Nine hours, eight hat changes and hundreds of records later, hip hop spin master, D-Nice lifted the spirits of millions quarantined or sheltered-in with an epic live streaming session.
Derrick Jones, a photographer and deejay known as D-Nice, raised the vibrations of the world as he masterfully mixed record-after-record for hours on the popular Instagram social media platform.
It started out as a call to his Instagram followers that he would be mixing live as a way to soothe his melancholy. Due to states in the US gradually calling for citizens to stay indoors as a way to slow down the spread of the novel coronavirus, he like many, was shuttered-in. Days later, he was throwing an online party dubbed as, #ClubQuarantine. By last Friday, the fifth day of him spinning, it turned out to be the largest and longest live streamed party in the world.
The response from followers grew as D-Nice continued to restart the party once he depleted the 59-minute maximum of live streaming on Instagram. All the while, people spread the word as they too, chimed in and recorded themselves dancing and grooving to his range of music. From 70s disco to Afro Beat to the hip hop, a beloved genre of music that launched his career in the 1980s as a member of Boogie Down Productions, D-Nice even spun a Kenny Rogers song in ode to the recently deceased country singer.
“I’ve been in the music industry for a long time, but this was a different kind of experience where it was is more global than just like even making records, like the impact that it’s had on people just through playing great music and allowing people to feel good feeling connected during this time where we are all so separated (and) isolated,” said D-Nice to Associated Press.
Moving the (virtual) crowd
Along with his growing tribe, celebrities and politicians dropped messages as he spun. The list is endless. From Angela Bassett to Busta Rhymes, D-Nice lost himself when former first lady, Michelle Obama dropped in to salute his creative virtual session. Through it all, he gave bits of stories that weaved his 30-plus years in the industry. Later, he posted later on IG:
I had a tearful moment this morning after realizing that we all came together as a global community and danced while I played music in my living room. It was beautiful to experience and I’m truly humbled by the amount of love I’ve received. Thank you to everyone that supported me on this journey. Let’s continue to uplift each other as we get thru this dark time.
D-Nice’s efforts are part of a growing list of musicians, artists, teachers and practitioners, now using live streaming to perform and teach. Along with deejays such as Jiji Sweet; Kid Capri; Questlove; and Spinderella, live performances by Anthony Hamilton and Erykah Badu who is releasing a quarantine concert series.
Although D-Nice says that the marathon party exhausted him, and he did not want to continue to violate Instagram’s rules on publishing and music, he’s partnered with Obama for another live digital meet up on Wednesday, March 25 at 6:30 p.m. EST, called, Couch Potato. This one promotes voter registration during an election year.
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