously.
Hitmaka and the team
Hitmaka got his name from a tag. He was Yung Berg first, a Chicago rapper with late-2000s hits, and after moving to Miami he was in the studio doing a hook “and I said, ‘Hitmaka,’” he told Kolor Magazine in 2023. “I didn’t plan to change my name to Hitmaka or anything. I just randomly said Hitmaka at the beginning of the song.” He kept it as a new persona. “Hitmaka is just the brand.”[18]
He also brings together a team of producers and songwriters. Chrishan, who co-founded Makasound with him, described the process to AllHipHop: Hitmaka curates the music, they write together, and Chrishan demos the record before the artist cuts it.[19] Hitmaka told Complex he had once signed Ayo, who later ran his own business with Keyz.[20]
Wiz Khalifa and Ty Dolla $ign’s “Something New” brings all three signatures into its introduction (play: “Something New”: Right Now Sound, Hitmaka and Hol’ up). Its release credits list Hitmaka and Ayo & Keyz separately as producers. The first signature is Chrishan’s; the last belongs to Ayo & Keyz.[21]
“Hol’ up” · Ayo & Keyz
Ayo & Keyz are a production duo with their own tag and company, The Upperclassmen Music Group. In a 2019 interview with Keyz, The Source identified “Holup” as the duo’s signature.[22]
Their R&B credits include Chris Brown’s “To My Bed” (play: The introduction to Chris Brown’s “To My Bed”) and Bryson Tiller’s “Self Righteous.” (play: The introduction to Bryson Tiller’s “Self Righteous”) Their work also reaches into rap: they produced Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s “WAP.” (play: Ayo & Keyz’s Hol’ up tag in the opening of Cardi B’s “WAP” video) The duo discussed those songs with Flaunt. Their shared work with Hitmaka is one part of that catalogue.[23]
“Right Now Sound” · Chrishan
Right Now Sound is Chrishan’s own company as well as his producer tag. His Makasound partnership with Hitmaka brings songwriting and vocal work into the same sessions as production. He told AllHipHop that the first record they made together was Chris Brown’s “Party.”[19]
Chrishan releases his own music too. The opening of “Need That” (play: Chrishan’s Right Now Sound signature on “Need That”) puts the company’s name before his singing, and Apple Music’s lyrics identify the same phrase.[24]
“OZ had the bounce, yeah” · OZ
Drake sings the producer’s name on DJ Khaled’s “GREECE,” near the end of the first verse (play: Drake’s OZ shout-out on DJ Khaled’s “GREECE”) before the chorus returns. It is a sung credit inside the record. The opening announcements belong to Khaled.[25]
OZ told Complex in 2020 that he avoided tags because they could annoy listeners.[26] Discussing “GREECE” with Billboard, he said Tiggi sent the sample, which he reshaped into a faster beat before sending it to Drake.[27]
“And this beat from Cash, not from YouTube” · Cash Cobain
Cash Cobain belongs at the R&B edge of this list. His sexy-drill records combine melodic vocals and R&B influences with drill rhythms; he is a rapper and producer working across that boundary.[28] “Dunk Contest” is one way into that sound.[29]
Big Yaya supplied the voice on his tag, as GQ documented while watching Cobain make beats.[30] Cobain tells the story himself in this Red Bull clip (play: Cash Cobain explains his producer tag, Red Bull 1520).[31]
How we chose
These examples cover R&B and its overlap with rap, with songs alongside the stories behind the signatures. Hitmaka’s collaborators keep their own entries within his section because their tags and credits remain distinct. OZ’s sung shout-out and Jason Derulo’s artist signature are identified separately. The Neptunes’ four-count start and London on da Track’s tags also appear in our hip-hop list. VoiceTagGods, which publishes this blog, records tags for producers; its vocalists are here.
Jerkins, for his part, still hears his tag recited back to him. If he ran into Beyoncé today, he told VladTV, “Darkchild 99” is what she would say.[2]