November 22, 2023 • 47 mins
D-Nice, a highly sought-after DJ, recording artist, music producer, photographer, web designer, and entrepreneur, gained prominence as a founding member of the iconic hip-hop group Boogie Down Productions alongside KRS-One & DJ Scott La Rock. In this episode of The Uppity Knitter Podcast, D-Nice reminisces about his evolution from a teenage hip-hop artist to his venture into photography, where he skillfully captures portraits of some of the most legendary figures in music and culture.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hello, I'm say De Garrett and Uppity Knitter and host
of the Uppity Knitter podcast Celebrity Hobbies Uncovered, a show
about your favorite celebrities and their unusual hobbies. Welcome, my
guest today. Is best known for his work as a DJ,
but also as a very accomplished recording artist, music producer, photographer,
(00:24):
web designer, and entrepreneur. Who began as a DJ for
the groundbreaking hip hop group Boogie Down Productions.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
And the legendary KRS one.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
He's gone on to build an impressive career in the
music business, spinning at very high level events including the
White House, the Kennedy Center, Opera House, the Carnegie Hall,
the Hollywood Bowl, and a Las Vegas residency, and repeatedly
(00:56):
winning awards along the way. These include b ET's DJ
of the Year Award and naacp Immage Award and Askcap Award,
and the list goes on. But more importantly, what this
brother receives from the Black community and the music community
as a whole is the genuine love and respect reserved
(01:17):
for only the greats. Ladies and gents. Please welcome Derek Jones,
professionally and affectionately known as.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
D Yes yes, hey man, welcome man. I feel so
good to be here today. Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Thanks for gracing us with your omnificent presence. Listen, do
you you want to know why I call.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
The show the Uppity Knitter.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
I'm assuming it's because of this, you know, these beautiful pieces,
one that you're wearing in this one here with Biggie
and Pun. So I'm assuming that this is like your work.
It is okay, big Pun? Yes, yes, Nipsy, you got Nipsey. Wow,
you did this. Wow.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
So I'm known, as you know, as a singer and songwriter,
and many of my fans don't know that my favorite
hobbies are knitting and crocheting.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
So I was in a yarn shop in Santa.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
Monica one day and I saw this little knitting circle
of these white ladies quietly knitting at a side table,
and I decided, well, I just join them. So I
sat down and I sat next to this woman who
was knitting, and I looked over in her lap and
I said, wow, that's really beautiful.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
What kind of yarn is that?
Speaker 1 (02:30):
She said, oh, this is just cotton, you know, And
then she lifted my lap and she said, what are
you knitting?
Speaker 2 (02:36):
With.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
I said, this is Kashmir. She said, oh, aren't you
an uppitty knitter?
Speaker 2 (02:42):
I said, what did you call me?
Speaker 1 (02:45):
And she turned the most incredible shade of crimson that
I've ever seen a white person turned.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
It was crimson.
Speaker 4 (02:53):
It was crimson, deep red, deep, Yes, so she said
immediately she said, I said, I said knitter, and I'm thinking,
bit you pronounce some teas, you know, So I've decided
to embrace that moniker and I'm calling my show the
up andy Knitter in her honor.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
I love it it me too.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
For those of you in our listening audience who are
not or who have not been fortunate enough to catch
d NIC's Club Quarantine on Instagram Live, you know he
has a general policy of no requests. Yes, yes, he
just goes with the flow whatever he's feeling, and we
as a listening audience just love traveling along with you.
(03:39):
D But one night you were on this uh c
Q after dark slowed down romantic type vibe, and I
thought to myself, you know what, Denise Williams silly with
its amazing lyrics and her incredible vocals, that would be
it would fit so nicely up in here right now.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
So I type that in the comments.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
And lo and behold, brother, you played it and you
gave me a shout out to boot dude.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
That made my entire night. That was just beautiful.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
Well, for one, the request coming from you was just
you know, no matter what I think, like with club
Quarantine or with this virtual club quarantine, with this space,
I just get I get so excited that a lot
of the artists that I grew up listening to enjoy
coming in and listening to me play songs and not
(04:35):
necessarily their songs. It's like I could wake up in
the middle of the night and like Lionel Richie is
in there, or like one night, you know, Lenny Kravitz
was in there just listening to me play these songs
and he would just comment and that. You know, these
are like people that I'm you know, I know a
few of them, but like I'm truly a fan of
because I love the music. You know, for you to
ask for silly, you could have asked for anything else,
(04:56):
but you asked for silly. And I grew up loving
Denise Williams geez, you know, like everything that was like
one of my favorite songs as a kid, you know,
and to just as a DJ and using that virtual space.
The feeling that I get now is something that I've
longed for as an artist, you know, for for decades
of playing music. You know, like when I started out
(05:18):
in hip hop, the only reason why I was a
rapper was because I couldn't sing. I grew up loving
R and B. You know, R and B and pop
was like everything to me, you know, like, you know,
so like to have this virtual space where I can
play the artist and they're in there telling stories. Just imagine,
imagine playing a night where it's like all I played
was Janet Jackson, and Janet's in there and Jimmy jam
(05:41):
is in there telling the story behind the making of
these songs.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
That's incredible.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
Within like four or five sentences every song, he's like,
Oh I use this keyboard blah blah blah blah blah.
It's just exciting to me and oh my gosh, and
they love it. And I always tell people, like, you know,
this virtual club isn't just about the music. The music
is secondary to the conversation and the people that are
(06:06):
in there. You know. The music is his background. The
fun of it all is like, oh, I'm hearing these
stories from now Rogers or site is in here, you know,
telling the story behind this song, and it's it's just beautiful,
you know, it's beautiful that unfortunately the world had to
shut down for people to appreciate the classics, you know,
and life in general.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
You know.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
But when the world shut down, all we wanted to
feel was love. And the records that you guys made
and the music that you consistently make now is just
full of love, you know, And that was it was
important to allow those songs to breed and to not
take request, because if you allow someone to take a request,
they may just they may just want to hear Drake
all day, which is beautiful. I love Drake, But in
(06:48):
that moment, that's not what made people's heart smile, you know,
Like it was the Temptations, it was Madonna. It was
like all of these records that were created between you know,
the sixth and you know, the early two thousands, and
even the ones that are that were released during this time,
the ones that felt like those records, it's.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
In our dna.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
I believe, I believe that in my soul that yeah,
that music is a part of ours. It's the fabric
of our lives. It weaves through our lives, like we
can hear a song and it'll take us. Music is
like a time traveler. It'll take you back to that
period in your life when you were listening to that
song and when that song meant so much to you,
when that song came out, that's the song you went
(07:32):
to the prompt too, and that's the song that you
got your first kiss. Music has that kind of weight
and gravitized. It's just an amazing thing. And it's almost
music is magic to me because it has that property
to take you to places where you've been or where
you've never been.
Speaker 3 (07:47):
True.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
I love it.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
That journey is beautiful. You know. There's this song. I
remember when I was like fourteen years old and I
was participating in the walkathon in New York, you know,
raising money for I can't remember what the charity the
organization was. It was so long ago, but there was
this young girl that was like my age back then,
walking The like part of the walkathon was to go
(08:10):
through Central Park, and I remember I did this walkathon
by myself and and but there was like it was
like my first crush. I never met the young lady,
but every time I play Saturday Love. I visualize that
young person exactly, and she was walking with like her.
(08:31):
It was like a group of like girls. And to
this day, I'm like, man, I wonder if that person
ever heard me play the song. And because every song
that I played reminds me of like being younger, it's
very nostalgic, you know, when I when I play a
Melbourne Moore song, and like, Melbourn is pretty much in
my ig live anytime that I'm on. But when I
play her music, I don't just play it because oh,
(08:54):
Melbur's there. I play it because I remember whenever I
dropped that record, I visualized my aunt's apartment and my
aunt had all of these records on the floor leaning
up against the wall the way they used to do
back in the day. And the very first one was
like Diana Ross when she was sitting on the floor
with the big eyes, the black and white cover I think,
the white shirt with the white T shirt. And then
(09:16):
the next record after that was Teddy Pendergrass, and then
it was Melbourneore's records. So when I play those songs,
I visualized, like those moments that that was so like
important to me and why I love music the way
that I do.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
That's why I said music is a time traveler, because
it will take you to those places instantly.
Speaker 3 (09:35):
It's crazy.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
It's crazy, listen.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
I was surprised to learn that the club Quarantine initially
started as sort of a hobby, because you know, the
rest of us during COVID were home alone and like everyone,
we didn't know what to do with ourselves.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
Is that right?
Speaker 3 (09:50):
Well, I wouldn't necessarily call it a hobby. What happened
with club Quarantine was when when the world shut down
and I was already booked for like Essence Fest, I
was booked for south By Southwest. You know, I had
not necessarily Coachella main stage, but I had Coachella events.
I had to send deposits back, you know, like those
those gigs were being canceled. So when I was sitting
(10:10):
at home, I was like, man, like, yo, you work
so hard. I had like this ten city tour opening
for Jill Scott. We only we had only done one
of the dates, which was Radio City, and now deposits
need to go back because the world was shutting down.
So when I started playing music on my Instagram Live,
it wasn't necessarily a hobby. It was like, y'all, I
don't know what to do right now, and the only
(10:32):
thing that brought me just true joy was music. And
I started my live and I started playing music and
it was fun. I would, you know, all of a sudden,
like I felt really good. I started to see my
friends in there, you know, under two under three hundred
people in there, but I knew every single person that
was in there, and it felt like we were all connected.
(10:52):
So I wouldn't call it a hobby. I do. I
really feel like I was I was destined to do. Absolutely,
it was a true calling because it doesn't happened without
without the exact people that were in there that made
it feel like a club got it because we had
all hung out together. Like I had never used Instagram live,
so going live, all of my friends were like, yo,
(11:12):
what is he doing? Like? And then when I was
there playing the music, I saw everyone that I knew,
whether it was a chuck bone or whether it was
you know, I don't even know. I mean, it was
just like all my friends Tony, Like it was just
great to see and we all felt connected. And then
I did it again the next day, and then it
just kind of took off.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
I love that you comment that you feel it's your
mission not to just provide music for the people who needed,
but to provide a community quote.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
That's that's a pretty powerful statement.
