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Why Stars Like Bruno Mars and H.E.R. Turn to D’Mile To Make Grammy Gold

D'Mile's work as a producer has earned him many Grammys nominations in recent years. Here, he reflects on working with Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga and more.

D’Mile himself joined the business at 19 and notched his first production credits in 2005 on projects by Rihanna and Mary J. Blige, before pop-R&B heavyweight Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins (Destiny’s Child, SZA) took him under his wing as a mentor. He amicably ended his publishing agreement with Jerkins and made a pledge to himself: to do “what I love, and if it goes anywhere or doesn’t, it’s something I’m proud of.” Lo and behold, things started falling into place that had seemed elusive — like getting more opportunities to work directly with artists instead of “guessing and throwing spaghetti against the wall” when pitching songs. Looking back at his own journey thus far, a wide-smiling but tired D’Mile admits, “I’m glad I didn’t quit.” The night before our chat, in fact, he was partying with Mars after learning that “Die With a Smile” had reached No.

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