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DJ D-Nice has mastered the art of creating community through technology. Now, he has forged a partnership to continue these efforts for the greater good. According to a press release, D-Nice has become an investor in Simplicity Tech Inc. The company’s application provides users with information regarding “city updates, emergencies, outages, road closures, enforcements, and city events.” Simplicity Tech Inc. is used in over 100 cities, including the San Francisco Bay Area.
You may know Derrick Jones — or DJ D-Nice — for coming up with the concept for Club Quarantine during the height of the pandemic to help people stay connected. He dedicated his time and talents to host Club Quarantine daily on Instagram Live. Now, he will be joining forces with Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) to celebrate Club Quarantine’s second anniversary, which will kick off with a three-day celebration set to begin today. “It’s not necessarily about the music. It’s a way for people to stay connected to friends and their families because we could not see each other,” D-Nice said exclusively to AfroTech. He continued: “We found ways to dance virtually which was very important because I firmly believe had it not been for these virtual spaces of dancing and listening to music, or just being able to communicate with one another using Instagram or Zoom, the depression and suicide rate would have been higher. Thank goodness for music and entertainment during this dark time.” Not...
D-Nice was responsible for getting most of us through the craziness of the pandemic thanks to his “Club Quarantine” live mixes. Now, the DJ and rapper is looking to get us out of the house and tucked into a nice glass of wine. The Drinks Business is reporting that D-Nice — real name: Derrick Jones — is putting his money where his mouth is with his investment into French wine label Maison Marcel, whose previous investors include LiveNation and multimedia artist James Goldcrown. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Maison Marcel (@drinkmarcel) “We are honored to have an icon like D-Nice as an investor. His passion for celebration and togetherness speaks directly to the ethos of our brand,” said Albert Dahan, CEO of Maison Marcel, in a statement to the outlet. “Not only does he have refined taste, but his finger is on the pulse of culture in a unique and broad way. His organic affinity for our wines was a clear sign we were doing something right. A deeper partnership was the...
As the originator of Club Quarantine (CQ), which practically got us through lockdown and COVID-19 restrictions, D-Nice knows exactly how to make music and tech go hand-in-hand and has been doing so for years. Still in 2021, ain’t nothing changed as he’s continuing to work his magic at the intersection of music and technology. “Music introduced me to being creative, but technology saved my life,” said D-Nice in an exclusive interview with AfroTech. He originally entered the music business as an artist and when he decided to leave the industry at the age of 23, it was then that he realized that the love he had for music was very much the same when it came to technology. “I got involved in tech early-on so I became a partner at a small company where we built websites for online marketing which at the time was still kind of in its infancy stages,” he told AfroTech. It was then that he worked with Boom Digital to build websites for artists like the late Aaliyah and R&B superstar, Tank....
DJ D-Nice is taking his Homeschool virtual party to the next level as he teams up with former First Lady Michelle Obama to help register eligible voters. The famed DJ has been trending all week long for his epic jam sessions with record-setting viewer numbers. Now he’s doing his part for voter registration, with the help of Obama’s nonprofit organization When We All Vote, to host Couch Party, a virtual dance party to help get people registered to vote right from the convenience of their homes. https://www.instagram.com/p/B-H-y7eAfim/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link The virtual party features a three-hour set allowing volunteers to send texts to help eligible citizens register to vote while also enjoying some great tunes. Michelle Obama went from attending D-Nice’s virtual set over the weekend to tapping into the fun with her proactive initiative. While we continue to wait on more COVID-19 updates, people are getting more creative with how we normalize our new reality. “As our reality...
The biggest virtual dance party is breaking the internet and spreading positive energy to cure our isolation blues. During this time of crisis, a dance party is just what people need to lift their spirits and take their minds off the worries of coronavirus. Starting this past Monday, DJ D-Nice has been leading us every day in live daily jam sessions appropriately titled “Homeschool” from his Instagram page. His endless spins of old school classics have done wonders for fans and celebrities tuned in. https://www.instagram.com/p/B-AeHDag25Z/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link For those unfamiliar, DJ D-Nice is a musical legend that’s been spinning the greatest hits in Black culture for over 50 years. Since his days as a member of the pioneering Bronx hip-hop crew BDP, D-Nice has become a beloved figure in the music community. His daily music happy hours, consisting of every genre from Hip-Hop and R&B to Go-Go, have united thousands of people around the world through the universal language of...