Speaker 3 (11:43):
Yes, because it look before a club quarantine, I was,
I was pretty successful, you know, like I've had a
great recording career, you know, flex flex, But no, I
had a great you know, it kind of ended prematerially
because I just I started so young, and then I
was considered old school at such a young age. And
(12:04):
when we started, hip hop was still kind of in
its infancy, so there was no real no one knew
what like a fifty year old artist was going to
look like, you know, a hip hop artist, R and
B pop. Yes, but because hip hop was still like
a young genre, you know, it was almost like out
of sight, out of mind, which was the best thing
that happened to me because it forced me to go
(12:25):
back and learn other things that still felt creative that
I could do without ever having to depend on the
record company, which which became web development. I built a
lot of websites for people, from the Diary of Alicia
Keys to any Linux, to Luther Vandros to at and
T like I built a lot of those sites early on,
and my love of photography started there. And when I
(12:47):
circled back to music, you know, I was already doing
my thing with that, and when I circled back to music,
it became more about love and less about I need
to pay my bills with music, so I was able
to do other things. You know. I was able to
DJ and take one hundred and fifty dollars to DJ
for six hours. I mean, I wouldn't do that now,
but the work that you're fell in love with with
(13:09):
the music, which and it's so funny. I had a
gig recently. It was Beyonce's forty first birthday party, and
and initially, like I was invited, like, hey, you wants
you to come? And I just jokingly was like, oh wait,
what's the theme? Always roller skating theme. I was like,
oh man, I should have been playing that. And two
(13:29):
days later, p really wants you to play. I was like,
all right, I don't do a set, and they're like, no,
she wants you to play for six hours. I was like,
no way, by playing for six hours? You kidding me?
And then but when I went to the party, I
literally had a playlist prepared I was like, I'm going
to play this when I was setting, then I'm skating.
(13:50):
By the time I started, and when I finally looked
at my phone to see what time it was, I'd
already played for five hours.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
Oh my gosh, and having that much it was.
Speaker 3 (14:00):
That much fun playing the music.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
I love it.
Speaker 3 (14:03):
And it reminded me of when I started playing music,
when it wasn't about how, you know, if it was
a high profile gig or you know, it was about
the love of music and wasn't about massage and egos.
When an artist walks into a club, everyone goes crazy
and play all their music. Yo. She did not want
to hear anything old other than she only wanted to
(14:23):
hear the songs from a new album and music that
felt like disco and like I was like, that was
my lane playing those songs and then every now and
then throwing her song and it was light work. It
was like, this is what I'm talking about that, you know,
but I still of the music, and I think that's it.
People can feel that when I play music.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
I agree, I totally agree.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
I got to ask, what is it like to DJ
for Beyonce and our former favorite president and first Lady
baraka Michelle Obama in their home for his sixtieth birthday party.
Speaker 3 (14:58):
What the hell was amazing his sixtieth birthday party? First
of all, like they are very you know, like musical
music loving family and it's not about just the classics.
You know, you could throw the stinky leg and Michelle's dance,
you know, because that's what it is from Chicago. Black
(15:20):
people from Chicago be very clear about that. But no,
they are, they are awesome. You know. They never give me,
They've never given me guidelines. The only thing that that
they want to make sure is that their kids have
a good time. That's always his thing. Even at his
own birthday party, he was like, I was like, hey man,
(15:40):
what do you want to hear? He was like, I
just want to make sure my kids dance. That's so.
That's that's like when you hear something like that, it's
like a guy who he really is exactly who he
shows you. He really is that guy. He's a special guy,
and so is his wife and his kids. You know,
I've have DJ Michelle's book tour parties and you know,
I've DJ Sasha Emily Is both of their twenty first
(16:03):
birthday parties to Rock sixtieth and the inaugural ball for
you know, his second inaugural ball to one of the
second to the last party before he left left the
White House.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
You know.
Speaker 3 (16:14):
And it's been I've been pretty fortunate to to just
be able to be one of the people to provide
like that soundtrack for them.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
That's so cool.
Speaker 1 (16:23):
A nice little nugget to have on your resume.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
CV not too shabby.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
At one point, you said you stopped DJing for a
while and started building websites and shooting photography. Did you
take any classes to in any of those feels to
improve your performance as a photographer or as.
Speaker 3 (16:43):
A web developer? Yeah, I just I learned web development
by you know, just buying books and reading. You know,
if you know how to produce music, and you know
how to work these computers. Like it's all the same.
It's just code. And I taught myself how to read code.
Now forography was something different. Photography was Wait a minute,
Wait a.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
Minute, You taught yourself how to read code.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
Yes, I can write code like I can. I mean
I can't write HTML five now, but HTML four like
you know back there. I haven't built the website in
a very long time, Like DJ took off, I didn't
look back. But yeah, I was writing code, writing flash
and yeah, man, like that's that was. I was a
nerdy kid, you know. I just fell in love with you. No,
(17:29):
not too bad, not too bad. Photography I went to
school for. I went to school for photography while I
was building websites. I just wanted to I was photographed
by Not to say it was a solo photoshoot. I
was one of many hip hop artists that was uh
that participated in one of Gordon Park's last shoots, which
(17:49):
was a great Dan Harlem where he photographed like all
of the hip hop artists and he was recreating that
that famous jazz photograph that was like in heart they
were all on the stoops and and he did that
with hip hop artists for Double Excel magazine. And to
look at a man who you know, at the time,
(18:10):
I think he transitioned when he was in like his nineties,
so that was probably like his late seventies. To look
at someone that was in his seventies that still loved
exactly what it was that they that they did. I
was like, man, I want to be like that. Wow,
And because you know, I felt like my hip hop
career had ended prematorily, I didn't have anything tangible to
show the world, you know, like, oh, this is what
(18:31):
I did back in the day, like because because I
wasn't shooting as much as I shoot now, and when
I did shoot, I didn't respect the negative. I thought like, oh,
just get these printed, and then I had like a
copy of it. I don't even know whatever happened to
the negative. So when that was when my rap career
was over and I had a chance, a second chance
to see in the world, I was like, I'm going
(18:51):
to do it the right way. And I also want
to be respected by photographers. So I went to a
school in New York City called the International Center of Photography.
I did like a year, a little bit over a
year there, and yeah, I just I wanted to be respected,
you know, like you got it.
Speaker 1 (19:08):
What started your interest in photography?
Speaker 2 (19:11):
You remember, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (19:12):
It was it was Gordon Parks. I mean when I
first picked up the camera, you know, it was just
fun to just take pictures, but it was Gordon Parks,
Like meeting him, that's what really, like wow, sparked me
wanting to know how to shoot.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
We're here with d nice We're going to take a
short break and be right back at you. Welcome back, everybody.
We are here with the masterful DJ D Nice.
Speaker 2 (19:40):
Do you remember your first camera.
Speaker 3 (19:43):
First camera I bought with my own money was it
was a Canon Yas three because I bought that. I
bought that while I was working on the website for
a client and I didn't like the images that they
were using, and I asked them to pad the budget
with the enough money so I can hire a photographer.
I didn't hire a photographer. I use the money to
(20:05):
buy a camera and then I photograph. Yeah, I photograph
the model guy in the middle of Central Park. It
was a Canon Yas three.
Speaker 1 (20:12):
I love it.
Speaker 3 (20:13):
Do you still have that camera? No? No, I have
the cameras man. Yeah, that would have been fun. But no.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
Well, these days with cell phone cameras, everybody considers themselves
a photographer.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
What do you think separates.
Speaker 1 (20:25):
A true photographer for someone who just takes cell phone pictures?
Speaker 3 (20:29):
Well, one, and I don't diss the art of like
cell phone pictures because you know, at the end of
the day, you want to be able to capture the moment. Yes,
but the difference between you capture the moment and hoping
that you capture the moment. Like when you shoot with
a camera, you have full control over it. And I
know I can maneuver with this camera without looking at anything.
(20:51):
I know what light I know, you know lighting that
I need or whatever stop I need to use, or
what shutter speed. But like your cell phone cameras, just
you know, you just pick it up and just yeah,
I like creating images.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
Well, I see all these huge billboards with incredible photos
taken with a cell phone. How do you rate that
kind of picture with these modern cameras to an actual
camera that uses film as opposed to is that a
digital camera?
Speaker 2 (21:18):
Is that with film?
Speaker 3 (21:19):
This is a digital camera. This is Alika M eleven.
This is the latest digital camera for one. It's a
beautiful It looks really very very classic old schools. You know.
It's their old school body that they're known for when
they started like doing thirty five milimeter cameras. Yes, and
this is a fifty millimeter lens. This is uh F
(21:39):
two point zero. I actually bought this lens in Germany
at their headquarters where they made it. You know, they
invited me out there. You are so special. Yeah, no,
Lenny Kravis is the one that was special. They flew
me out there because he was launching his camera with Laika,
and I was like, I can't be on the property
of you know, the company that I love without buying something.
(22:02):
And then they gifted me this camera. What this is new?
And it has a quote on it. Quote is the
last quote that my one of my best friends posted
on his Instagram before he transitioned, and the quote is
be inspired. And the quote the reason why I love
(22:23):
this quote was because he was one of the guys
that kept telling me anytime I hung out with him
in the studio, he was like, bring your camera, bring
your camera. So this quote is the last quote of
the legendary Heavy d Ah. So it's inscribed on the camera.
Speaker 1 (22:38):
This was Wow, that's a great story.
Speaker 3 (22:41):
Yeah, that's why I said, man, life is life is
so divine. You never know how you can inspire someone
with not just one passion, but like just being who
you are, just being passionate about life in general.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
It's a good It's a good way to show your
life as opposed to tell people how to live life.
Just show them that's and live your best life as
an example.
Speaker 2 (23:02):
Yes, I love that.
Speaker 1 (23:03):
So at this point, do you go out looking for
interesting subjects to photograph or is it just about having
your camera being ready?
Speaker 2 (23:10):
Johnny on the Spot type.
Speaker 3 (23:11):
Yes, it's about having my camera ready. I don't. I
haven't gone out to like shoot as much as I
used to, Right, you know, I'm constantly DJing. I use.
I tend to use my cell phone a lot more
these days. I mean, these new cameras are pretty good. Yeah,
you know, I can't lie. There are They do a
lot of the work for you. But there's still something
just magical about picking up an actual camera. Right.
Speaker 1 (23:33):
You can't control a iPhone. You can't, you know, stop
f stop on the iPhone.
Speaker 3 (23:38):
You can you can figure that out though. There are
ways to do it, but it's still not it's not
this now.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
Do you still use film?
Speaker 3 (23:45):
That's this one is digital? But I also have the film,
the film version of it, And then I also use
like I'll shoot with like disposable cameras, and then I
have I have two Polaroid SX SX seventy cameras. They
use all like just you know, polaroid film, and I
love it. I love it.
