Dem Jointz
Dwayne Allen Abernathy Jr., known professionally as Dem Jointz, is an American record producer, songwriter and singer. He has been credited with production work for artists including Kanye West, Rihanna, Anderson.Paak, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Chris Brown, NCT 127, Exo, Aespa, Itzy, and Nmixx, among others. He served as in-house talent for Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment in 2015, during which he produced four tracks on Dre's third album, Compton. That same year, he produced several tracks on Janet Jackson's Billboard 200-number one album, Unbreakable.
Since 2020, Abernathy has contributed production or backing vocals to West's albums Donda and Donda 2, as well as on his 2020 single "Nah Nah Nah".
His record label, U Made Us What We Are, was founded in 2015 and has signed artists including Maryland-based rapper K.A.A.N., gospel singer Keedron Bryant, and his spouse, singer Stalone. He formed the supergroup Read the PDF with fellow Aftermath producers, Mr. Porter and Focus… in 2022.
He has won a Grammy Award from two nominations.
Early life
Dem Jointz was Born on July 17, 1976, in Compton, California. He was inclined to music at an early age, playing drums in his local church. Dem Jointz has spoken openly about the challenges of pursuing a career in music, particularly in the context of family expectations around stability, education, and traditional professions. He initially enrolled in college with the intention of becoming an architect but eventually left school to focus on music. Early in his career, he sold beats for relatively modest sums, including $800 to a group called The Comrades, which reinforced his confidence that music could be a sustainable profession. During this period, he balanced his musical pursuits with regular employment, including a position at AT&T Wireless, before committing to music full-time following his termination in 2005. Growing up navigating a duality in his environment, being exposed to both street life and church influences. His father, who transitioned from gang involvement to becoming a minister, played a significant role in shaping his upbringing. This background had a lasting impact on Dem Jointz, with music serving as his cornerstone. He developed his musical skills early, playing drums in church and rapping behind the scenes.Career
Prior to fully committing to music, Dem Jointz worked at a telecommunications company. In 2005, he was unexpectedly fired, which motivated him to pursue music seriously.In 2015 he was recruited as an in-house producer for Dr. Dre’s Aftermath Entertainment. That same year, he contributed to four tracks on Dre's third album, Compton, which featured an all-star lineup including Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, and Eminem.
In 2015, he also co-produced several tracks on Janet Jackson's Unbreakable, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Over the years, he went on to work with Kanye West, Rihanna, Christina Aguilera, Anderson.Paak, Eminem, and Brandy, among many others. His contributions to Kanye West's Donda and Anderson. Paak's Ventura earned him multiple Grammy nominations and two Grammy Awards.
Dem Jointz founded his own record label, U Made Us What We Are, in 2015. The label was created to support and develop emerging talent.
Around the same time, Dem Jointz began making waves in the K-pop industry. His first major K-pop placement came with Red Velvet’s "Don't U Wait No More" from their debut studio album, The Red. The success of the track resulted in collaborations with SM Entertainment, leading to a long-term partnership with the powerhouse label. He produced major hits for EXO, NCT 127, Aespa, BTS, TXT, and IVE. NCT 127's "Cherry Bomb" was chosen by Billboard and Idolator as one of the best K-pop songs of 2017. EXO's "Obsession" was named K-Pop Song of the Year by Billboard, while Aespa's "Supernova" dominated the charts for 11 weeks at No. 1 and won Song of the Year at the Korean MAMA Awards.