Election season can be one of the most exciting and anxiety-inducing times in America. Every four years, two major party candidates campaign to become the next leader of the free world, along with lesser known independent candidates. This election’s major candidates are current Vice President Kamala Harris as a Democrat and former President Donald Trump as a Republican. Regardless of candidate choice, one critical component of the democratic process is access to voting. Throughout U.S. history, voting has not always been a right for everyone, particularly for women and people of color. Slowly but surely, change began to take hold. The journey toward voting rights for Black Americans began with the 14th Amendment in 1868, granting citizenship to formerly enslaved people. This was followed by the 15th Amendment in 1870, which prohibited racial restrictions on voting. However, barriers like poll taxes and literacy tests persisted, limiting true access. The 1965 Voting Rights Act,...
Stackwell Capital is working steadfastly to ensure Black Millennials and Generation Z Americans have the tools to create generational wealth. As AfroTech previously told you, the novel application founded by Trevor Rozier-Byrd, will introduce users to educational resources and automated model portfolios. The platform is engineered to empower the community and eradicate misconceptions or fears surrounding wealth building. Rozier-Byrd last told AfroTech that Stackwell Capital was working to adopt new measures that would incorporate financial literacy into Black communities. Stackwell Capital has stayed true to its word. The company has closed a $3.5 million funding round led by Michael Gordon, President of Fenway Sports Group; Jeremy Sclar, CEO and Chairman of WS Development; and The Kraft Group. CMFG Ventures Discovery Fund, Shea Ventures, SSC Venture Partners, Shorehaven Wealth Partners, and Theo Epstein, a consultant to Major League Baseball, also participated in the round, among...
Michelle Obama is a historic First Lady. As the first Black woman to ever hold the coveted title, the woman born Michelle LaVaughn Robinson in Chicago, IL, was put under a microscope almost from the moment her husband, President Barack Obama, took office. Fortunately, however, Mrs. Obama handled the newfound pressure with her trademark grace. “Being the first Black anything is gonna be hard,” she told Robin Roberts of “Good Morning America.” “I knew, as the first Black first lady, I couldn’t presume anything … I’d have to earn my grace.” Today, Michelle Obama has more than “earned her grace.” As AfroTech previously reported, she’s earned a $70 million net worth, inked a separate deal with Spotify for her own podcast, hosted voter drives to encourage young people to vote, and even got inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame. And that’s just the beginning. But where Mrs. Obama really shines is in her ability to influence markets. More than just being a “pretty face” to look...
Whether you know her for her music or her “Patti Pies,” Patti LaBelle is an icon. Originally coming to prominence thanks to her musical stylings with LaBelle (originally known as Patti LaBelle and the Blue Belles), the fierce songstress first began making headlines when one of her original bandmembers — Cindy Birdsong — departed the group to join Diana Ross and the Supremes. But it wasn’t until the release of the original “Lady Marmalade” in 1975 — and an appearance on the cover of Rolling Stone — that LaBelle began hitting the mainstream. Today, as a respected R&B diva, she has diversified her business portfolio. In addition to a prolific acting career that took her everywhere from Broadway (in “Fela!”) to primetime (thanks to her role in “Empire”), LaBelle gained a whole new fan base — and became an LGBTQIA+ icon — when, in 2015, social media personality James Wright Chanel recorded a video singing the praises of her “Patti Pies.” The video subsequently went viral, and LaBelle...
