ABOVE: D-Nice, DJ Z-Trip, & DJ Mateo

Last night, I had the opportunity to DJ with one of the best DJs in the business, the legendary DJ Z-Trip. Man, his set was absolutely amazing.

Posted by D-Nice at 01:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

ABOVE: Master Gee of The Sugar Hill Gang, DJ Wiz, and Grandmaster Caz

Last night, we celebrated the birthday of legendary Kid & Play DJ, DJ Wiz! It was also the 1 year anniversary of the Video Mix Party that Ralph McDaniels, BiG Ced, DJ Wiz, Dana Dane, The Awesome Two, and DJ Vernon put together. I can't give a full recap right now because I'm about to dj in Miami but trust me... it was something special! Enjoy the photos!

ABOVE: Monie Love & Grandmaster Caz

ABOVE: Evil Dee and Love Bug Starski

ABOVE: Big Daddy Kane

ABOVE: Melle Mel of The Furious Five

ABOVE: The Sugar Hill Gang

ABOVE: Monie Love, Jonathan Mannion, Nicole Price

ABOVE: Tracey Lee

ABOVE: Master Gee of The Sugar Hill Gang, Melle Mel, and Grandmaster Caz

ABOVE: Teddy Ted

ABOVE: MC Peaches

ABOVE: Big Daddy Kane & Jonathan Mannion

ABOVE: Big Drew and Giz of The Audio Two

ABOVE: Monie Love & Kool Herc

ABOVE: Some like Mc Booo, He's X-rated!

ABOVE: Manager Moe (BDP) & MC Peaches

ABOVE: Anthony & Dana Dane

ABOVE: Ronnie Wright

ABOVE: Legends!

ABOVE: Special K & Friend

ABOVE: Grandmaster Caz

ABOVE: Jazzy G (Zulu)

ABOVE: Ant Live & DJ Wiz

Posted by D-Nice at 10:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (15)

ABOVE:

On August 25th, 2005, Hurricaine Katrina hit Miami. On that day, I was in Miami for the MTV Music Awards and was staying at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel South Beach. At the time, I was unaware of how severe the storm was and decided to take a walk on the beach and take some pics. Here are some images from that day.

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Posted by D-Nice at 03:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (21)

ABOVE: Masta Ace & Chip Fu

Yesterday, Chip Fu invited me to the video shoot for an old school friend, Masta Ace and his producer Marco Polo. The shoot was set in Fort Green Park located in Brooklyn, NY. It was for the Marco Polo feat. Masta Ace song entitled "Nostalgia" from the album "Port Authority" which hits the stores on May 15th, 2007. This was true underground hip-hop at its best. Also on set was old school rapper Grand Daddy I.U., Pumpkinhead, and many others.

ABOVE: Marco Polo (center) and the crew

ABOVE: Masta Ace

ABOVE: The D.P.

ABOVE: Old School Rapper Grand Daddy I.U.

ABOVE: Masta Ace on the set

ABOVE: Pumpkinhead

ABOVE: Action

Posted by D-Nice at 05:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (17)

ABOVE: The Bad Boy Crew

Last night, I attended the birthday celebration for Bad Boy's Harve Pierre. The party was off the chain! I'm totally convinced that no one parties like Puff and the crew. After I left Harve's party, I ran into the Queen and we headed over to another party and errr... partied even harder! :-)
Enjoy the pics!

ABOVE: Puff

ABOVE: Harve Pierre of Bad Boy

ABOVE: Mario Winans & Cassie

ABOVE: Mims

ABOVE: Who parties like Diddy?

ABOVE: Mike Kyser & Zab Judah

ABOVE: D. Dot

ABOVE: Ed Woods, your hat is FIYAH!

ABOVE: Kyser, Kevin Liles, & Guest

ABOVE: The effects of Patron

ABOVE: Rich Dollaz

ABOVE: Gwen, Ed, Jackie, & Nova

ABOVE: Dana Dane & Kim Cooper (YOU MADE IT KIM!!!)

ABOVE: Danielle & Andre Harrell

ABOVE: La & Heidy

ABOVE: Dani & Peter

Posted by D-Nice at 01:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)

After djing for nearly 2 months straight, I've finally taken a much needed break. My weekend started of with me trying to decide what I'm going to do with my time off. I didn't realized how much the stress of djing in Las Vegas during the Magic Convention and NBA All-Star Weekend had affected me. What I've learned is that it's extremely important for me to take good care of my body. I'm not as young as I used to be and the constant traveling and working late hours will inevitably catch up to me.

