Jae Deal

---

title: "Jae Deal" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["american-hip-hop-record-producers", "living-people", "year-of-birth-missing-(living-people)", "american-male-composers", "21st-century-american-composers", "21st-century-american-male-musicians"] topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jae_Deal" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox musical artist"]

Field	Value
name	Jae Deal
origin	Baltimore, Maryland
Los Angeles, California,
United States
genre
occupation
instrument
years_active	1994–present
associated_acts	Ty Dolla Sign, Janet Jackson, Elton John, Diane Warren, George Clinton (funk musician), Lady Gaga, MC Lyte, Snoop Dogg, Charli XCX, Anderson Paak, Jill Scott, Kirk Franklin, Mary Mary
website
::

| name = Jae Deal | image = | alias = | origin = Baltimore, Maryland Los Angeles, California, United States | genre = | occupation = | instrument = | years_active = 1994–present | associated_acts = Ty Dolla Sign, Janet Jackson, Elton John, Diane Warren, George Clinton (funk musician), Lady Gaga, MC Lyte, Snoop Dogg, Charli XCX, Anderson Paak, Jill Scott, Kirk Franklin, Mary Mary | website =

Jae Deal is an American award winning composer, arranger, music producer, and orchestrator in various genres including pop, gospel, and hip hop as well as a Professor of Music Production, Music Technology, and Hip Hop Music & Culture at the USC Thornton School of Music. He's a session keyboardist, programmer, and bassist in Los Angeles, California. Jae Deal has worked behind the scenes and on stage with several premiere artists including Janet Jackson, Lady Gaga, Snoop Dogg, Charli XCX, Mary Mary, Karen Clark Sheard, Ne-Yo, Faith Evans, Tye Tribbett, T-Pain, Jessica Simpson and Wynton Marsalis. He has also contributed to the works of Elton John, Jill Scott, and songwriter Diane Warren.

Early life

Jae Deal is from Baltimore, Maryland and began playing instruments at the age of seven. He attended Friends School of Baltimore, the oldest private school in Baltimore. Shortly after high school, Gospel music producer Steven Ford hired Jae to play on two major gospel recordings. The first was Vickie Winans, Live in Detroit. The second was T.D. Jakes’ Woman Thou Art Loosed.

Jae Deal attended Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Pure Mathematics.

Career

After moving to Los Angeles, Jae Deal began working with young pop artists such as Christina Milian, Marques Houston, and Omarion. Deal continued to work as a live musician, orchestrator, director and programmer and live musician for several tours, and recording sessions. Projects included Elton John, Snoop Dogg & the Snoopadelics, Mary Mary, Karen Clark Sheard and Jill Scott. Other projects have included Christmas specials, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, performing alongside Wynton Marsalis in Darin Atwater’s Soulful Symphony debut and a year and a half stint as arranger with legendary songwriter Diane Warren.

In 2008, Jae served as the orchestrator and Pro Tools programmer on Janet Jackson's "Rock Witchu Tour".

Deal is currently refining what he describes as a topological methodology for analyzing and composing music.

Additional work

• Jae Deal produced and directed the performances of the Millennium Harmony Orchestra at the AFRAM arts festival in Baltimore, MD.
• Jae Deal, alongside Hollywood curator Monica Payne, co-created and produced #FLASHLIGHT, a progressive musical performance series based in Los Angeles. Featured musicians included producers Ethan Farmer, Keith Harris, Ish a.k.a. “Wow Jones” & musicians Kamasi Washington and Tony Royster Jr. Featured DJs included MC Lyte and DJ Smooth Dee.
• On May 9, 2019 Deal was the producer, host, and music director for "The Jammjam" event presented by Jammcard honoring George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic for receiving the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Stars including Ice Cube, Anderson .Paak, CeeLo Green, Flea (musician), Eddie Griffin, and Dj Battlecat jammed alongside members of Parliament-Funkadelic.

In 2024, Jae's "Joint 2" was sampled by Kanye West on the song "Vultures" and by Charli XCX on her song "Everything Is Romantic".