Producer tag
Abernathy's productions can be identified by his "Incoming!" producer tag, which can be heard in the beginning of his productions—namely Kanye West's "Nah Nah Nah". He also uses the tag "Now, the breakdown" before the bridge of many songs, including Taeyeon's "Something New" and Lee Chaeyeon's "Hush Rush".Personal life
On November 6, 2021, Dem Jointz announced on Instagram that he's engaged to his partner, Stalone, a Grammy-winning vocalist.Discography
| Year | Title | Album | Artist |
| 2011 | "Cockiness " | Talk That Talk | Rihanna, Candice Pillay, Shondrae "Mr. Bangladesh" Crawford, Fenty |
| 2012 | "Hottest Girl in the World" | Evolution | JLS |
| 2012 | "Dessert" | Evolution | JLS |
| 2012 | "All The Way" | Evolution | JLS |
| 2012 | "Gotta Try It" | Evolution | JLS |
| 2012 | "Put It Down" | Two Eleven | Brandy, Chris Brown |
| 2012 | "Let Me Go" | Two Eleven | Brandy |
| 2012 | "What You Need" | Two Eleven | Brandy |
| 2012 | "Lotus Intro" | Lotus | Christina Aguilera, Candice Pillay, Alexander Grant |
| 2012 | "Make the World Move" | Lotus | Christina Aguilera, CeeLo Green |
| 2012 | "Circles" | Lotus | Christina Aguilera |
| 2012 | "Shut Up" | Lotus | Christina Aguilera |
| 2013 | "Call Me Crazy" | Call Me Crazy, But... | Sevyn Streeter, written by Amber Streeter, Taylor Parks |
| 2013 | "Feel Like Party'n" | Chase Dreams | Kalin & Myles |
| 2014 | "Phuq Da World" | Vuck You | Vina Vuna |
| 2014 | "Friends & Lovers" | Friends & Lovers | Marsha Ambrosius |
| 2014 | "Neva Been Scared" | Sing Pray Love, Vol. 1: Sing | Kelly Price |
| 2015 | "Unbreakable" | Unbreakable | Janet Jackson |
| 2015 | "Burnitup!" | Unbreakable | Janet Jackson |
| 2015 | "Dammn Baby" | Unbreakable | Janet Jackson |
| 2015 | "Shoulda Known Better" | Unbreakable | Janet Jackson |
| 2015 | "2 B Loved" | Unbreakable | Janet Jackson |
| 2015 | "Don't U Wait No More" | The Red | Red Velvet |
| 2015 | "Genocide" | Compton | Dr. Dre & Kendrick Lamar |
| 2015 | "Medicine Man" | Compton | Dr. Dre, Eminem, Candice Pillay and Anderson.Paak |
| 2015 | "Deep Water" | Compton | Dr. Dre, Kendrick Lamar and Justus |
| 2015 | "Satisfiction" | Compton | Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Marsha Ambrosius and King Mez |
| 2015 | "Yellow Canary" | dumblonde | Dumblonde |
| 2015 | "Party 4 da Low" | The High EP | Candice Pillay |
| 2015 | "Consistent" | Shoulda Been There Pt. 1 | Sevyn Streeter |
| 2015 | "Right Here Right Now" | Right Here, Right Now | Jordin Sparks, Dwayne Abernathy, and James Fauntleroy |
| 2015 | "1000" | Right Here, Right Now | Jordin Sparks, James "J-Doe" Smith |
| 2015 | "All In A Days Work" | DK3 | Danity Kane |
| 2016 | "Silicon Valley" | Malibu | Anderson.Paak |
| 2016 | "Groovy Tony / Eddie Kane" | Blank Face LP | ScHoolboy Q |
| 2016 | "Cloud 9" | Ex'Act | Exo |
| 2017 | "Facts" | All Things Work Together | Lecrae |
| 2017 | "Cherry Bomb" | Cherry Bomb | NCT 127 |
| 2018 | "Something New" | Something New | Taeyeon |
| 2018 | "Who R U?" | Oxnard | Anderson.Paak |
| 2018 | "Brother's Keeper" | Oxnard | Anderson.Paak, Pusha T |
| 2018 | "Taste" | RBB | Red Velvet |
| 2019 | "Obsession" | Obsession | Exo |
| 2019 | "Ya Ya Ya" | Obsession | Exo |
| 2019 | "Temporary Lover" | Indigo | Chris Brown, Lil Jon |
| 2020 | "Nah Nah Nah" | rowspan="2" | Kanye West, DaBaby, 2 Chainz |
| 2020 | "Wash Us in the Blood" | Kanye West, Travis Scott | - |
| 2020 | "2YA2YAO!" | Timeless | Super Junior |
| 2020 | "Kick It" | Neo Zone | NCT 127 |
