Ronald Jenkees

August 28, 2007 10:15 PM

"Hello Youtubes, have you heard my SICK beats?" Ronald Jenkees started a youtube channel over a year ago where you can find him clucking about his roommate, giving tips for the unwashed masses, and producing some incredibly awesome beats. The internet agrees, his debut album is genius.
posted by vishnubob (50 comments total)

Is he wearing catch-me-fuck-me's?
posted by Nahum Tate at 11:06 PM on August 28, 2007

I doubt it would be a surprise to anyone if "Ronald Jenkees" turns out to be an alter-ego - I just wonder if it is some "normal" unknown bedroom musician or someone semi-famous. I think we can rule out Prince and Madlib, at least.

That "derty" track kicks some ass, for sure. The album is on iTunes, BTW - I was quite surprised to find myself hovering over the "buy album" button.
posted by pascal at 11:17 PM on August 28, 2007

This is great. Love the way he throws off the geek and lets out the funk at the keyboard, and especially love what he says about YouTube commenters at the end of the "awesome" video:

There's about one percent - half a percent - that are actually haters, and uh, those don't really bother me. At all, really. Most of them make me laugh, cuz, you know, *they* don't know.

[laughs]

But, *you* know.

[laughs louder]

Perfect little intersection of MeFi and YouTube, vishnubob. Thanks.
posted by mediareport at 11:18 PM on August 28, 2007

Great stuff VB
posted by doctor_negative at 11:24 PM on August 28, 2007

His "Cousin Goober" routine feels a little forced to me, but goddamn if he doesn't show that keyboard which end is up!
posted by lekvar at 11:56 PM on August 28, 2007

man, i clicked on the "beats" link first and was blown away, but then i was merely whelmed by what i previewed on itunes.

don't get me wrong, it's pretty cool, and i was ready to buy going in, but that song in the "beats" link isn't on there so i passed.

but i've got my eye on you, jenkees.
posted by Hat Maui at 1:48 AM on August 29, 2007

The 'beats' link is, indeed, really good. Sound quality is terrible, but damn that's good stuff.
posted by Malor at 4:49 AM on August 29, 2007

This guy has to be an alter ego. Because if he is not, there has been a seismic shift in the dork landscape resulting in Doofus Valley smashing into Mt. Awesome.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 5:19 AM on August 29, 2007 [7 favorites]

I was quite surprised to find myself hovering over the "buy album" button.

But only hovering, right? :)
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:51 AM on August 29, 2007

I breath out when I move away from the microphone.
posted by zerobyproxy at 5:52 AM on August 29, 2007

Great stuff. I'm not a huge fan of electronica or hip-hop but this guy is a stand out. I love that he's able to go from posting videos on YouTube to releasing a CD, and even better, apparently getting some sales. Every now and then, quality breaks through.
posted by BigSky at 6:14 AM on August 29, 2007

God damn.
posted by boo_radley at 6:19 AM on August 29, 2007 [2 favorites]

Can't wait for the Jenkees Remix of "Chocolate Rain."
posted by thatweirdguy2 at 6:31 AM on August 29, 2007 [1 favorite]

This is great. Love it.

Of course this guy's a dork (even if he's intentionally overemphasizing his dorkiness), but don't you figure that all these hip-hop producers are? I mean, they happily spend most of their time totally dorking out on some extremely sophisticated machinery, right? Being good at making beats requires some severe nerdiness, I'd assume.

For example, look at what a huge frickin' dork Timbaland is here (some language NSFW). This is one of my favorite videos on Youtube, btw, in part due to the aforementioned Timbo dorkery and in part due to the look Jay-Z's when he hears the "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" beat for the first time.
posted by 2or3whiskeysodas at 6:32 AM on August 29, 2007 [4 favorites]

Yeah, I probably could have come up with some synonyms for "dork" and its variants above, but that is the most apt descriptor.
posted by 2or3whiskeysodas at 6:33 AM on August 29, 2007

*the look on Jay-Z's face
posted by 2or3whiskeysodas at 6:34 AM on August 29, 2007

2or3whiskeysodas: I dunno, I'm not really seeing the dorkiness you're seeing, I guess. I mean, he's just playing Jay-Z a bunch of beats he's put together, slugging down some kind of juice-ish product from a gallon jug, eating a banana and moving his bulky frame a bit to the music. "Huge frickin' dork"? Like I said, I'm not seeing it.

