“Call Me D-Nice”: Lessons From The Perfect Storm That Brought #ClubQuarantine to the Masses
How a DJ Saved the Lives of Sheltered Americans and Created the World’s Largest Dance Party in the Comfort of Their Homes.
“this is not a vibe, its the culture” — Teedra Moses
Derrick ‘ D-Nice’ Jones is apart of hip hop royalty from its Golden era. If you have attended a black professional organization’s conference over the past decade, you have probably done the bus stop while he was spinning. D-Nice has evolved with the changing landscape of hip hop, including adopting some its newest tools. He isnt the first DJ to use the internet or social media to reach an audience of music junkies. I can remember Just Blaze doing recording session over the internet in 2006. Kid Kapri was holding virtual dance parties over the internet from 2016–2018. To quote the American poet laureate Sean Carter, regarding D-Nice’s digital predecessors, “They made it a hot line, but he made it a hot song.”
Starting the week of March 16th, and over the next seven days, D-Nice’s Homeschool party went from an intimate gathering of 200+ friends to stadium status by spinning for 160K listeners at its peak on Sunday evening. In a span of less than 24 hours, he tripled his Instagram following, going from 280K followers to having over 1 Millon. The phenomenon that was D-Nice’s 10 hour music marathon was the perfect convergence of how sharing your gift with the world, at the precise time, can pay off an investment that has been in the making for years. Lets walk though how D-Nice prepared for the moment to help make him the Resident DJ of #ClubQuarantine.
Know Your Audience Or You Have No Audience
It hasn't escaped me that the first time I saw D-Nice spin was probably at a hotel party during the Essence Festival weekend. Known as the “Party with a Purpose,” the Essence Festival is a yearly pilgrimage for forward thinking black women seeking to share their empowered souls with each other. Organizers have taken years to perfectly curate the Essence experience for its intended audience, from the sponsorship booth to the main stage artists. Its here (amongst other performances) that D-Nice learned the motivations and tastes of his primary listener. His audience mirrors the core demographics of the Essence festival:
Black women, 30 yrs old and up, likely a college graduate, and would make Beyonce Queen of America if it weren’t against the Constitution.
D-Nice understands that music directly translates to a specific moment in their lives, striking an emotional chord that will linger in their hearts. Chaka Khan’s “Im Every Woman” is someone’s soundtrack before a big business meeting. TLC’s “What About Your Friends” is the centerpiece of a Girls Trip to Atlanta. Music is a marker of time and D-Nice’s turntables have as much power as the keys to Marty McFly’s Delorean. Every transition is a time jump to a memory that sticks with his listener. D-Nice knows his audience and doesnt deviate from what his field research has taught him. Last Saturday’s Homeschool playlist was perfectly crafted to have a combination of 90s R&B, soul and funk records , and extended song runs from Chaka Khan and Janet Jackson. D-Nice hardly played any songs that were made after 2010. This was intentionally done to never lose the attention of his base, leaving them anxiously waiting for their next leap down memory lane. Understand your audience/customer. Consistent iteration of your product should be informed by the desires of your audience until its final form represents proven value to them.
Your Network Is Your Net Worth
If the typical Essence goer is D-Nice’s primary audience, then his secondary audience is his Rolodex of celebrities and influencers. By being the DJ of choice for weddings to conferences throughout the country, D-Nice has befriended A, B, & C — List stars whom later became his loudest fans. He’s done so by navigating a career arch that has ranged from being the toast of the town to being forced to reinvent himself. D-Nice started his career as a member of the legendary Boogie Down Productions, along side KRS-One and the last Scott La Rock. He experienced success as a member of the group and as a solo artist, starring in the Billboard #1 song “Self Destruction” in 1989. However, rap is a young man’s game. Fame is fleeting. As the tide of hip hop steered away from the boroughs of New York and began to explore greener pastures in other cities, D-Nice’s career took a humbling path over the next few years. He became a producer, photographer, and DJ as an outlet to exercise his creative pursuits. These new ventures allowed him to remain relevant in hip hop circles and add value to his existing relationships. In a world of instant gratification, Derrick fostered his relationships with entertainment’s taste makers by adding value in each interaction. D-Nice played the long game and began the process of cashing out on the relationships during his HomeSchool sets.