Speaker 1 (24:05):
Do you manipulate the actual photograph and the polaroid with
your with your fingers and.
Speaker 3 (24:11):
You can do all of that dark room edits like everything.
So a lot of times, like when I shoot, a
lot of times, you know, you can have like you
can shoot with like black and white film when you're
polaroid that will still give you like that polaroid instantly, Yes,
but it comes with an actual negative, which is rare
for a polaroid. So you peel it off and then
(24:33):
you have to put it in like a solution and
like allow it to dry out, and then you have
an actual polaroid for it.
Speaker 2 (24:40):
Oh my goodness.
Speaker 3 (24:40):
So I tend to use that a lot, a lot
less than I used to in the past. But in
the past that was like a major thing. You know,
like when you see like some of these black and
white images and you'll still see like a border around them.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
Yes, yes, like that's from That's what that is.
Speaker 3 (24:58):
Yes, Yes, that or from like it could be from
a medium format camera or I love that vibe that
entire look kind of weathered look.
Speaker 2 (25:08):
And you know what I was speaking of weathered.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
I like what I learned something that they called sloppy borders,
where it's just sort of nebulous and weird on the ends,
no real frame but just sort of wobbly. I love that,
did you You know, you hear audio files and music
producers often compare the sound quality of analogs versus digital.
(25:31):
Is that the same kind of thing with photography totally?
Speaker 3 (25:35):
You can so there is a warmth that you get
from from actually shooting with film. You know, like you
can try to emulate it with like digital grain because
there are some apps that can kind of like you
can apply the app and it'll make it look like film,
but it's still not film. It's not the grain of film,
like the beauty of like shooting like low light with
(25:57):
like you know, slow film is so you can get
the grain and the grittiness, and you know, digital is
just super clean, and it's it's you know, similar to
like using an MP three versus pulling that vinyl oilt.
MP three is beautiful. You can still dance to the music,
you can sing along, but when you put that needle
on the record and you hear those the popping sound,
(26:19):
it's like that's love, that's art, so you know, and
it's hard to get that no matter which camera or
phone you're using. On the digital side.
Speaker 1 (26:30):
I love that as a professional photographer, you've shot campaigns
for the likes of Nike America's Next Top Model, Hannessy
and many more. Do you still consider photography as a hobby?
Speaker 3 (26:46):
No, No, I haven't. I haven't felt like photography was
my hobby since I started, you know, you know in
the early two thousands. Once I went to school for it,
it was no longer a hobby, got it because I immediately
started shooting for for campaigns. So like one of my
first my first photo shoot, my first two photo shoots
(27:09):
happened because of a gentleman named Chris Lighty Chris Lidie
used to be. He was one of my best friends.
But he was a music manager for like fifty cent
Mariah Puff yeah mob deep, And he invited me to
his wedding. And you know, at the time, I really
didn't have like a lot of money to buy the
types of gifts that you would give a Chris Lighty.
You know, we were registered I remember, like an ABC carpet.
(27:32):
Everything was expensive in there. So what I did was
I was just at the wedding.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
They were registered at a carpet store.
Speaker 3 (27:37):
No, so ABC carpet was like it wasn't just a
carpet store. They had furniture and it was like all imported, OK,
so it was like really really kind of like a
lead furniture and like super high end, one of a
kind pieces. So it wasn't just a carpet store. That
was just the name of it. Got it. And they
(27:57):
were located I think like on nineteenth Reading Broadway in
New York City, like super dope. And but when I
went to his wedding, I just took pictures and then
as a gift, I gave him, uh, you know, album,
a photo album.
Speaker 2 (28:11):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (28:11):
And he called me back and he was like, bro,
you should be doing this professionally. I was like, no,
I'm good. He was like, no, you got to do
this professionally. So the very first actually the first it
was the first photo shoot that he gave me was
one of fifty cents rebound campaigns and yeah that was
I was like, oh, wow, I could do this and
uh And I never looked back, so I wouldn't. I
(28:32):
never considered photography on a hobby. Good.
Speaker 2 (28:35):
That's that's good stuff.
Speaker 3 (28:37):
Man.
Speaker 2 (28:37):
Have a quick question.
Speaker 1 (28:39):
Have you ever shot an album cover or a photo
shoot for another recording artist?
Speaker 3 (28:45):
Yes, I shot an album cover for Taylan Kwali for
Carl Thomas, uh and what else? I think those were
the only two. No, No, Parrol manch I was doing
a lot of hip hop stuff. Nice because you know
those are my guys and and uh, we're having fun
doing it. I still feel like I'm missing something because
it's it's been so long since I actually was shooting
(29:05):
on that level. Those those were like early two thousands.
But like campaigns, yeah, man, I've had fun shooting campaigns,
but artists are like my love, you know, like when
I when I I always wanted to when DJ and
took off, I still wanted to shoot. But photography requires
(29:26):
when you're shooting campaigns or you're shooting album cover for someone,
it requires a lot of time. Yes, you know, you
gotta set up the photo shoot. You need to you know,
just kind of like submit what you want this photoshoot
to be, like, you know, submit your treatments, then actually
shoot it. Then you got to select the images, and
then it was a whole process where I could just
do one DJ gig and be done with it and
(29:47):
I'm good. So I decided that I was you know,
I wasn't going to like focus on campaigns. All I
wanted to do was to document hip hop culture and
to document like my journey and then to one day
have like photo exhibitions, you know. And you know, so
I have images with everyone that I actually shot all
(30:07):
over the world, whether it's Mary J. Blige and South Africa,
you know, puff while we're in Copenhagen or being out
in Dubai, and you know, shooting all over the world
photograph and John Legend, you know, I got a funny
John Legend story. And I ran into his managers and
I was going to Atlanta to do a show, and
I was in the Delta lounge and I was like
(30:29):
trying to rush and then call the car service. I
didn't want to wait outside, so I was like, all right,
I'm waiting here for the car to arrive. Then I
saw his manager in there and he was like, oh,
you come here for a show. Well, we're performing tonight
in Canada. I was like, man, I should fly to tomorrow.
I got a day off. He's like, come on, just
fly up. I left my passport, but I had like
my passport card, and I wanted this photograph of John
(30:52):
Legend in a different country, like because every artist I
wanted to have like a different story. So I did
my gig in Atlanta. I booked a flight to to Buffalo.
I flew to Buffalo, rented a car, and then I
drove over the border. Whoa it was literally the next day,
drove over the border, went to John's show, took one
that was like a two and a half hour drive.
Took maybe five pictures of John because John was like,
(31:15):
are you ready? Are just do it? And he's like
holding this cup of tea after this performance, walking down
this narrow hallway, admiring all the artists that the performers
that were there in the past, and the way I
shot the perspective. You don't see the photographs. It's a
black and white picture and it's like this crazy perspective.
And I was done and I was like all right, cool,
(31:35):
and John looked at me. He was like, wait you
you went through all of this to take like a
couple of photographs. And I was like, bro, Like if
you when you're a photographer, it's like you want to
tell the story. Like I'm not trying to have a
photo show. I just wanted the story. The story is
just as important as the image that I captured.
Speaker 2 (31:54):
You know, like, was he happy with the image?
Speaker 3 (31:56):
Oh, he's never seen it. Most of the artists have
never seen the images. A whole three city and you know,
in South Africa with Mary, Mary, you know, we were
playing spades at her house and she saw my camera
sitting similar to where it is now. She was like,
you take pictures. You should come to South Africa. I
was like, all right, cool, Wow, that's how that happened.
(32:17):
I went to South Africa with her. And then we're
in this prayer circle, in the prayer circle in like Durban,
and she was praying, and then I thought of it.
I was like, this is the moment, and I let
the hands go and I just stepped back and I
took this picture of her praying and black and white
and all you see it like these shadows of people
and Mary just praying. And it was like, oh my god,
(32:39):
it's about I have more fun doing that and showing,
you know, our artists in the way that we actually
see them, you know.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
So I can't wait for this book.
Speaker 1 (32:51):
This is a coffee table book in the making that
we're here with d Nice. We're going to take a
short break and be right back at you. Welcome back, everybody.
We are here with the masterful DJ D Nice By
(33:12):
following you on Instagram, I always get inspired when I
see you spending time with your daughters. Yes, oh my god,
I grew up a daddy lists daughter, so I didn't
have a kind of relationship with my father as you
have with your children. And I'm sure because of that,
your daughters will not be on the pole. Your daughters
will be respectable, and they will choose men that are
(33:35):
like their father and treat them the way their father
treated them. I have the utmost respect for a man,
especially a Black man, who stays present in his children's lives,
because so many black fathers are absent, including my own.
Describe the joy you feel when you're hanging out with
(33:56):
your daughters.
Speaker 3 (33:58):
With my daughters, it's it's always a pleasant time, and
there are always moments of being dad. And now that
I have a twenty six year old, so like I'm
more than just dad with her, Like you know, she's
my friend, you know, you know, my daughter has been
like both of my kids, but initially, like my oldest
daughter was, was my source of inspiration in terms of
(34:19):
like trying to make sure that I do the right
thing to be a great provider, you know, and not
just providing things, but like I'm a flawed man, you know.
I think we all are. We're all flawed people. It
wouldn't absolutely not, you know. And I've learned from growing
(34:39):
up without having a relationship with my father. And it's
pretty interesting how this happens too. Where I initially wanted
to be a different type of father because I didn't
want to be like my father. And as I got
you know, you know, got a little older, it kind
of switched for me. I wanted to be a great
(34:59):
father because I wanted to be a great father to
my kids, not because I was comparing myself to what
someone else did. And it took a long time to
learn that. And you know, those lessons are very important
because if you tend to just not want to be
like someone else, then you do things for your kids
that are unnecessary. You try to give them things because
no one gave you.
Speaker 2 (35:19):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (35:19):
Yes, I didn't want to be that way, you know.
Like I had an experience with my youngest daughter, she's eleven.
Just the other day, I was I was traveling back,
I was doing a show out and I was performing
out and Cartagena and on the plane and she texted
me and she's like, you know, Dad, can you get
me these sweatpants? And I was like, all right, cool,
(35:40):
just let me know which ones you want. And then
when I was on a plane, I looked at the
price of them and I was like, kid's eleven talking
about buying five pier sweats that are one hundred and
fifty dollars each. I was like, I'm not doing that,
like that, that's crazy, but I will buy one. And
then here's the lesson. The lesson is i'd just recently
(36:04):
gotten her this card card, the green Light card where
it's for kids. It's like a debit card for kids,
and it's based on chores and like you do your homework,
you know, maybe make a dollar, well five dollars a
week or whatever, like whatever, you know, whatever value you
put to it. And I said to her when I
return home and we were in the car, and I
(36:24):
was like, look, I am not buying you five pair
of sweats four hundred and fifty dollars. I will buy
you one because you've been doing extremely well in school.
