Words by: Andres Reyes
Derrick Jones, better known as D-Nice, is one of the most versatile and forward thinking minds in modern hip hop, but you might not realize it considering his last official album as a rap artist came out nearly two decades ago. “My last record came out in 1991 on Jive, after that I kind of left the industry for a minute.”
Many rappers have come and gone, but D-Nice wasn’t just some flash in the pan old school artist, heads will undoubtedly recognize the name D-Nice as an integral part of the classic Boogie Down Productions crew alongside the late great DJ Scott La Rock and living legend KRS-One. While he found success in the late 80’s as part of a group, his career as a solo artist seemed to stall after two records. He explains that his departure from the recording industry “stemmed from feeling like I was old-school at the age of 22. I was signed to Jive and the vibe of the industry was starting to shift to the Bad Boy’s and the Death Row’s and they didn’t believe that I would be able to sell records in that climate. It devastated me, no one wants to hear that you’re old and over at the age of 22.”
Though he took a leave of absence from the industry, it was only temporary and D-Nice’s return as a web developer would prove to be a rare display of industry innovation for the time. “I missed that feeling of being in the industry but I didn’t want to rap so web development was a way to get back involved. I could call Puff or Chris Lightly and I wasn’t pitching a demo, I was actually trying to help them sell their website through web sites when at the time people weren’t really trying to mess with web sites.” Soon after it seemed the doors of opportunity would open to D-Nice through other passions such as photography. “I started to get into photography after I left the industry because I felt like I didn’t have anything tangible to show my kids. I had traveled the world and seen all of these wonderful places and I wanted to be able inspire my daughter. So I decided that if I ever had the chance to travel the world again I would always have a camera with me.” After attending Chris Lightly’s wedding as a guest and taking his own amateur photos, the newly married Violator CEO was so impressed by D-Nice’s photography that he suggested he take the profession seriously and gave him his first professional photo shoot with then-newcomer Lil’ Scrappy.
Once he was firmly back in the industry, D-Nice found yet another avenue to incorporate his passions into his business by establishing himself as an in demand DJ. Currently managed by SKAM, D-Nice explains how he made the shift from DJ ing for fun to being booked all across the world, “I started to pay attention to DJ crews and a friend suggested I meet with the head of SKAM. We met and I explained that I’m not a typical DJ, I don’t do mix CD’s, I don’t even record my mixes. I wanted to be with a company that fully understood me and didn’t want to change me and could help enhance everything I’m capable of doing.”
Never one to rest, D-Nice also was one of the pioneers of incorporating blogging into the music industry. His blog (www.d-nice.com) was one of the first sites run by an artist to have regularly updated content in a time when most people didn’t know what a blog was. The story of D-Nice the rapper might have ended decades ago, but D-Nice the artist and entrepreneur seems to have a very long and prosperous career ahead of him.“I just recently added video to my blog, I have an offer from a network to do it as a show, I have a DVD deal on the table and this is all from doing things I love!”
