D Nice

Derrick Jones, better known by his stage name D-Nice, is an American disc jockey, beatboxer, rapper, producer, and photographer who began his career in the mid-1980s with the hip-hop group Boogie Down Productions. At age 15, he met Scott La Rock and later formed Boogie Down Productions along with KRS-One in 1986. He gained significant popularity when he produced the “Self-Destruction” song for the Stop the Violence Movement, and after the song released, he signed a solo deal with Jive Records, releasing his debut studio album called “Call Me D-Nice” in 1990. The album peaked at #75 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums and #12 on the Billboard Top Black Albums chart. He released his second studio album in 1991, titled “To tha Rescue”. He began working as a photographer in the 2000s while still DJing, and shot the album covers for Carl Thomas’ 2007 album “So Much Better”, Pharoahe Monch’s 2011 album “W.A.R. (We Are Renegades)”, and Kenny Lattimore’s 2017 album, “Vulnerable”. In March 2020, D-Nice began hosting “Homeschool at Club Quarantine” on Instagram from his home as a way for people to commune and help others cope with the pandemic. It drew over 100,000 viewers, including Rihanna, Lenny Kravitz, Fab Five Freddy, Michelle Obama, Mark Zuckerberg, Donnie Wahlberg, and Angela Bassett. D-Nice won the 2020 Webby Artist of the Year in the category Special Achievement. He also was one of the Honoree Recipients for the “Shine A Light” Award during the 2020 BET Awards for his contributions.