But if you want to buy more, then you have
to do this to continue earning money and to use
your own card, Like I can't tell you what to
do with your money. Yeah, I'm just not buying five
here of like one hundred and fifty dollars sweats.
Speaker 2 (36:44):
So she can't tell you what to do with your money.
Speaker 3 (36:46):
I love that, but it was just like you just
find like these teachable moments for the kids.
Speaker 1 (36:51):
Do any of your daughters share your interest in photography?
Speaker 3 (36:55):
No, My oldest daughter is an attorney. She's practicing real
ESTs low right now. And then my youngest daughter, she's
into sports.
Speaker 1 (37:04):
Nice athletics. What what sport is she into?
Speaker 3 (37:07):
I mean right now she's playing volleyball, basketball, all the ball, tennis,
and every now and then she'll go out and she'll
play golf.
Speaker 2 (37:16):
What.
Speaker 1 (37:18):
I love her. What's her name?
Speaker 3 (37:20):
Little uppity knitters in the making. Her name is Dylan.
My oldest daughter is actually my youngest is Dylan.
Speaker 2 (37:29):
Do either them knit or crochet?
Speaker 3 (37:31):
No?
Speaker 2 (37:32):
Do you think they would like to learn? I would
love to teach them.
Speaker 3 (37:34):
Hey, I mean, who can say no to you?
Speaker 1 (37:37):
I love it.
Speaker 2 (37:38):
Talk to my husband. He'll let you know. You've made
it known that you are a very spiritual person. Do
you practice meditation?
Speaker 3 (37:48):
That's actually a recent thing before the before the pandemic,
I took like a few guided meditation classes. I didn't
understand how to slow these things down, slow down the movements.
And but just recently I started to take more classes
with someone more one on one, and I'm, you know,
I still haven't mastered it, which I don't know if
(38:10):
you can ever master it, but like, I still haven't
figured out how to like slow these things down. And
part of it is because I am truly excited about life,
you know, when you I mean, I know that I
need to do that because you know, there needs to
be some balance in your life. But the thing that
when you truly love what you do and you know
that you you matter to people, you kind of overextend
(38:34):
yourself sometimes, you know, like because I know, especially during
like pandemic and now that the world is open or reopened,
you know, some people still have a hard time getting
like reacclimated to what life used to be. Like it's
never gonna be same. So I happen to love what
I'm doing for people. So when I wake up, I
(38:55):
just want to play music and then I want to
go do shows and like keep people inspired. But I
do need to find like balance and like part of
that balance and with with is becoming more grounded with
with the universe and with God, and then also to
just meditate. And you can't you can't be great for
someone else. If you can't, can't be great for you.
Speaker 2 (39:15):
That's right, That's so right. That was a great answer.
Speaker 3 (39:19):
My career as a rap artist didn't go the way
that I thought it would would have, you know, like
you know when you I was a part of like
an iconic group, but I wasn't the lead rapper. It
was a rapper named Charis One. So he was so prolific, Yeah,
cares and you know, so all eyes were on him. Yeah,
and everyone else was the secondary, you know, like and
(39:42):
so no, my creator didn't go. But it was the
best thing for me because because I love where I
am in my life right now, and it was because
I was forced to find other ways to be creative,
and so I have no regrets. And even before c Q,
I still had no regrets because I was like, all right,
I was an in demand, you know, I was like
(40:03):
one of the top indieman private events, private event DJs.
Now I'm kind of more mainstream, more of a household
name kind of vibe because of what happened. But even
without that, I was happy just doing my super Bowl
event or playing you know, playing you know an Oscar,
a pre Oscar event or maybe a post Oscar event.
(40:24):
Now here we are. After that, I was like I
was the music on the on the Academy Awards, you know,
and like that's a different you know, I know, you've
been nominated for an Academy Award and like two, I'm sorry,
let me take that back too. She threw the douce up.
She chucked me with the deuce. She was like, hold
on down, don't forget my other one. But there's no that.
(40:47):
That's like a crazy feeling of like it is being
in that room, like just being there and looking around
like wait, like I'm here, yeah, you know, like I
saw a picture of me like just before the show started.
In my eyes, I look like a deer in the
headlights because I was just overwhelmed, like like wait, I'm
providing all of the music every time someone walked out,
(41:11):
like it's me selecting these songs. But you know, none
of that happens without the entire journey.
Speaker 2 (41:16):
That's so true. You would have been ready no moment.
Speaker 3 (41:19):
No, it doesn't happen without the entire journey.
Speaker 2 (41:23):
I love it.
Speaker 3 (41:23):
You know.
Speaker 1 (41:24):
One of the reasons I developed my podcast is to
encourage my listeners to think outside the box, to use
their imaginations, and not to be afraid to explore new
things in their lives. Do you have any words of
encouragement for those people who maybe feeling kind of stuck
in a rut in their careers or their lives at
this moment listening to your voice.
Speaker 3 (41:47):
Yeah, you know, like the advice I would give was
a piece of advice given to me by my uncle.
He's probably in his nineties now, and it was when
I was trying to figure out life after music and
I kind of wanted to get back involved with the
music industry after being away for like it close to
a decade, but I wasn't. Even though I was building
(42:07):
websites and those things provided me with you know a
little bit of like income and I was able to
provide for my family, it didn't fully make me happy.
Music makes me happy. And when I when I reached
out to him, you know, he was like one of
the few men that I was able to talk to,
and I said to him, it's like, you know, I
(42:29):
had this idea where I wanted to take it back
involved in music. And he shared a story with me.
You know, I can't quote it verbatim.
Speaker 2 (42:37):
But give us the gist.
Speaker 3 (42:39):
Yes, the gist of the story was he was like, hey,
when I was younger, I had a chance to play
in the Negro leagues, and because he and my aunt
were having a child, he decided to get into going
to the military to provide for his family. And he said,
you know, he was a really good baseball player, you know,
around the time when Jackie Robinson and that whole crew,
(43:00):
like he was, he was around there, and he made
the choice to get into going to the military. And
even though he loved his life and he had an
amazing life, you know, own his home. They're still married
and married for like seventy years, which is something beautiful
to be able to like have a partner that long. Wow.
But he said he never knew what his life could
(43:21):
have been like had he also followed his passion. You know.
He was like, you never want to live a life
of regret, you know, so I always try to inspire
people to to do what you love. You know, money
will come, Yes, do what you love, you know, like
you know some people look at what happened with me
is overnight, but you only you can only say that
if you don't know my story.
Speaker 1 (43:42):
Right, don't you hate that?
Speaker 3 (43:44):
No, I don't get pay anymore. I'm like no, If
that's then that means that you haven't done your homework.
If you think thirty years, five years and this business
is overnight, I'm wrong with you. You know I need.
Speaker 1 (43:57):
Help, So please let our audience know what you currently
have going on in your life, like what's next for
d Nice?
Speaker 3 (44:05):
You know, I'm actually what I've what I've been doing
now is taking this CQ into like the live space,
but I'm doing it a little different, you know, differently
where it's not just about having someone perform with me.
A lot of the shows that I've been selling out recently,
whether it's you know, the Carnegie Hall or or the
Kennedy Center Opera House, is because I've kind of like
(44:26):
combined like an orchestra with DJ and the performers coming out.
Speaker 2 (44:31):
It's a great idea.
Speaker 3 (44:33):
So like when you hear you know, when you think
about and it's not even just having like a Melbourne Moore,
hopefully you come and join us for a show like
you know, Hope, I really want you to come and
join us for a show.
Speaker 2 (44:45):
We have that recorded right.
Speaker 3 (44:47):
Yeah. Absolutely, But it's like not even just about having
like some of my favorite R and B performers, it's
also about having like taking a hardcore hip hop act
and putting an orchestra behind them. Wow. Like Jada and
Styles p of the Locks are hardcore New York City
hip hop. But they have this song called we Gonna
Make It and the song the sample is believe it's
(45:10):
like Michael Samuel's music. I can't remember the name of it,
but but they're like these strings in it. But obviously
they sampled it to put them on stage at Carnegie
Hall with this orchestra recreating that song but hardcore hip
hop wearing tuxedos was like it was incredible lovely. Yeah.
(45:34):
So like when you think about that, like this is
the first time that a DJ and anything hip hop
related ever headlined the opera house.
Speaker 1 (45:43):
Yeah, outside the box like a.
Speaker 3 (45:46):
Man, you know. So, like my whole mission is to
take to take to bring hip hop and DJ culture
with an orchestra to like some of the most iconic
venues all over the world.
Speaker 2 (45:58):
Good for you. Well, finally, uh.
Speaker 1 (46:01):
We like to end this show with a little segment
where I asked my guests to share something that happened
to them or something someone said or did that came
to them as a shock or a surprise. We call
this segment neda what what say?
Speaker 2 (46:20):
You d nice jeez?
Speaker 3 (46:22):
Without naming any names, I don't want to do that.
Speaker 2 (46:24):
You don't have to do that.
Speaker 3 (46:25):
But there was there was someone who like in my business,
who you know, I still have a lot of respect
for him because he was this SEEO, a record company
that I was a part of, you know, back in
the day. And I remember him calling me and saying like,
who would have ever thought you would be here still
(46:46):
doing your thing? And that to me was like that
was my my nittle what what?
Speaker 1 (46:51):
Like?
Speaker 2 (46:52):
You should have been dead long ago?
Speaker 3 (46:53):
That was me.
Speaker 1 (46:54):
He was insinuating that you should have been.
Speaker 3 (46:56):
Over No, that I should have been over over exactly,
and you're still here and I'm still here and it
was just like mittle what Like, Yeah, I'm here because
I believe in myself and also because what I do
resonates with people, and they believe in they uplift me,
and it's my job to uplift other people you know,
So that was my knitter what moment.
Speaker 2 (47:16):
I love it.
Speaker 3 (47:17):
Thank you so much, Dave for having me.
Speaker 2 (47:19):
It's been great.
Speaker 1 (47:20):
Thanks so much for joining us on The Uppitty Knitter
Podcast with d Nice, a show where your favorite celebrities
talk about their unusual hobbies.
Speaker 2 (47:29):
Join us next time. Until then, do what makes you happy.
