DJ D

Jun 17, 2023

During the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, when hearts and spirits were broken as friends, family and lovers found themselves isolated from one another, it was the arts that often provided comfort and community.

One of the artists at the forefront of keeping people entertained throughout the crisis was DJ D-Nice, a beloved figure in the hip-hop and R&B world.

His all-night “Club Quarantine” parties on Instagram Live became THE place to be while stuck in the house. The setup was simple: a camera on D-Nice behind his turntable equipment, spinning R&B hits, deep tracks, slow jams and party favorites from the 1960s through the new millennium, while Instagram users celebrated and chatted it up in the comments section.

And the whole world was watching. Hundreds of thousands of Instagram users would join for part or all of the events, which can run anywhere from two hours to more than six. Celebrities from Rihanna to Michelle Obama, Joe Biden to Bernie Sanders, Janet Jackson to Dwayne Wade to Oprah and many more would chime in — and why not? They were stuck at home in their pajamas just like the rest of us.

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D-Nice (real name Derrick Jones) turned the world into a dance floor that made everyone equal, and together they funked their way through a global pandemic.

Club Quarantine (CQ) proved so cathartic and popular that it continues to this day through regular pop-ups on Instagram, but also through a live stage show that sprang forth from the phenomenon and has been touring the country.

CQ lands in Detroit on Saturday, Aug. 5, at the Aretha Franklin Amphitheatre, with D-Nice bringing special guests Kem, Deborah Cox, Donnell Jones, Lloyd, Lil Mo, Kenny Burns, CL Smooth, K'Jon and Spice Adams along for what promises to be a memorable, feel-good evening on the riverfront.

“It starts with community,” said Jones, 53. “Obviously, I do a lot of private events and TV appearances, but when I do Club Quarantine shows, it’s really a chance for fans that have been doing this together since the beginning of the pandemic to come out and party together. No matter what city I’m in, whether it’s New York, Vegas, L.A., Atlanta, people really do fly in together to attend the shows as a unit. That’s the beauty of it.

“And in terms of the music, it’s music we all love, music I grew up loving. ‘70s music, ‘80s music, ‘90s music, but I try to put a little bit of everything into my sets. So, when you come to the Aretha, you can expect to hear everything from gospel to hip-hop. You’ll see performances, too, and some surprises. I’m really excited about it.”

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In conversation with the Free Press, Jones offered tidbits about who makes his coveted hats (famed NYC hatter Worth & Worth) and the infamous “will-they-won’t-they” flirtations between himself and actress Halle Berry during those lockdown Instagram parties (“Nothing happened — that was literally just the two of us having fun and pretending to be in a nightclub”), and even his favorite song.

“You probably think it’s ‘Thinking of You’ by Sister Sledge,” he said. “No, that’s not my favorite song. That’s the song that got me through quarantine, because it just made me feel good. It wasn’t a song that everyone was playing all the time, and I played it so much that it made me feel the beauty of discovering music again. But, my favorite song happens to be Stevie Wonder’s ‘Do I Do.’ I feel good every time I play that record.”

Along with the successful Club Quarantine tour, Jones has begun working on his memoir.

“That’s something that’s really important to me, to be able to tell my story. It’s not just Club Quarantine,” he said, referring to the many hats he has worn throughout his career, including being a founding member of New York’s legendary Boogie Down Productions when he was just a teenager during the formative days of 1980s hip-hop.

“I’ve been here for a very long time,” he reflected, “doing everything in hip-hop culture from producing to writing and websites and photography. That was still hip-hop to me, it was still being creative. I feel I have a lot to offer some young kid that grew up the way I did.

“Man, the most important thing that hip-hop has taught me is gratitude. I see a lot of people from my generation who didn’t show gratitude, who didn’t sustain that career. But then, there are a lot of people who show so much love and gratitude to the fans, like Queen Latifah, and if you look at those careers, we’re still here doing what we love.”

Jones pointed out that Saturday's show will be his first public performance as a headliner in the Midwest, despite the fact that his daughter attended school at Beverly Hills’ Detroit Country Day.

“I’ve always had an affinity for Detroit,” he said. “When she was going to Country Day, I was here every weekend, flying out to shows all over the country and then flying back to pick her up from school. All my friends are here from coming here for years playing different shows, playing Flood’s and playing Glamour with Dennis Archer. Detroit has always been like a second home for me.

“This is the music town. The music that saved the world came from here. Most of the music that I play came from here. I play a lot of Motown and just Detroit artists, and it’s extremely important to me to be able to celebrate the culture of Club Quarantine and the culture of music here in Detroit.”

Club Quarantine Live Detroit will be held at 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 5 at The Aretha Franklin Amphitheatre, 2600 Atwater St. Ticket prices start at $44.50 and can be found at thearetha.com. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show begins at 8 p.m.

An unofficial group identifying as Club Quarantine Detroit, regional fans of D-Nice and CQ, is hosting a CQ Detroit meetup celebration on Friday, Aug. 4 from 6:30-10:30 p.m. at the Detroit Historical Museum, 5401 Woodward Ave. The party will feature DJ SteveRuss, live podcast interviews, hustle lessons, food, drink stations, museum tours, vendors, a selfie station and swag bags to get revelers in the mood for Saturday’s main event.

Entry for the museum party starts at $30; tickets and details can be found at www.cqdetroit.com.

Contact Free Press arts and culture reporter Duante Beddingfield at [email protected].