Dem Jointz

Dwayne Allen Abernathy Jr. (born July 17, 1976), 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, Jennie, 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 (2015).

Since 2020, Abernathy has contributed production or backing vocals to West's albums Donda (2021) and Donda 2 (2022), 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.

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.

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.

Producer tag Abernathy's productions can be identified by his "Incoming!" producer tag, which can be heard in the beginning of his productions—e.g., Kanye West's "Nah Nah Nah" and NCT 127's "Sticker" . 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

+ Partial list of writer & producer credits Year Title Album Artist(s) 2011 "Cockiness (Love It)" Talk That Talk JLS "Dessert" "All The Way" "Gotta Try It" "Put It Down" Two Eleven Brandy, Chris Brown "Let Me Go" Brandy "What You Need" "Lotus Intro" Lotus Christina Aguilera, Candice Pillay, Alexander Grant "Make the World Move" Christina Aguilera, CeeLo Green "Circles" Christina Aguilera "Shut Up" 2013 "Call Me Crazy" Call Me Crazy, But... Sevyn Streeter, written by Amber Streeter, Taylor Parks "Feel Like Party'n" Chase Dreams Kalin & Myles 2014 "Phuq Da World" Vuck You Vina Vuna "Friends & Lovers" Friends & Lovers Marsha Ambrosius "Neva Been Scared" Sing Pray Love, Vol. 1: Sing Kelly Price 2015 "Unbreakable" Unbreakable Janet Jackson "Burnitup!" "Dammn Baby" "Shoulda Known Better" "2 B Loved" "Don't U Wait No More" The Red Red Velvet"Genocide" Compton Dr. Dre & Kendrick Lamar "Medicine Man" Dr. Dre, Eminem, Candice Pillay and Anderson .Paak "Deep Water" Dr. Dre, Kendrick Lamar and Justus "Satisfiction" Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Marsha Ambrosius and King Mez "Yellow Canary" dumblonde Dumblonde "Party 4 da Low" The High EP Candice Pillay "Consistent" Shoulda Been There Pt. 1 Sevyn Streeter "Right Here Right Now" Right Here, Right Now Jordin Sparks, Dwayne Abernathy, and James Fauntleroy "1000" Jordin Sparks, James "J-Doe" Smith "All In A Days Work" DK3 Danity Kane 2016 "Silicon Valley" Malibu Anderson .Paak "Groovy Tony / Eddie Kane" Blank Face LP ScHoolboy Q "Cloud 9" Ex'Act Exo 2017"Facts" All Things Work Together Lecrae "Cherry Bomb"Cherry Bomb NCT 127 2018 "Sho Nuff" Planet Tech N9ne "Same Damn Thing" "Something New" Something New Taeyeon"Who R U?"OxnardAnderson .Paak "Brother's Keeper"Anderson .Paak, Pusha T "Taste" RBB Red Velvet 2019 "Obsession"ObsessionExo "Ya Ya Ya" "Temporary Lover"Indigo Chris Brown, Lil Jon2020 "Nah Nah Nah" Kanye West, DaBaby, 2 Chainz"Wash Us in the Blood" Kanye West, Travis Scott"2YA2YAO!"TimelessSuper Junior"Kick It"Neo ZoneNCT 127"Punch""Never Love Again"Music to Be Murdered ByEminem"Outro: Dream Routine"NCT 2020 ResonanceNCT2021 "Don't Call Me" Don't Call Me Shinee "Right Now" LoveholicNCT 127 "Life of the Party" Donda Kanye West, André 3000 "Jail" Kanye West, Jay-Z "Believe What I Say" Kanye West "Keep My Spirit Alive" Kanye West, Westside Gunn, Conway the Machine "New Again" Kanye West "Jail pt 2" Kanye West, DaBaby, Marilyn Manson "Keep My Spirit Alive pt 2" Kanye West, Westside