Speaker 3 (47:32):
Right, d Absolutely. The Uppity Knitter Podcast is brought to
you by Black Chick Productions. Our show was hosted by
Sayida Garrett. Our producer is Eric Nurie, and we're recorded
and edited by Felicia Morris at Marris Media Studios in
Los Angeles. Special thanks go out to our friends at
iHeartMedia and Seneca Women
Hello, I'm say De Garrett and Uppity Knitter and host
of the Uppity Knitter podcast Celebrity Hobbies Uncovered, a show
about your favorite celebrities and their unusual hobbies. Welcome, my
guest today. Is best known for his work as a DJ,
but also as a very accomplished recording artist, music producer, photographer,
(00:24):
web designer, and entrepreneur. Who began as a DJ for
the groundbreaking hip hop group Boogie Down Productions.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
And the legendary KRS one.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
He's gone on to build an impressive career in the
music business, spinning at very high level events including the
White House, the Kennedy Center, Opera House, the Carnegie Hall,
the Hollywood Bowl, and a Las Vegas residency, and repeatedly
(00:56):
winning awards along the way. These include b ET's DJ
of the Year Award and naacp Immage Award and Askcap Award,
and the list goes on. But more importantly, what this
brother receives from the Black community and the music community
as a whole is the genuine love and respect reserved
(01:17):
for only the greats. Ladies and gents. Please welcome Derek Jones,
professionally and affectionately known as.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
D Yes yes, hey man, welcome man. I feel so
good to be here today. Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Thanks for gracing us with your omnificent presence. Listen, do
you you want to know why I call.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
The show the Uppity Knitter.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
I'm assuming it's because of this, you know, these beautiful pieces,
one that you're wearing in this one here with Biggie
and Pun. So I'm assuming that this is like your work.
It is okay, big Pun? Yes, yes, Nipsy, you got Nipsey. Wow,
you did this. Wow.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
So I'm known, as you know, as a singer and songwriter,
and many of my fans don't know that my favorite
hobbies are knitting and crocheting.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
So I was in a yarn shop in Santa.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
Monica one day and I saw this little knitting circle
of these white ladies quietly knitting at a side table,
and I decided, well, I just join them. So I
sat down and I sat next to this woman who
was knitting, and I looked over in her lap and
I said, wow, that's really beautiful.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
What kind of yarn is that?
Speaker 1 (02:30):
She said, oh, this is just cotton, you know, And
then she lifted my lap and she said, what are
you knitting?
Speaker 2 (02:36):
With.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
I said, this is Kashmir. She said, oh, aren't you
an uppitty knitter?
Speaker 2 (02:42):
I said, what did you call me?
Speaker 1 (02:45):
And she turned the most incredible shade of crimson that
I've ever seen a white person turned.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
It was crimson.
Speaker 4 (02:53):
It was crimson, deep red, deep, Yes, so she said
immediately she said, I said, I said knitter, and I'm thinking,
bit you pronounce some teas, you know, So I've decided
to embrace that moniker and I'm calling my show the
up andy Knitter in her honor.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
I love it it me too.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
For those of you in our listening audience who are
not or who have not been fortunate enough to catch
d NIC's Club Quarantine on Instagram Live, you know he
has a general policy of no requests. Yes, yes, he
just goes with the flow whatever he's feeling, and we
as a listening audience just love traveling along with you.
(03:39):
D But one night you were on this uh c
Q after dark slowed down romantic type vibe, and I
thought to myself, you know what, Denise Williams silly with
its amazing lyrics and her incredible vocals, that would be
it would fit so nicely up in here right now.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
So I type that in the comments.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
And lo and behold, brother, you played it and you
gave me a shout out to boot dude.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
That made my entire night. That was just beautiful.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
Well, for one, the request coming from you was just
you know, no matter what I think, like with club
Quarantine or with this virtual club quarantine, with this space,
I just get I get so excited that a lot
of the artists that I grew up listening to enjoy
coming in and listening to me play songs and not
(04:35):
necessarily their songs. It's like I could wake up in
the middle of the night and like Lionel Richie is
in there, or like one night, you know, Lenny Kravitz
was in there just listening to me play these songs
and he would just comment and that. You know, these
are like people that I'm you know, I know a
few of them, but like I'm truly a fan of
because I love the music. You know, for you to
ask for silly, you could have asked for anything else,
(04:56):
but you asked for silly. And I grew up loving
Denise Williams geez, you know, like everything that was like
one of my favorite songs as a kid, you know,
and to just as a DJ and using that virtual space.
The feeling that I get now is something that I've
longed for as an artist, you know, for for decades
of playing music. You know, like when I started out
(05:18):
in hip hop, the only reason why I was a
rapper was because I couldn't sing. I grew up loving
R and B. You know, R and B and pop
was like everything to me, you know, like, you know,
so like to have this virtual space where I can
play the artist and they're in there telling stories. Just imagine,
imagine playing a night where it's like all I played
was Janet Jackson, and Janet's in there and Jimmy jam
(05:41):
is in there telling the story behind the making of
these songs.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
That's incredible.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
Within like four or five sentences every song, he's like,
Oh I use this keyboard blah blah blah blah blah.
It's just exciting to me and oh my gosh, and
they love it. And I always tell people, like, you know,
this virtual club isn't just about the music. The music
is secondary to the conversation and the people that are
(06:06):
in there. You know. The music is his background. The
fun of it all is like, oh, I'm hearing these
stories from now Rogers or site is in here, you know,
telling the story behind this song, and it's it's just beautiful,
you know, it's beautiful that unfortunately the world had to
shut down for people to appreciate the classics, you know,
and life in general.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
You know.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
But when the world shut down, all we wanted to
feel was love. And the records that you guys made
and the music that you consistently make now is just
full of love, you know, And that was it was
important to allow those songs to breed and to not
take request, because if you allow someone to take a request,
they may just they may just want to hear Drake
all day, which is beautiful. I love Drake, But in
(06:48):
that moment, that's not what made people's heart smile, you know,
Like it was the Temptations, it was Madonna. It was
like all of these records that were created between you know,
the sixth and you know, the early two thousands, and
even the ones that are that were released during this time,
the ones that felt like those records, it's.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
In our dna.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
I believe, I believe that in my soul that yeah,
that music is a part of ours. It's the fabric
of our lives. It weaves through our lives, like we
can hear a song and it'll take us. Music is
like a time traveler. It'll take you back to that
period in your life when you were listening to that
song and when that song meant so much to you,
when that song came out, that's the song you went
(07:32):
to the prompt too, and that's the song that you
got your first kiss. Music has that kind of weight
and gravitized. It's just an amazing thing. And it's almost
music is magic to me because it has that property
to take you to places where you've been or where
you've never been.
Speaker 3 (07:47):
True.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
I love it.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
That journey is beautiful. You know. There's this song. I
remember when I was like fourteen years old and I
was participating in the walkathon in New York, you know,
raising money for I can't remember what the charity the
organization was. It was so long ago, but there was
this young girl that was like my age back then,
walking The like part of the walkathon was to go
(08:10):
through Central Park, and I remember I did this walkathon
by myself and and but there was like it was
like my first crush. I never met the young lady,
but every time I play Saturday Love. I visualize that
young person exactly, and she was walking with like her.
(08:31):
It was like a group of like girls. And to
this day, I'm like, man, I wonder if that person
ever heard me play the song. And because every song
that I played reminds me of like being younger, it's
very nostalgic, you know, when I when I play a
Melbourne Moore song, and like, Melbourn is pretty much in
my ig live anytime that I'm on. But when I
play her music, I don't just play it because oh,
(08:54):
Melbur's there. I play it because I remember whenever I
dropped that record, I visualized my aunt's apartment and my
aunt had all of these records on the floor leaning
up against the wall the way they used to do
back in the day. And the very first one was
like Diana Ross when she was sitting on the floor
with the big eyes, the black and white cover I think,
the white shirt with the white T shirt. And then
(09:16):
the next record after that was Teddy Pendergrass, and then
it was Melbourneore's records. So when I play those songs,
I visualized, like those moments that that was so like
important to me and why I love music the way
that I do.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
That's why I said music is a time traveler, because
it will take you to those places instantly.
Speaker 3 (09:35):
It's crazy.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
It's crazy, listen.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
I was surprised to learn that the club Quarantine initially
started as sort of a hobby, because you know, the
rest of us during COVID were home alone and like everyone,
we didn't know what to do with ourselves.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
Is that right?
Speaker 3 (09:50):
Well, I wouldn't necessarily call it a hobby. What happened
with club Quarantine was when when the world shut down
and I was already booked for like Essence Fest, I
was booked for south By Southwest. You know, I had
not necessarily Coachella main stage, but I had Coachella events.
I had to send deposits back, you know, like those
those gigs were being canceled. So when I was sitting
(10:10):
at home, I was like, man, like, yo, you work
so hard. I had like this ten city tour opening
for Jill Scott. We only we had only done one
of the dates, which was Radio City, and now deposits
need to go back because the world was shutting down.
So when I started playing music on my Instagram Live,
it wasn't necessarily a hobby. It was like, y'all, I
don't know what to do right now, and the only
(10:32):
thing that brought me just true joy was music. And
I started my live and I started playing music and
it was fun. I would, you know, all of a sudden,
like I felt really good. I started to see my
friends in there, you know, under two under three hundred
people in there, but I knew every single person that
was in there, and it felt like we were all connected.
(10:52):
So I wouldn't call it a hobby. I do. I
really feel like I was I was destined to do. Absolutely,
it was a true calling because it doesn't happened without
without the exact people that were in there that made
it feel like a club got it because we had
all hung out together. Like I had never used Instagram live,
so going live, all of my friends were like, yo,
(11:12):
what is he doing? Like? And then when I was
there playing the music, I saw everyone that I knew,
whether it was a chuck bone or whether it was
you know, I don't even know. I mean, it was
just like all my friends Tony, Like it was just
great to see and we all felt connected. And then
I did it again the next day, and then it
just kind of took off.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
I love that you comment that you feel it's your
mission not to just provide music for the people who needed,
but to provide a community quote.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
That's that's a pretty powerful statement.