| 2020 | "Punch" | Neo Zone | NCT 127 |
| 2020 | "Never Love Again" | Music to Be Murdered By | Eminem |
| 2020 | "Outro: Dream Routine" | NCT 2020 Resonance | NCT |
| 2021 | "Don't Call Me" | Don't Call Me | Shinee |
| 2021 | "Right Now" | Loveholic | NCT 127 |
| 2021 | "Life of the Party" | Donda | Kanye West, André 3000 |
| 2021 | "Jail" | Donda | Kanye West, Jay-Z |
| 2021 | "Believe What I Say" | Donda | Kanye West |
| 2021 | "Keep My Spirit Alive" | Donda | Kanye West, Westside Gunn, Conway the Machine |
| 2021 | "New Again" | Donda | Kanye West |
| 2021 | "Jail pt 2" | Donda | Kanye West, DaBaby, Marilyn Manson |
| 2021 | "Keep My Spirit Alive pt 2" | Donda | Kanye West, Westside Gunn, Conway the Machine, KayCyy |
| 2021 | "Sticker" | Sticker | NCT 127 |
| 2021 | "Universe " | Universe | NCT U |
| 2021 | "Fallin Up" | Grand Theft Auto Online: The Contract | Dr. Dre, Cocoa Sarai, Thurz |
| 2021 | "Diamond Mind" | Grand Theft Auto Online: The Contract | Dr. Dre, Ty Dolla Sign, Nipsey Hussle |
| 2022 | "Step Back" | Got the Beat | |
| 2022 | "City of Gods" | Donda 2 | Fivio Foreign, Kanye West, Alicia Keys |
| 2022 | "Too Easy" | Donda 2 | Kanye West |
| 2022 | "Tank" | Ad Mare | Nmixx |
| 2022 | "Arcade" | Glitch Mode | NCT Dream |
| 2022 | "Run BTS" | Proof | BTS |
| 2022 | "What If..." | Jack in the Box | J-Hope |
| 2022 | "Use This Gospel " | God Did | DJ Khaled, Kanye West, Eminem |
| 2022 | "Eyes On You" | Eyes On You | Kangta |
| 2022 | "Time Lapse" | 2 Baddies | NCT 127 |
| 2022 | "Designer" | 2 Baddies | NCT 127 |
| 2022 | "In My Bag" | One Bad Night | Jamie |
| 2022 | "Nvrlnd" | rowspan="2" | Yng Wmxn, Anisa |
| 2022 | "6 Feet" | EastSide K-Boy, Problem, Dave East | - |
| 2022 | "Hush Rush" | Hush Rush | Lee Chaeyeon |
| 2022 | "Wanna Fall in Love" | Stalone | |
| 2022 | "Selfish" | Selfish | YooA |
| 2022 | "Have a Nice Day" | Snoop, Cube, 40, $hort | Mount Westmore |
| 2023 | "Stamp on It" | Stamp on It | Got the Beat |
| 2023 | "Ay-Yo" | Ay-Yo | NCT 127 |
| 2023 | "Skyscraper" | Ay-Yo | NCT 127 |
| 2023 | "Juice" | Hard | Shinee |
| 2023 | "Regret It" | Exist | Exo |
| 2023 | "Dirty Dancing " | The Block Revisited | New Kids on the Block & Seventeen |
| 2023 | "Parade" | Fact Check | NCT 127 |
| 2024 | "Heya " | Ive Switch | Ive |
| 2024 | "Supernova" | Armageddon | aespa |
| 2024 | "Essa Hoisa" | AG! Calling | Atarashii Gakko! |
| 2024 | "Trouble" | The Death of Slim Shady | Eminem |
| 2024 | "Road Rage" | The Death of Slim Shady | Eminem, Dem Jointz, Sly Pyper |
| 2024 | "Guilty Conscience 2" | The Death of Slim Shady | Eminem |
| 2024 | "Sickuhh" | Fe3O4: Stick Out | Nmixx, Kid Milli |
| 2024 | "Sexy in the Air" | Eternal | Taemin |
| 2024 | "Because I Love You" | Halle Bailey | |
| 2024 | "Gold" | Gold | Itzy |
| 2024 | "Forty One Winks" | The Star Chapter: Sanctuary | Tomorrow X Together |
| 2024 | "Zip Zip Zip" | Youth Never DIE | Dxmon |
| 2025 | "With the IE " | Ruby | Jennie |
| 2025 | "ExtraL" | Ruby | Jennie, Doechii |
| 2025 | "Filter" | Ruby | Jennie |
| 2025 | "Golden Recipe" | Fe3O4: Forward | Nmixx |
| 2025 | "BTG" | Uncut Gem | KiiiKiii |
| 2025 | "GBAD" | Magic Man 2 | Jackson Wang |
| 2025 | "Battitude" | This Is For | Twice |
| 2025 | "N the Front" | The X | Monsta X |
| 2025 | "Chan-Ran" | I did it. | IDID |
| 2025 | "Step It Up" | I did it. | IDID |
| 2025 | "Tunnel Vision" | Tunnel Vision | Itzy |
| 2025 | "Tiger" | The Boyz | |
| 2025 | "Stay" | Eternal White | WayV |