Gunn, Conway the Machine, KayCyy "Sticker" StickerNCT 127 "Universe (Let's Play Ball)" UniverseNCT U "Fallin Up" Grand Theft Auto Online: The ContractDr. Dre, Cocoa Sarai, Thurz "Diamond Mind"Dr. Dre, Ty Dolla Sign, Nipsey Hussle 2022 "Step Back" Got the Beat "City of Gods" Donda 2 Fivio Foreign, Kanye West, Alicia Keys "Too Easy" Kanye West "Tank" Ad Mare Nmixx "Arcade" Glitch Mode NCT Dream "Run BTS" Proof BTS "What If..." Jack in the Box J-Hope "Use This Gospel (Remix)" God Did DJ Khaled, Kanye West, Eminem "Eyes On You" Eyes On You Kangta "Time Lapse" 2 Baddies NCT 127 "Designer" "In My Bag" One Bad Night Jamie "Nvrlnd" Yng Wmxn, Anisa "6 Feet" EastSide K-Boy, Problem, Dave East "Hush Rush" Hush Rush Lee Chaeyeon "Wanna Fall in Love" Stalone "Selfish" Selfish YooA "Have a Nice Day" Snoop, Cube, 40, $hort Mount Westmore 2023 "Stamp on It" Stamp on It Got the Beat "Ay-Yo" Ay-Yo NCT 127 "Skyscraper" "Juice" Hard Shinee "Regret It" Exist Exo "Dirty Dancing (Dem Jointz Remix)" The Block Revisited New Kids on the Block & Seventeen "Parade"Fact Check NCT 127 2024 "Heya (해야)"Ive Switch Ive "Supernova"Armageddon Aespa "Essa Hoisa"AG! Calling Atarashii Gakko! "Trouble"The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce)Eminem "Road Rage"Eminem, Dem Jointz, Sly Pyper "Guilty Conscience 2"Eminem "Sickuhh"Fe3O4: Stick OutNmixx, Kid Milli "Sexy in the Air"EternalTaemin "Because I Love You" Halle Bailey "Gold"GoldItzy "Forty One Winks"The Star Chapter: SanctuaryTomorrow X Together "Zip Zip Zip"Youth Never DieDxmon 2025 "With the IE (Way Up)" RubyJennie "ExtraL"Jennie, Doechii "Filter"Jennie "Golden Recipe"Fe3O4: ForwardNmixx "There They Go" Uncut Gem KiiiKiii "BTG" "Access" Magic Man 2 Jackson Wang "Buck" (feat. Diljit Dosanjh) "GBAD" "Battitude"This Is ForTwice"N the Front"The XMonsta X "Chan-Ran" I Did ItIDID "Step It Up" "Tunnel Vision"Tunnel Vision Itzy "Tiger" The Boyz "Stay" Eternal WhiteWayV2026 "Force" (An Yu-jin solo)Revive+Ive "Rock Solid" (feat. Anderson .Paak)Taeyong "WDA (Whole Different Animal)" (feat. G-Dragon) Lemonade Aespa "PARTY b4 the PARTY" World Scout: The Final Piece Saint Satine "Flashing Light" K-POPS! (Music from and inspired by K-POPS! Motion Picture) Crush and Anderson .Paak "Caution" Nmixx and Anderson .Paak "Aftertaste" Dean and Anderson .Paak "PITC (Party In the Corner)" Hongjoong Kim, Anderson .Paak and Jay Park "Fire with Fire" Lngshot "International" Soyeon and Anderson .Paak "Keychain" Aespa and Anderson .Paak "One More Dance" Joshua and Corbyn Besson "Wildcard" Kevin Woo "Just One Bite" "Love Is Everywhere" Soul Rasheed

Awards and recognition

Grammy Awards

62nd Annual Grammy Awards (2020)

Winner – Best R&B Album – Ventura (Anderson. Paak) – [Dem Jointz contributed to "Reachin’ 2 Much"]

64th Annual Grammy Awards (2022) Sources:

Winner – Best Rap Song – "Jail" (Kanye West ft. Jay-Z) Nominee – Album of the Year – Donda (Kanye West)

Emmy Awards

Awarded to the Aftermath production crew: Dr. Dre, Fredwreck, Dem Jointz, Focus..., Blu2th, and Trevor Lawrence Jr.

Billboard Honors

2019: K-Pop Song of the Year – "Obsession" (EXO)

Korean Music Awards

2024: Song of the Year – "Supernova" (AESPA, 11 weeks at #1 on Korean charts)