DJ D-Nice will usher in 2025 spinning at the Walt Disney Concert Hall — and he’s bringing along a list of friends.
Starting at 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 31, Club Quarantine and DJ D-Nice will perform behind Next, Big Daddy Kane, Case, Kenny Burns, Estelle, Jon B., Tweet, Lady London, Mike Phillips, Nice & Smooth, Johnny Gill, all hosted by Tisha Campbell.
“I’m excited to bring this whole show,” he said. “It’s the way that I DJ. I play all types of music and different genres and mix it up. To bring the songs to life with the actual artists is incredible.
“I’m literally trying to make this one big party.”
D-Nice — born Derrick Jones 54 years ago — began his career in the mid-1980s with the hip-hop group Boogie Down Productions. He continued to make music, and then, in March 2020 he created Homeschool at Club Quarantine on Instagram Live from his home.
His nine-hour dance party on March 21 attracted the likes of Rihanna, Dwyane Wade, Joe Biden, Fab Five Freddy and Michelle Obama. For his efforts, he won the 2020 Webby Award for the Artist of the Year in the category of Special Achievement; an honoree recipient for the Shine a Light Award during the 2020 BET Awards; Entertainer of the Year at the 52nd NAACP Image Award; and the ASCAP Voice of Culture Award.
Since then, his Instagram followers have swelled to 2.6 million. That led to his New Year’s Eve party.
Gill, he said, was the first person on his list to invite.
“It was really because of his music,” the DJ said. “I still remember when his self-titled album came out. It was the one album where he collaborated with LA and Babyface, and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Those songs resonated with me so deeply. I wanted to do shows with him.
“One day on Instagram Live, someone I know called Johnny Gill and he jumped on my Instagram Live. I wanted to pay homage to someone we all know and love. For me to do that was to talk about those songs, spinning them live.”
Gill reached out to DJ D-Nice and he accepted.
“The beauty of it is, to me, this is the vibe that kept us smiling, especially during the darkest time in our lives,” he said. “I was playing a lot of throwbacks. Now I’m doing it live with the actual artist.
“We’re about to go into 2025 and it maybe a little challenging, but hopefully we’ll keep this vibe going.”
For D-Nice, however, his life isn’t only about music. He loves photography and being able to do something he loves.
“I just wake up and do something good for people,” he said. “It’s amazing.”
D-Nice said as he grows older, he doesn’t want to have any regrets. When he thought his hip-hop career was over, he called his uncle and told him what he wanted to do.
“He told me that when he was younger, he had the opportunity to play in the Negro League,” he said. “He didn’t get the chance to do so because he and my aunt were pregnant. He went into the military.
“He never knew what his life would have been life if he played baseball. I don’t want to have any regrets. When I turned 50 during 2020, I didn’t want to turn 50 feeling like I was just a DJ.
“I really relish in the fact that I did so many things in my life. I have no regrets. It literally just brings me so much joy in knowing that I’m still making people happy.”
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