FWIW, I thought the 2nd groove he played (while holding the aforementioned gallon jug) was the money beat. I was kinda surprised Jay-Z didn't go for that one.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:44 AM on August 29, 2007

flapjax: Really? Fair enough. I just found the entire first half of the video to be that of a dude gleefully dorking out on his own music. And I mean, he's Timbaland, he has every right to.

And c'mon, look at the faces he starts making during that second beat (0:57 in) you mentioned! LOLDORK!
posted by 2or3whiskeysodas at 6:50 AM on August 29, 2007

This is awesome, but definitely an alter-ego. The about page seals it with the pre-emptive, careful explaination of how he's not actually autistic. The way it's written, you can feel the concealed panic of someone who had second thoughts about deciding it would be awesome to pretend to be an austistic hip hop producer after the emails started rolling in.
posted by the jam at 7:22 AM on August 29, 2007

I suffer hypochondria, I think my beats are sick.

Sorry.
posted by Arturus at 7:45 AM on August 29, 2007

This combination of musical genius and playfulness really works. In his own way, Jenkees reminds me of a young Qbert. I thought the "incredibly" video was great.
posted by phaedon at 7:56 AM on August 29, 2007

And just to expand on my point: Qbert being a total dumbass, but oh by the way, I'm the best DJ in the universe.
posted by phaedon at 8:05 AM on August 29, 2007

Awesome? Great? Comparable to Timbaland? QBert??? Musical genius? One-handed preset keyboard solos over Fruity Loops beats? Love it? Really? You'd put this in a CD player and enjoy it all the way through? REally?? Unironically?
Oh, right, but he's wearing funny glasses...
posted by hellbient at 8:08 AM on August 29, 2007 [1 favorite]

I stand corrected for using the term "genius" so casually. But I still really his style.
posted by phaedon at 8:13 AM on August 29, 2007

+like.
posted by phaedon at 8:14 AM on August 29, 2007

Oh, I just found the album samples. Certainly better than the YouTube stuff, but "genius" is really, really pushing it. And I think it's a bit early and unfair (to all parties) to compare him to Timbaland and Q-Bert - dudes who have been around forever and paid their dues many times over.
posted by hellbient at 8:30 AM on August 29, 2007

Even if we are being put upon, the dude's attitude is fantastic. Should be required watching for all d0rks.
posted by rouftop at 8:32 AM on August 29, 2007

hellbient: yes, I enjoyed it. Unironically and intentionally.
posted by boo_radley at 8:57 AM on August 29, 2007

I want to take this dude out and buy him some hamburgers. Good ones!
posted by Divine_Wino at 9:33 AM on August 29, 2007

hellbent is right on the money.

I like Jenkees's attitude. He has a gift, but that gift doesn't even maximize his tool (keyboard) or exploit even the range of the melodies he's creating, and they are melodies (with a bit of looped percussion).

From my perspective, this thread feels like a charity event. The guy is merely OK, and it seems to me that he gets the MeFi props because he's nerdy.
posted by mistersquid at 9:51 AM on August 29, 2007

No nerd is gonna get any props while I'm the shurf in this town, I tell you what podna.
posted by Divine_Wino at 9:56 AM on August 29, 2007

Part Paul Shaffer, part Larry "Bud" Melman.
posted by deCadmus at 10:03 AM on August 29, 2007 [1 favorite]

Sounds like everything else.
posted by wfc123 at 10:04 AM on August 29, 2007 [1 favorite]

And by the way- Mozart was a "genius". People who take other sounds and mix them together and add a beat are are "lazy".
posted by wfc123 at 10:06 AM on August 29, 2007 [1 favorite]