Speaker 3 (11:43):
Yes, because it look before a club quarantine, I was,
I was pretty successful, you know, like I've had a
great recording career, you know, flex flex, But no, I
had a great you know, it kind of ended prematerially
because I just I started so young, and then I
was considered old school at such a young age. And
(12:04):
when we started, hip hop was still kind of in
its infancy, so there was no real no one knew
what like a fifty year old artist was going to
look like, you know, a hip hop artist, R and
B pop. Yes, but because hip hop was still like
a young genre, you know, it was almost like out
of sight, out of mind, which was the best thing
that happened to me because it forced me to go
(12:25):
back and learn other things that still felt creative that
I could do without ever having to depend on the
record company, which which became web development. I built a
lot of websites for people, from the Diary of Alicia
Keys to any Linux, to Luther Vandros to at and
T like I built a lot of those sites early on,
and my love of photography started there. And when I
(12:47):
circled back to music, you know, I was already doing
my thing with that, and when I circled back to music,
it became more about love and less about I need
to pay my bills with music, so I was able
to do other things. You know. I was able to
DJ and take one hundred and fifty dollars to DJ
for six hours. I mean, I wouldn't do that now,
but the work that you're fell in love with with
(13:09):
the music, which and it's so funny. I had a
gig recently. It was Beyonce's forty first birthday party, and
and initially, like I was invited, like, hey, you wants
you to come? And I just jokingly was like, oh wait,
what's the theme? Always roller skating theme. I was like,
oh man, I should have been playing that. And two
(13:29):
days later, p really wants you to play. I was like,
all right, I don't do a set, and they're like, no,
she wants you to play for six hours. I was like,
no way, by playing for six hours? You kidding me?
And then but when I went to the party, I
literally had a playlist prepared I was like, I'm going
to play this when I was setting, then I'm skating.
(13:50):
By the time I started, and when I finally looked
at my phone to see what time it was, I'd
already played for five hours.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
Oh my gosh, and having that much it was.
Speaker 3 (14:00):
That much fun playing the music.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
I love it.
Speaker 3 (14:03):
And it reminded me of when I started playing music,
when it wasn't about how, you know, if it was
a high profile gig or you know, it was about
the love of music and wasn't about massage and egos.
When an artist walks into a club, everyone goes crazy
and play all their music. Yo. She did not want
to hear anything old other than she only wanted to
(14:23):
hear the songs from a new album and music that
felt like disco and like I was like, that was
my lane playing those songs and then every now and
then throwing her song and it was light work. It
was like, this is what I'm talking about that, you know,
but I still of the music, and I think that's it.
People can feel that when I play music.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
I agree, I totally agree.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
I got to ask, what is it like to DJ
for Beyonce and our former favorite president and first Lady
baraka Michelle Obama in their home for his sixtieth birthday party.
Speaker 3 (14:58):
What the hell was amazing his sixtieth birthday party? First
of all, like they are very you know, like musical
music loving family and it's not about just the classics.
You know, you could throw the stinky leg and Michelle's dance,
you know, because that's what it is from Chicago. Black
(15:20):
people from Chicago be very clear about that. But no,
they are, they are awesome. You know. They never give me,
They've never given me guidelines. The only thing that that
they want to make sure is that their kids have
a good time. That's always his thing. Even at his
own birthday party, he was like, I was like, hey man,
(15:40):
what do you want to hear? He was like, I
just want to make sure my kids dance. That's so.
That's that's like when you hear something like that, it's
like a guy who he really is exactly who he
shows you. He really is that guy. He's a special guy,
and so is his wife and his kids. You know,
I've have DJ Michelle's book tour parties and you know,
I've DJ Sasha Emily Is both of their twenty first
(16:03):
birthday parties to Rock sixtieth and the inaugural ball for
you know, his second inaugural ball to one of the
second to the last party before he left left the
White House.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
You know.
Speaker 3 (16:14):
And it's been I've been pretty fortunate to to just
be able to be one of the people to provide
like that soundtrack for them.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
That's so cool.
Speaker 1 (16:23):
A nice little nugget to have on your resume.
Speaker 2 (16:25):
CV not too shabby.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
At one point, you said you stopped DJing for a
while and started building websites and shooting photography. Did you
take any classes to in any of those feels to
improve your performance as a photographer or as.
Speaker 3 (16:43):
A web developer? Yeah, I just I learned web development
by you know, just buying books and reading. You know,
if you know how to produce music, and you know
how to work these computers. Like it's all the same.
It's just code. And I taught myself how to read code.
Now forography was something different. Photography was Wait a minute,
Wait a.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
Minute, You taught yourself how to read code.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
Yes, I can write code like I can. I mean
I can't write HTML five now, but HTML four like
you know back there. I haven't built the website in
a very long time, Like DJ took off, I didn't
look back. But yeah, I was writing code, writing flash
and yeah, man, like that's that was. I was a
nerdy kid, you know. I just fell in love with you. No,
(17:29):
not too bad, not too bad. Photography I went to
school for. I went to school for photography while I
was building websites. I just wanted to I was photographed
by Not to say it was a solo photoshoot. I
was one of many hip hop artists that was uh
that participated in one of Gordon Park's last shoots, which
(17:49):
was a great Dan Harlem where he photographed like all
of the hip hop artists and he was recreating that
that famous jazz photograph that was like in heart they
were all on the stoops and and he did that
with hip hop artists for Double Excel magazine. And to
look at a man who you know, at the time,
(18:10):
I think he transitioned when he was in like his nineties,
so that was probably like his late seventies. To look
at someone that was in his seventies that still loved
exactly what it was that they that they did. I
was like, man, I want to be like that. Wow,
And because you know, I felt like my hip hop
career had ended prematorily, I didn't have anything tangible to
show the world, you know, like, oh, this is what
(18:31):
I did back in the day, like because because I
wasn't shooting as much as I shoot now, and when
I did shoot, I didn't respect the negative. I thought like, oh,
just get these printed, and then I had like a
copy of it. I don't even know whatever happened to
the negative. So when that was when my rap career
was over and I had a chance, a second chance
to see in the world, I was like, I'm going
(18:51):
to do it the right way. And I also want
to be respected by photographers. So I went to a
school in New York City called the International Center of Photography.
I did like a year, a little bit over a
year there, and yeah, I just I wanted to be respected,
you know, like you got it.
Speaker 1 (19:08):
What started your interest in photography?
Speaker 2 (19:11):
You remember, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (19:12):
It was it was Gordon Parks. I mean when I
first picked up the camera, you know, it was just
fun to just take pictures, but it was Gordon Parks,
Like meeting him, that's what really, like wow, sparked me
wanting to know how to shoot.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
We're here with d nice We're going to take a
short break and be right back at you. Welcome back, everybody.
We are here with the masterful DJ D Nice.
Speaker 2 (19:40):
Do you remember your first camera.
Speaker 3 (19:43):
First camera I bought with my own money was it
was a Canon Yas three because I bought that. I
bought that while I was working on the website for
a client and I didn't like the images that they
were using, and I asked them to pad the budget
with the enough money so I can hire a photographer.
I didn't hire a photographer. I use the money to
(20:05):
buy a camera and then I photograph. Yeah, I photograph
the model guy in the middle of Central Park. It
was a Canon Yas three.
Speaker 1 (20:12):
I love it.
Speaker 3 (20:13):
Do you still have that camera? No? No, I have
the cameras man. Yeah, that would have been fun. But no.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
Well, these days with cell phone cameras, everybody considers themselves
a photographer.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
What do you think separates.
Speaker 1 (20:25):
A true photographer for someone who just takes cell phone pictures?
Speaker 3 (20:29):
Well, one, and I don't diss the art of like
cell phone pictures because you know, at the end of
the day, you want to be able to capture the moment. Yes,
but the difference between you capture the moment and hoping
that you capture the moment. Like when you shoot with
a camera, you have full control over it. And I
know I can maneuver with this camera without looking at anything.
(20:51):
I know what light I know, you know lighting that
I need or whatever stop I need to use, or
what shutter speed. But like your cell phone cameras, just
you know, you just pick it up and just yeah,
I like creating images.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
Well, I see all these huge billboards with incredible photos
taken with a cell phone. How do you rate that
kind of picture with these modern cameras to an actual
camera that uses film as opposed to is that a
digital camera?
Speaker 2 (21:18):
Is that with film?
Speaker 3 (21:19):
This is a digital camera. This is Alika M eleven.
This is the latest digital camera for one. It's a
beautiful It looks really very very classic old schools. You know.
It's their old school body that they're known for when
they started like doing thirty five milimeter cameras. Yes, and
this is a fifty millimeter lens. This is uh F
(21:39):
two point zero. I actually bought this lens in Germany
at their headquarters where they made it. You know, they
invited me out there. You are so special. Yeah, no,
Lenny Kravis is the one that was special. They flew
me out there because he was launching his camera with Laika,
and I was like, I can't be on the property
of you know, the company that I love without buying something.
(22:02):
And then they gifted me this camera. What this is new?
And it has a quote on it. Quote is the
last quote that my one of my best friends posted
on his Instagram before he transitioned, and the quote is
be inspired. And the quote the reason why I love
(22:23):
this quote was because he was one of the guys
that kept telling me anytime I hung out with him
in the studio, he was like, bring your camera, bring
your camera. So this quote is the last quote of
the legendary Heavy d Ah. So it's inscribed on the camera.
Speaker 1 (22:38):
This was Wow, that's a great story.
Speaker 3 (22:41):
Yeah, that's why I said, man, life is life is
so divine. You never know how you can inspire someone
with not just one passion, but like just being who
you are, just being passionate about life in general.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
It's a good It's a good way to show your
life as opposed to tell people how to live life.
Just show them that's and live your best life as
an example.
Speaker 2 (23:02):
Yes, I love that.
Speaker 1 (23:03):
So at this point, do you go out looking for
interesting subjects to photograph or is it just about having
your camera being ready?
Speaker 2 (23:10):
Johnny on the Spot type.
Speaker 3 (23:11):
Yes, it's about having my camera ready. I don't. I
haven't gone out to like shoot as much as I
used to, Right, you know, I'm constantly DJing. I use.
I tend to use my cell phone a lot more
these days. I mean, these new cameras are pretty good. Yeah,
you know, I can't lie. There are They do a
lot of the work for you. But there's still something
just magical about picking up an actual camera. Right.
Speaker 1 (23:33):
You can't control a iPhone. You can't, you know, stop
f stop on the iPhone.
Speaker 3 (23:38):
You can you can figure that out though. There are
ways to do it, but it's still not it's not
this now.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
Do you still use film?
Speaker 3 (23:45):
That's this one is digital? But I also have the film,
the film version of it, And then I also use
like I'll shoot with like disposable cameras, and then I
have I have two Polaroid SX SX seventy cameras. They
use all like just you know, polaroid film, and I
love it. I love it.
Speaker 1 (24:05):
Do you manipulate the actual photograph and the polaroid with
your with your fingers and.
Speaker 3 (24:11):
You can do all of that dark room edits like everything.