Community

Years before becoming a professor at USC Thornton School of Music, Jae participated in music tutoring programs and appeared as a motivational speaker:

• G.A.M.E. (Gilmor and Morgan Exchange) - Baltimore, MD - Jae Deal was founder and director of The GAME program, of the 503 Academy, which connected Gilmor Elementary School students with college students from Morgan State University for mentoring.
• UCLA – "Ethnomusicology M119: The Cultural History of Rap (Hip Hop)" - Los Angeles, CA - Jae Deal was a guest lecturer discussing the chronology of technological development alongside the Hip-Hop culture, considering future trends in Hip-Hop technology.
• **Los Angeles College of Music 2016 ** - Pasadena, CA - Jae Deal wrote the Songwriting 1 curriculum for the Los Angeles College of Music, served as an instructor of Songwriting 1 and Industry Showcase and provided career counseling.
• **Musicians Institute 2018 ** - Hollywood, CA - Jae taught Networking Strategies and Artist Development in the Music Business department of Musicians Institute.
• Women :Amplified - Santa Monica, CA - On Equal Pay Day, March 25, 2025, at The Recording Club, Deal co-launched Women :Amplified, a cultural event at The Recording Club in Santa Monica spotlighting and uplifting women in music and tech. The evening honored Alicia Keys, DIXSON, Emily Van Belleghem, Valeisha Butterfield, Gwen Bethel Riley, and Joelle James. In the Women :Amplified Podcast Room he spoke with USC Annenberg student Evyn Ableson about allyship and gender equity, stating, “Men must stand in solidarity as part of the solution.” Partners included She Is The Music, Guitar Center Music Foundation, Loop Studios, and Who Has It? .

Associations / awards

Awards

::data[format=table]

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result
2023	66th Grammy Awards	Best Jazz Performance	"Vulnerable" (as songwriter)	Nominated
2023	66th Grammy Awards	Best Jazz Instrumental Album	"Legacy: The Instrumental Jawn" (included song "Vulnerable")	Nominated
2024	67th Grammy Awards	Album of the Year	brat by Charli XCX (Producer/Songwriter on "Everything is Romantic")	Nominated
2024	67th Grammy Awards	Best Dance/Electronic Album	brat by Charli XCX (Producer/Songwriter on "Everything is Romantic")	Won
::

• Part-Time Lecturer, University of Southern California, Thornton School of Music
• Guest Lecturer, UCLA School of Ethnomusicology
• Member, American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP)
• Member and judge, Jammcard
• Jae Deal and co-composer Tia P won the 2016 International John Lennon Songwriting Contest in the category of Hip-Hop. In the same year both artists were the first international contestants to win the Australia's Vanda & Young Songwriting Competition.

Endorsements / affiliations

• KORG U.S.A.
• Propellerhead's Reason
• Moog Music, Inc
• ROLI

References

References

1. "Jae Deal {{!}} USC Thornton School of Music".
2. Chen, Ming. "AN EXTREMELY GOOD DEAL: JAE DEAL". Korg USA Inc.
3. Dougla, Dr.. "A Conversation with Jae Deal: Versatility + Consistency". The Preface Network.
4. "KORG Proview, p.23". Korg USA.
5. "Jae Deal Discography". DISCOGS.
6. (6 February 2008). "Thaddaeus Tribbett, Jae, Dana Sorey, Pudge, Parris Bowens - NYE '08". Youtube.
7. "Faithful Central Bible Church Musicians Spread The Gospel Of Reason". Technologies for Worship Magazine - Stockholm, Sweden.
8. "Vickie Winans: The Complete History Of A Gospel Music Institution". Cross Rhythms.
9. "Korg Completes Jae Deal's Sonic Equation". Music Gear Review.
10. "Millennium Harmony". The Preface.
11. (4 November 2010). "503 Academy 2000". Youtube.
12. Payne, Monica. "#FLASHLIGHT MC LYTE...Vocal Host MEDUSA This Tuesday Sept 28th". Monica Payne.
13. (2019-05-14). "Jammcard celebrates George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic at the JammJam with Ice Cube, Anderson .Paak, Ceelo, Flea and more ...".
14. Grow, Kory. (2019-05-17). "See George Clinton, Ice Cube Join Forces on 'That New Funkadelic'".
15. "Edison Schools Names Four-Star School Award Winners; Twelve Principals Achieve Highest Recognition.". The Free Library.
16. (5 November 2010). "Ethnomusicology M119: The Cultural History of Rap (Hip Hop)". UCLA.
17. "Women: Amplified Debuts with Star Power and Purpose, Ushering in a New Era of Empowerment for Women in Music".
18. "Adam W. Blackstone". Grammy.com.
19. (23 September 2022). "Adam Blackstone - Legacy". Discogs.
20. "Legacy: The Instrumental Jawn". MusicBrainz.
21. "Vulnerable on Spotify". Spotify.
22. (8 November 2024). "Grammy Awards 2025 Nominees List". CBS News.
23. "2025 Grammy Nominations: Full List". Billboard.
24. "ACE / Repertory: Jae Deal". American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.
25. "Jae Deal-usa".
26. "SpyCam January 2007 - NAMM". Propellerhead.
27. "Jae Deal with Ne-Yo Talks About Moog". Youtube.
28. "ROLI".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::