D-Nice spoke to Gayle King on Monday, where he outlined the progression of events that led to him shutting down the internet on Saturday night. He said that it initially began as a small gathering of friends listening to tracks on his laptop. The following day, he pulled out his turntables, and about 200 people started following his set. It was then that a lightbulb went off in D-Nice’s head, and he saw a potential tidal wave on the horizon. The next day, he decided to call Dave Chapelle about his parties, and the levees broke. More celebrities started to attend his virtual parties, including Drake and J.Lo. Realizing the full potential of his new venture, D-Nice linked with former athlete turned comedian Spice Adams to increase his reach by co broadcasting to Adam’s 1.8 million followers. All of these moves helped to build an initial following of a few hundred to over 20K in a matter of days. On Saturday’s record breaking session it was D-Nice’s initial call that landed the Forever First Lady, Michelle Obama in the comments and safely into the VIP section of the club. I watched in real time as the opportunity was being vetted by Obama’s trusted girlfriends. Gayle King entered to the soulful sounds of Luther Vandross singing about being a “Bad Boy.” Oprah was next, after being swiftly escorted past the velvet rope to her private section. It wasnt until I saw Valerie Jarrett peek behind the bouncer to see how packed the club was, that I realized there is a real chance that Michelle Obama would join the party tonight. Within minutes, FLOTUS was ushered to the dance floor, while being serenaded by the sounds of one of her favorite Beyonce songs. By the time the party was over, everyone from Rhianna to Mark Zuckerburg had their feet on the couches in VIP. Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden were arguing at the bar about which bourbon is better for the country. Mike Tyson was last seen challenging the bouncers to an arm wrestling contest. Relationships matter. Bringing value and relevancy to relationships, that have been nurtured over time, can yield fruitful returns at the right time.
Network Effects Are Built, Not Bought
Like most fledgling startups, DJs spend years crafting a curated library of music (quality product) that is tailored for their audience (customers), in hopes that they will consume and become advocates of their sets (sales). Every start up hopes to break through the noise of other small companies and become a unicorn that takes over the world by storm. They are all searching for the tipping point that will lift their product from being a cult classic to a blockbuster. Think about Facebook, when it was only reserved for a few key schools after its inception. Facebook took off when it added schools outside of the Ivy League, but it exploded once those without an .edu address demanded access to the platform. Facebook (which also owns Instagram) and D-Nice experienced what happens when a quality product and passionate audience combine to manifest explosive Network Effects. Network effect is when new, additional users signing up for a product or service increases its value and utility for current and future users. If a product or service has a network effect, its value and utility will increase as its user base grows. You probably didnt stop at #ClubQuarantine became you wanted to hear good music on Saturday night. Hundreds of other DJs were also hosting live mixes to other party-goers sheltering in place. You stopped at #ClubQuarantine because you saw the mentions on Facebook, someone sent you a text message, or you saw a friend dancing in their Face Time call to you. To put it another way, you saw that the line to the club was wrapped around the block, and decided you had to see what made it the most popular club on the strip. HomeSchool became a success because D-Nice’s base increased its growth and his star studded network contributed to exponentially increasing its value. A great example of this is HomeSchool regular and Academy nominated director Ava DuVernay. Ava is a member of D-Nice’s core Essence audience, was vocal about supporting his music selection during the HomeSchool set, and was probably the person he contacted to eventually get Michelle Obama into the club. Network Effects created the world’s largest virtual party, but it was built on D-Nice’s knowledge of his customers and utilization of his extensive network.
At this point in my life, I’ve come to the realization that adversity and tragedy can bring out the best and worst of people. In the face of the country’s current bout with adversity, we have two distinct choices. We can choose to become crippled by the looming horror of COVID-19 and be disenchanted by the thought of being prisoners of the moment in our own homes or we can decide to cease the moment, embrace our creative side, and sprinkle joy in all parts of our lives. Necessity is the mother of all invention. The world needed to sing. The world needed to dance. The world needed DJ D-Nice to create a platform for the largest dance party in the history of Al Gore’s internet. As he describes it, “HomeSchool is the great escape. It takes you away to another place through the shared love of music.”
Later in the week, I will put on my consultant hat and outline strategies D-Nice could use to maximize his pandemic stardom. If you want the sneak peek, just visit the highlight section of my Instagram @landonfranklin. The success of HomeSchool not only puts him in position to profit in the short term, but to maintain a higher profile in the entertainment industry for years to come.