So a lot of times, like when I shoot, a
lot of times, you know, you can have like you
can shoot with like black and white film when you're
polaroid that will still give you like that polaroid instantly, Yes,
but it comes with an actual negative, which is rare
for a polaroid. So you peel it off and then
(24:33):
you have to put it in like a solution and
like allow it to dry out, and then you have
an actual polaroid for it.
Speaker 2 (24:40):
Oh my goodness.
Speaker 3 (24:40):
So I tend to use that a lot, a lot
less than I used to in the past. But in
the past that was like a major thing. You know,
like when you see like some of these black and
white images and you'll still see like a border around them.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
Yes, yes, like that's from That's what that is.
Speaker 3 (24:58):
Yes, Yes, that or from like it could be from
a medium format camera or I love that vibe that
entire look kind of weathered look.
Speaker 2 (25:08):
And you know what I was speaking of weathered.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
I like what I learned something that they called sloppy borders,
where it's just sort of nebulous and weird on the ends,
no real frame but just sort of wobbly. I love that,
did you You know, you hear audio files and music
producers often compare the sound quality of analogs versus digital.
(25:31):
Is that the same kind of thing with photography totally?
Speaker 3 (25:35):
You can so there is a warmth that you get
from from actually shooting with film. You know, like you
can try to emulate it with like digital grain because
there are some apps that can kind of like you
can apply the app and it'll make it look like film,
but it's still not film. It's not the grain of film,
like the beauty of like shooting like low light with
(25:57):
like you know, slow film is so you can get
the grain and the grittiness, and you know, digital is
just super clean, and it's it's you know, similar to
like using an MP three versus pulling that vinyl oilt.
MP three is beautiful. You can still dance to the music,
you can sing along, but when you put that needle
on the record and you hear those the popping sound,
(26:19):
it's like that's love, that's art, so you know, and
it's hard to get that no matter which camera or
phone you're using. On the digital side.
Speaker 1 (26:30):
I love that as a professional photographer, you've shot campaigns
for the likes of Nike America's Next Top Model, Hannessy
and many more. Do you still consider photography as a hobby?
Speaker 3 (26:46):
No, No, I haven't. I haven't felt like photography was
my hobby since I started, you know, you know in
the early two thousands. Once I went to school for it,
it was no longer a hobby, got it because I immediately
started shooting for for campaigns. So like one of my
first my first photo shoot, my first two photo shoots
(27:09):
happened because of a gentleman named Chris Lighty Chris Lidie
used to be. He was one of my best friends.
But he was a music manager for like fifty cent
Mariah Puff yeah mob deep, And he invited me to
his wedding. And you know, at the time, I really
didn't have like a lot of money to buy the
types of gifts that you would give a Chris Lighty.
You know, we were registered I remember, like an ABC carpet.
(27:32):
Everything was expensive in there. So what I did was
I was just at the wedding.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
They were registered at a carpet store.
Speaker 3 (27:37):
No, so ABC carpet was like it wasn't just a
carpet store. They had furniture and it was like all imported, OK,
so it was like really really kind of like a
lead furniture and like super high end, one of a
kind pieces. So it wasn't just a carpet store. That
was just the name of it. Got it. And they
(27:57):
were located I think like on nineteenth Reading Broadway in
New York City, like super dope. And but when I
went to his wedding, I just took pictures and then
as a gift, I gave him, uh, you know, album,
a photo album.
Speaker 2 (28:11):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (28:11):
And he called me back and he was like, bro,
you should be doing this professionally. I was like, no,
I'm good. He was like, no, you got to do
this professionally. So the very first actually the first it
was the first photo shoot that he gave me was
one of fifty cents rebound campaigns and yeah that was
I was like, oh, wow, I could do this and
uh And I never looked back, so I wouldn't. I
(28:32):
never considered photography on a hobby. Good.
Speaker 2 (28:35):
That's that's good stuff.
Speaker 3 (28:37):
Man.
Speaker 2 (28:37):
Have a quick question.
Speaker 1 (28:39):
Have you ever shot an album cover or a photo
shoot for another recording artist?
Speaker 3 (28:45):
Yes, I shot an album cover for Taylan Kwali for
Carl Thomas, uh and what else? I think those were
the only two. No, No, Parrol manch I was doing
a lot of hip hop stuff. Nice because you know
those are my guys and and uh, we're having fun
doing it. I still feel like I'm missing something because
it's it's been so long since I actually was shooting
(29:05):
on that level. Those those were like early two thousands.
But like campaigns, yeah, man, I've had fun shooting campaigns,
but artists are like my love, you know, like when
I when I I always wanted to when DJ and
took off, I still wanted to shoot. But photography requires
(29:26):
when you're shooting campaigns or you're shooting album cover for someone,
it requires a lot of time. Yes, you know, you
gotta set up the photo shoot. You need to you know,
just kind of like submit what you want this photoshoot
to be, like, you know, submit your treatments, then actually
shoot it. Then you got to select the images, and
then it was a whole process where I could just
do one DJ gig and be done with it and
(29:47):
I'm good. So I decided that I was you know,
I wasn't going to like focus on campaigns. All I
wanted to do was to document hip hop culture and
to document like my journey and then to one day
have like photo exhibitions, you know. And you know, so
I have images with everyone that I actually shot all
(30:07):
over the world, whether it's Mary J. Blige and South Africa,
you know, puff while we're in Copenhagen or being out
in Dubai, and you know, shooting all over the world
photograph and John Legend, you know, I got a funny
John Legend story. And I ran into his managers and
I was going to Atlanta to do a show, and
I was in the Delta lounge and I was like
(30:29):
trying to rush and then call the car service. I
didn't want to wait outside, so I was like, all right,
I'm waiting here for the car to arrive. Then I
saw his manager in there and he was like, oh,
you come here for a show. Well, we're performing tonight
in Canada. I was like, man, I should fly to tomorrow.
I got a day off. He's like, come on, just
fly up. I left my passport, but I had like
my passport card, and I wanted this photograph of John
(30:52):
Legend in a different country, like because every artist I
wanted to have like a different story. So I did
my gig in Atlanta. I booked a flight to to Buffalo.
I flew to Buffalo, rented a car, and then I
drove over the border. Whoa it was literally the next day,
drove over the border, went to John's show, took one
that was like a two and a half hour drive.
Took maybe five pictures of John because John was like,
(31:15):
are you ready? Are just do it? And he's like
holding this cup of tea after this performance, walking down
this narrow hallway, admiring all the artists that the performers
that were there in the past, and the way I
shot the perspective. You don't see the photographs. It's a
black and white picture and it's like this crazy perspective.
And I was done and I was like all right, cool,
(31:35):
and John looked at me. He was like, wait you
you went through all of this to take like a
couple of photographs. And I was like, bro, Like if
you when you're a photographer, it's like you want to
tell the story. Like I'm not trying to have a
photo show. I just wanted the story. The story is
just as important as the image that I captured.
Speaker 2 (31:54):
You know, like, was he happy with the image?
Speaker 3 (31:56):
Oh, he's never seen it. Most of the artists have
never seen the images. A whole three city and you know,
in South Africa with Mary, Mary, you know, we were
playing spades at her house and she saw my camera
sitting similar to where it is now. She was like,
you take pictures. You should come to South Africa. I
was like, all right, cool, Wow, that's how that happened.
(32:17):
I went to South Africa with her. And then we're
in this prayer circle, in the prayer circle in like Durban,
and she was praying, and then I thought of it.
I was like, this is the moment, and I let
the hands go and I just stepped back and I
took this picture of her praying and black and white
and all you see it like these shadows of people
and Mary just praying. And it was like, oh my god,
(32:39):
it's about I have more fun doing that and showing,
you know, our artists in the way that we actually
see them, you know.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
So I can't wait for this book.
Speaker 1 (32:51):
This is a coffee table book in the making that
we're here with d Nice. We're going to take a
short break and be right back at you. Welcome back, everybody.
We are here with the masterful DJ D Nice By
(33:12):
following you on Instagram, I always get inspired when I
see you spending time with your daughters. Yes, oh my god,
I grew up a daddy lists daughter, so I didn't
have a kind of relationship with my father as you
have with your children. And I'm sure because of that,
your daughters will not be on the pole. Your daughters
will be respectable, and they will choose men that are
(33:35):
like their father and treat them the way their father
treated them. I have the utmost respect for a man,
especially a Black man, who stays present in his children's lives,
because so many black fathers are absent, including my own.
Describe the joy you feel when you're hanging out with
(33:56):
your daughters.
Speaker 3 (33:58):
With my daughters, it's it's always a pleasant time, and
there are always moments of being dad. And now that
I have a twenty six year old, so like I'm
more than just dad with her, Like you know, she's
my friend, you know, you know, my daughter has been
like both of my kids, but initially, like my oldest
daughter was, was my source of inspiration in terms of
(34:19):
like trying to make sure that I do the right
thing to be a great provider, you know, and not
just providing things, but like I'm a flawed man, you know.
I think we all are. We're all flawed people. It
wouldn't absolutely not, you know. And I've learned from growing
(34:39):
up without having a relationship with my father. And it's
pretty interesting how this happens too. Where I initially wanted
to be a different type of father because I didn't
want to be like my father. And as I got
you know, you know, got a little older, it kind
of switched for me. I wanted to be a great
(34:59):
father because I wanted to be a great father to
my kids, not because I was comparing myself to what
someone else did. And it took a long time to
learn that. And you know, those lessons are very important
because if you tend to just not want to be
like someone else, then you do things for your kids
that are unnecessary. You try to give them things because
no one gave you.
Speaker 2 (35:19):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (35:19):
Yes, I didn't want to be that way, you know.
Like I had an experience with my youngest daughter, she's eleven.
Just the other day, I was I was traveling back,
I was doing a show out and I was performing
out and Cartagena and on the plane and she texted
me and she's like, you know, Dad, can you get
me these sweatpants? And I was like, all right, cool,
(35:40):
just let me know which ones you want. And then
when I was on a plane, I looked at the
price of them and I was like, kid's eleven talking
about buying five pier sweats that are one hundred and
fifty dollars each. I was like, I'm not doing that,
like that, that's crazy, but I will buy one. And
then here's the lesson. The lesson is i'd just recently
(36:04):
gotten her this card card, the green Light card where
it's for kids. It's like a debit card for kids,
and it's based on chores and like you do your homework,
you know, maybe make a dollar, well five dollars a
week or whatever, like whatever, you know, whatever value you
put to it. And I said to her when I
return home and we were in the car, and I
(36:24):
was like, look, I am not buying you five pair
of sweats four hundred and fifty dollars. I will buy
you one because you've been doing extremely well in school.
