Two-time GRAMMY® Award-winning songwriter, vocal producer, singer, and 816 Entertainment founder Dewain Whitmore, Jr. crafts music meant to engage, energize, and empower. Since making his debut in 2011, he has architected a diverse catalog highlighted by dozens of hits across genres. Working with everyone from Chris Brown and Mary J. Blige to Kelly Clarkson, Kacey Musgraves, and Daughtry, the Kansas City-born and Los Angeles-based creator consistently uplifts both his collaborators and audiences at large.

“A song can literally changes someone’s mood,” he exclaims. “That’s the power of music. As songwriters, we have a certain responsibility to write something that’s worth saying and worth listening to. It’s extremely important to me.”

Championed early on by producer Brian Kennedy and production duo The Underdogs, he caught the attention of multiplatinum superstar Chris Brown. He co-wrote both “Up To You” and “Should’ve Kissed You” for Brown’s 2011 blockbuster F.A.M.E. In the wake of its success, Dewain received a GRAMMY® Award in the category of “Best R&B Album” as the record bowed at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 and eventually went double-platinum. It also kickstarted a longstanding creative partnership with Brown, spanning further #1 albums from Fortune[2012] through Indigo [2019].

Along the way, he also handled vocal production for Kelly Clarkson’s “Mr. Know It All” on Stronger, garnering another GRAMMY® Award for “Best Pop Vocal Album.” Expanding his creative horizons yet again, he co-wrote Martin Garrix’s “Oceans” [feat. Khalid].  He even lent his voice to the soaring “Burn Out” with Garrix and Justin Mylo, cracking over 101 million-plus Spotify streams and counting. Among dozens of marquee collaborations, he has co-written for EXO, Nick Jonas, Ciara, Georgia Ku, THEY., Zara Larsson, and Backstreet Boys with upcoming music for Musgraves and more.