When people think of the Jackson family, they automatically think of Janet Jackson, Jermaine Jackson, and of course, the late great Michael Jackson. But more than just producing these pop icons, Joseph and Katherine Jackson of Gary, IN forever changed the pop culture landscape. They brought to light the predatory nature of the music industry and protected their own against all interlopers. In so doing, the Jackson family became an unstoppable force. Despite the problems that Michael Jackson, especially, seemed to have with his father, he eventually forgave him and proclaimed an annual “Joseph Jackson Day” at Neverland Ranch. As Michael would later explain during an emotional speech at Carnegie Hall in 2001, his father was the product of the Great Depression and the Jim Crow era of the United States. And these traits hardened him emotionally. But, despite this, he did his best to give his children the best the world had to offer and did it in the face of all the detractors who said...
Jermaine Dupri is in the ice cream business. According to Veg News, the Grammy award-winning producer has teamed up with Malcolm Stogo and Big Innovations Group Inc. to launch JD’s Vegan, a three-flavor collection of vegan ice creams inspired by his hometown of Atlanta, GA. JD’s Vegan, which is made from a coconut cream base, comes in the following flavors: “Welcome to Atlanta Peach Cobbler” (made with golden peaches and dotted with crumbled cobbler); “Apple Butter” (a buttery apple base swirled together with toasted cinnamon streusel crumble); and “Strawberry Sweetheart” (featuring strawberry chunks and swirls). View this post on Instagram A post shared by ClassicDupri (@jermainedupri) Jermaine Dupri is making these ice creams available at Walmart, but he’s also launched a website where you can purchase the ice cream by the pint for $6.79 each, as well. “Walmart and I share the same vision of providing consumers with the best products and making healthy alternatives accessible...
This is where music and technology intersect! Timbaland’s Beatclub is set to become the first music-tech startup to be invited to join the IBM Hyper Protect Accelerator, a mentorship program dedicated to providing startups with data protection, privacy, and security solutions while pushing for advancement in the startup ecosystem. The premier global marketplace for music creators was co-founded by legendary producer, Timbaland, alongside his longtime manager, Gary Marella. “At Beatclub we leverage the hyper ledger fabric and smart contracts to underpin all of our business processes and transactions across our marketplace,” said Eric Czar , Chief Technology Officer at Beatclub, in an official press release shared with AfroTech. “Our participation in IBM Hyper Protect Accelerator will enable us to continue our development work as we automate the self-executing license terms for our music products and enable all of our transactions to be fully transparent and trackable, all while...
Aaliyah fans are in for a huge treat. According to Forbes, the late singer’s music could soon be available on streaming platforms. Aaliyah — who passed tragically at the age of 22 — singlehandedly changed the music industry as one of the most influential singers of R&B. To this day, her music continues to impact the masses. Now, it will reportedly make the transition into the digital age. The official paperwork has been reportedly been completed to share her music digitally with a staggered rollout of her music onto streaming platforms starting with “One In A Million” (1996) on Aug. 20. The only music from the singer that lives on streaming platforms is her 1994 debut album, “Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number.” Her “One In a Million” hit, which was released in 1996, along with the self-titled album “Aaliyah” released just one month before her death in 2001, is noticeably missing from streaming platforms. Plus, singles like “Are You That Somebody?” Documents reveal that the music...
Looking to be the official DJ of the biggest live music phenomenon in the industry? Well look no further, Triller and Verzuz are offering an opportunity of a lifetime. Complex reports that both streaming platforms have commenced a global search for their first resident DJ to help warm up crowds for all Triller-hosted events — including Verzuz, Triller Live, Triller Fight Club, FITE and more. The DJ competition is a one-of-a-kind career opportunity that comes with a $1 million annual salary that’s up for grabs for both experienced and “aspiring DJs from around the world.” “We’re excited to help find Triller’s new Resident DJ, which will be a DJ gig like no other,” Verzuz co-founders Timbaland and Swizz Beatz said in a statement. “The Verzuz audience knows what’s up, so when the voting begins you can be sure the winning DJ will be someone who has all the right stuff. We can’t wait to discover the next superstar behind the decks.” Triller executive chairman Bobby Sarnevesht also adds...