But if you want to buy more, then you have
to do this to continue earning money and to use
your own card, Like I can't tell you what to
do with your money. Yeah, I'm just not buying five
here of like one hundred and fifty dollars sweats.
Speaker 2 (36:44):
So she can't tell you what to do with your money.
Speaker 3 (36:46):
I love that, but it was just like you just
find like these teachable moments for the kids.
Speaker 1 (36:51):
Do any of your daughters share your interest in photography?
Speaker 3 (36:55):
No, My oldest daughter is an attorney. She's practicing real
ESTs low right now. And then my youngest daughter, she's
into sports.
Speaker 1 (37:04):
Nice athletics. What what sport is she into?
Speaker 3 (37:07):
I mean right now she's playing volleyball, basketball, all the ball, tennis,
and every now and then she'll go out and she'll
play golf.
Speaker 2 (37:16):
What.
Speaker 1 (37:18):
I love her. What's her name?
Speaker 3 (37:20):
Little uppity knitters in the making. Her name is Dylan.
My oldest daughter is actually my youngest is Dylan.
Speaker 2 (37:29):
Do either them knit or crochet?
Speaker 3 (37:31):
No?
Speaker 2 (37:32):
Do you think they would like to learn? I would
love to teach them.
Speaker 3 (37:34):
Hey, I mean, who can say no to you?
Speaker 1 (37:37):
I love it.
Speaker 2 (37:38):
Talk to my husband. He'll let you know. You've made
it known that you are a very spiritual person. Do
you practice meditation?
Speaker 3 (37:48):
That's actually a recent thing before the before the pandemic,
I took like a few guided meditation classes. I didn't
understand how to slow these things down, slow down the movements.
And but just recently I started to take more classes
with someone more one on one, and I'm, you know,
I still haven't mastered it, which I don't know if
(38:10):
you can ever master it, but like, I still haven't
figured out how to like slow these things down. And
part of it is because I am truly excited about life,
you know, when you I mean, I know that I
need to do that because you know, there needs to
be some balance in your life. But the thing that
when you truly love what you do and you know
that you you matter to people, you kind of overextend
(38:34):
yourself sometimes, you know, like because I know, especially during
like pandemic and now that the world is open or reopened,
you know, some people still have a hard time getting
like reacclimated to what life used to be. Like it's
never gonna be same. So I happen to love what
I'm doing for people. So when I wake up, I
(38:55):
just want to play music and then I want to
go do shows and like keep people inspired. But I
do need to find like balance and like part of
that balance and with with is becoming more grounded with
with the universe and with God, and then also to
just meditate. And you can't you can't be great for
someone else. If you can't, can't be great for you.
Speaker 2 (39:15):
That's right, That's so right. That was a great answer.
Speaker 3 (39:19):
My career as a rap artist didn't go the way
that I thought it would would have, you know, like
you know when you I was a part of like
an iconic group, but I wasn't the lead rapper. It
was a rapper named Charis One. So he was so prolific, Yeah,
cares and you know, so all eyes were on him. Yeah,
and everyone else was the secondary, you know, like and
(39:42):
so no, my creator didn't go. But it was the
best thing for me because because I love where I
am in my life right now, and it was because
I was forced to find other ways to be creative,
and so I have no regrets. And even before c Q,
I still had no regrets because I was like, all right,
I was an in demand, you know, I was like
(40:03):
one of the top indieman private events, private event DJs.
Now I'm kind of more mainstream, more of a household
name kind of vibe because of what happened. But even
without that, I was happy just doing my super Bowl
event or playing you know, playing you know an Oscar,
a pre Oscar event or maybe a post Oscar event.
(40:24):
Now here we are. After that, I was like I
was the music on the on the Academy Awards, you know,
and like that's a different you know, I know, you've
been nominated for an Academy Award and like two, I'm sorry,
let me take that back too. She threw the douce up.
She chucked me with the deuce. She was like, hold
on down, don't forget my other one. But there's no that.
(40:47):
That's like a crazy feeling of like it is being
in that room, like just being there and looking around
like wait, like I'm here, yeah, you know, like I
saw a picture of me like just before the show started.
In my eyes, I look like a deer in the
headlights because I was just overwhelmed, like like wait, I'm
providing all of the music every time someone walked out,
(41:11):
like it's me selecting these songs. But you know, none
of that happens without the entire journey.
Speaker 2 (41:16):
That's so true. You would have been ready no moment.
Speaker 3 (41:19):
No, it doesn't happen without the entire journey.
Speaker 2 (41:23):
I love it.
Speaker 3 (41:23):
You know.
Speaker 1 (41:24):
One of the reasons I developed my podcast is to
encourage my listeners to think outside the box, to use
their imaginations, and not to be afraid to explore new
things in their lives. Do you have any words of
encouragement for those people who maybe feeling kind of stuck
in a rut in their careers or their lives at
this moment listening to your voice.
Speaker 3 (41:47):
Yeah, you know, like the advice I would give was
a piece of advice given to me by my uncle.
He's probably in his nineties now, and it was when
I was trying to figure out life after music and
I kind of wanted to get back involved with the
music industry after being away for like it close to
a decade, but I wasn't. Even though I was building
(42:07):
websites and those things provided me with you know a
little bit of like income and I was able to
provide for my family, it didn't fully make me happy.
Music makes me happy. And when I when I reached
out to him, you know, he was like one of
the few men that I was able to talk to,
and I said to him, it's like, you know, I
(42:29):
had this idea where I wanted to take it back
involved in music. And he shared a story with me.
You know, I can't quote it verbatim.
Speaker 2 (42:37):
But give us the gist.
Speaker 3 (42:39):
Yes, the gist of the story was he was like, hey,
when I was younger, I had a chance to play
in the Negro leagues, and because he and my aunt
were having a child, he decided to get into going
to the military to provide for his family. And he said,
you know, he was a really good baseball player, you know,
around the time when Jackie Robinson and that whole crew,
(43:00):
like he was, he was around there, and he made
the choice to get into going to the military. And
even though he loved his life and he had an
amazing life, you know, own his home. They're still married
and married for like seventy years, which is something beautiful
to be able to like have a partner that long. Wow.
But he said he never knew what his life could
(43:21):
have been like had he also followed his passion. You know.
He was like, you never want to live a life
of regret, you know, so I always try to inspire
people to to do what you love. You know, money
will come, Yes, do what you love, you know, like
you know some people look at what happened with me
is overnight, but you only you can only say that
if you don't know my story.
Speaker 1 (43:42):
Right, don't you hate that?
Speaker 3 (43:44):
No, I don't get pay anymore. I'm like no, If
that's then that means that you haven't done your homework.
If you think thirty years, five years and this business
is overnight, I'm wrong with you. You know I need.
Speaker 1 (43:57):
Help, So please let our audience know what you currently
have going on in your life, like what's next for
d Nice?
Speaker 3 (44:05):
You know, I'm actually what I've what I've been doing
now is taking this CQ into like the live space,
but I'm doing it a little different, you know, differently
where it's not just about having someone perform with me.
A lot of the shows that I've been selling out recently,
whether it's you know, the Carnegie Hall or or the
Kennedy Center Opera House, is because I've kind of like
(44:26):
combined like an orchestra with DJ and the performers coming out.
Speaker 2 (44:31):
It's a great idea.
Speaker 3 (44:33):
So like when you hear you know, when you think
about and it's not even just having like a Melbourne Moore,
hopefully you come and join us for a show like
you know, Hope, I really want you to come and
join us for a show.
Speaker 2 (44:45):
We have that recorded right.
Speaker 3 (44:47):
Yeah. Absolutely, But it's like not even just about having
like some of my favorite R and B performers, it's
also about having like taking a hardcore hip hop act
and putting an orchestra behind them. Wow. Like Jada and
Styles p of the Locks are hardcore New York City
hip hop. But they have this song called we Gonna
Make It and the song the sample is believe it's
(45:10):
like Michael Samuel's music. I can't remember the name of it,
but but they're like these strings in it. But obviously
they sampled it to put them on stage at Carnegie
Hall with this orchestra recreating that song but hardcore hip
hop wearing tuxedos was like it was incredible lovely. Yeah.
(45:34):
So like when you think about that, like this is
the first time that a DJ and anything hip hop
related ever headlined the opera house.
Speaker 1 (45:43):
Yeah, outside the box like a.
Speaker 3 (45:46):
Man, you know. So, like my whole mission is to
take to take to bring hip hop and DJ culture
with an orchestra to like some of the most iconic
venues all over the world.
Speaker 2 (45:58):
Good for you. Well, finally, uh.
Speaker 1 (46:01):
We like to end this show with a little segment
where I asked my guests to share something that happened
to them or something someone said or did that came
to them as a shock or a surprise. We call
this segment neda what what say?
Speaker 2 (46:20):
You d nice jeez?
Speaker 3 (46:22):
Without naming any names, I don't want to do that.
Speaker 2 (46:24):
You don't have to do that.
Speaker 3 (46:25):
But there was there was someone who like in my business,
who you know, I still have a lot of respect
for him because he was this SEEO, a record company
that I was a part of, you know, back in
the day. And I remember him calling me and saying like,
who would have ever thought you would be here still
(46:46):
doing your thing? And that to me was like that
was my my nittle what what?
Speaker 1 (46:51):
Like?
Speaker 2 (46:52):
You should have been dead long ago?
Speaker 3 (46:53):
That was me.
Speaker 1 (46:54):
He was insinuating that you should have been.
Speaker 3 (46:56):
Over No, that I should have been over over exactly,
and you're still here and I'm still here and it
was just like mittle what Like, Yeah, I'm here because
I believe in myself and also because what I do
resonates with people, and they believe in they uplift me,
and it's my job to uplift other people you know,
So that was my knitter what moment.
Speaker 2 (47:16):
I love it.
Speaker 3 (47:17):
Thank you so much, Dave for having me.
Speaker 2 (47:19):
It's been great.
Speaker 1 (47:20):
Thanks so much for joining us on The Uppitty Knitter
Podcast with d Nice, a show where your favorite celebrities
talk about their unusual hobbies.
Speaker 2 (47:29):
Join us next time. Until then, do what makes you happy.
Speaker 3 (47:32):
Right, d Absolutely. The Uppity Knitter Podcast is brought to
you by Black Chick Productions. Our show was hosted by
Sayida Garrett. Our producer is Eric Nurie, and we're recorded
and edited by Felicia Morris at Marris Media Studios in
Los Angeles. Special thanks go out to our friends at
iHeartMedia and Seneca Women
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