But people who complain and generalize about things they don't know much about, they're the real innovators!
posted by Divine_Wino at 10:19 AM on August 29, 2007 [6 favorites]

Did any of you watch any of his other videos? For instance, the "Laundry Hack" video, or the "Smarter Light Bulb" video? I don't think he's acting, or even exaggerating his "dorkiness." Seems more like he's got mild autism or something.
posted by nzero at 10:50 AM on August 29, 2007

This guy is GREAT. Who wants to play balderdash?
posted by billysumday at 10:55 AM on August 29, 2007

And I think it's a bit early and unfair (to all parties) to compare him to Timbaland and Q-Bert - dudes who have been around forever and paid their dues many times over.

You know, just to clarify, I didn't bring up Q-Bert in order to suggest that Jenkees had reached a similar pinnacle of fame or talent. What I am suggesting is that he underplays the "I am the shit" angle that a lot of "hip hop" artists employ as a means to market themselves. Popular examples of groups that never had to "act hard" to market themselves include the Invisibl Skratch Piklz, De La Soul, and Parliament. And to that extent, I enjoy Jenkees' act.
posted by phaedon at 10:58 AM on August 29, 2007

nzero: That's been adressed upthread.
posted by 2or3whiskeysodas at 11:37 AM on August 29, 2007

I hear ya, phaedon. That was a little hasty of me to suggest you were comparing the two.
posted by hellbient at 12:34 PM on August 29, 2007

fuck, after reading some of the comments here, it's clear that i am an inferior human being for enjoying this
posted by quarter waters and a bag of chips at 1:08 PM on August 29, 2007

2or3whiskeysodas wrote: That's been adressed upthread.

Thanks, I missed that somehow.

After reading his about page, I'm still not convinced. I also think he's misinformed about autism.
posted by nzero at 1:50 PM on August 29, 2007

This guy is GREAT. Who wants to play balderdash?

That is awesome -- but it sure seems like a super-dry Mr. Show skit. Surely this is not genuine.
posted by undule at 2:34 PM on August 29, 2007

I think he's legit - nothing about him seems "unrealistic" to me, he's just having more fun than people are used to. He mentions in some the videos that he is from Kentucky, where I'm currently going to college.

I've just emailed him to extend an invitation to come play my radio show, on WRFL. If he agrees, I'll post an update in MetaTalk so you can listen to the stream live.
posted by phrontist at 3:10 PM on August 29, 2007

Fucking awesome.

I could care less if this is a put-on "astro turf" publicity stunt for an otherwise somewhat well known musician (though I don't think that it is). And I don't care if he isn't fucking Mozart (or whomever). It's just cool that he's half-way decent and just doing whatever it is that he does and to hell with what anyone else thinks.

I applaud his attitude.

Fuck, I applaud the marketing firm that came up with the Ronald Jenkees persona if it indeed turns out to be fabricated. It strikes a chord with the nerdy, music loving, amateur beats making fools like myself. I'm sure we're a sizable market. :-)
posted by C.Batt at 3:33 PM on August 29, 2007 [1 favorite]

phrontist -

word! if he accepts, i have some questions i would like you to include in a possible interview.
posted by vishnubob at 8:03 PM on August 29, 2007

Dunno how I missed this the first time 'round (I tend to skip Youtube stuff, I guess), but I love this guy.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 7:38 AM on September 1, 2007

I am seriously impressed. Thinking about purchasing his album now. Excellent post.
posted by saturnine at 1:30 PM on September 1, 2007

Another one for the dork category is DJ Z-Trip's "How to Rock a Party" from the Scratch DVD. Don't get me wrong, it's awesome, but it's a guy in his bedroom playing with his toys.
posted by smackfu at 12:27 PM on September 9, 2007

Nope, sorry. This sounds like being stuck in the bathroom in an Iranian restaurant. That it has independently evolved through some faux-tard in Kentucky does not make it more interesting.
posted by klangklangston at 5:18 PM on September 9, 2007