I had a few experiences in Las Vegas that managed to change my way of living. I've learned that I have so much to be grateful for, especially when it comes to my friends and family. One of my friends, by the name of DJ Hot Day, decided to take the trip to Vegas even though he had no dj gigs booked. When I asked him why was he going, his response to me was, "I just want to be there if you need me". Well, Hot Day ended up being an integral part of that week for me.

The weekend before I headed to Vegas, I was spending time with my mother and daughter. During a phone conversation with Malinda, I started to sneeze and she advised me to go to the doctor immediately. She said that I shouldn't go to Vegas feeling under the weather. Like most men, I said yes, but later on I decided that going to the doctor was unnecessary and that a trip to the local pharmacist for cold medication would be all that I need to combat the sneezing. Boy was I wrong.

For the next few days I spent a lot of time in the bed sleeping. The crazy thing is that I didn't notice that's what I was doing until Malinda questioned me on it. She asked me, "Why are you sleeping so much?" I tried to explain to her that I was exhausted from all of the traveling but she didn't buy it one bit.

The next day, I headed to Sin City. After arriving in Las Vegas, I checked in the Wynn hotel and as soon as I entered my room, I immediately dropped my bags and headed straight to the bed. At that point, I finally admitted to myself what she had been telling me all along, I should have gone to the doctor. What I thought was a cold ended up being the flu. All I could think about was how am I going to keep my commitment to Russell Simmons, Michael Jordan, Jay-Z, 50 Cent, LeBron James, Kanye West, Hennesy, and South Pole. I was hired to perform at all of their events. How am I going to do so when I can't even get out of the bed.

The first major djing gig I had was the Phat Farm 15th anniversary event. Because Hot Day was there, I had someone to open and close for me. The event went well but I could feel my body beginning to shut down. I ended up leaving the Phat Farm event an hour early and headed back to my room. At that point, I decided to call the doctor.

He arrived at my room around 9 am. As soon as he arrived, he made one thing clear. He said that for visits outside of his office, it's CASH ONLY! Wow, Even the doctors in Vegas want all of your money! It didn't matter. All I was concerned with at that point was ridding my body of the flu bug. After checking my blood pressure, he expressed his concern because my blood pressure was dangerously low. He suggested that I come to office to have an I.V. placed in my arm to help bring my pressure to normal levels. I explained to him that I only have 2 hours before the start of my next gig. He then recommend that I drink plenty of water and eat soup all day and that the combination of water and the salt from the soup will help increase my pressure. He prescribed some antibiotics and went on his way. The next few days I did just that and by the time Friday arrived, I was ready to perform at the Michael Jordan event.

What happened on Friday was a different story. I was in my room getting ready for the Jordan event. All day I was anticipating this event and it's finally time. I kept thinking to myself... sh*t, it's Michael Jordan! I have to rock the party! While preparing, I noticed my breathing pattern started to change. All of a sudden, the room was spinning, and I felt like the walls were beginning to cave in. I rushed into the bathroom and sat down on the floor in complete darkness. I was experiencing my first ever panic attack. For 30 minutes, I was completely out of control. I was feeling so much pressure and couldnt explain where it was coming from. What helped me regain control was her voice, her words. The kind of support that she gave me during that moment was immeasurable. She played the most soothing music for me and I was able to get it together. Needless to say, the event went well..

There are so many things I've learned during that experience. From this day forth, I am doing what's necessary to take care of myself and also learning to serve people. I made it through the week without missing a gig because I had the support of my friends. Thank you all.

Posted by D-Nice at 11:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (43)

ABOVE: Chip Fu

I finally reconnected with one of my old friends, Mr. Chip Fu of the Fu-Schnikens. Chip and I used to work together back in the day when Tony Rahsaan and I had a company together called 40th Street Black Management where we directed the careers of artist like Fu-Schnickens, Organized Konfusion, Special Ed and Craig G. A few bad decisions caused us all to part ways but we all still have respect and appreciation for one another.

Last week, Tony asked me if I would photograph Chip for his new project. How could I say no? What was so amazing about the hooking up with Chip was that during our conversation, he shared with me that a few years ago he went back to school to study physical therapy and had recently received his degree. It's always wonderful to hear stories of fellow old-school rappers finding life after rap. Chip is currently working on a reggae/hip-hop fusion CD and expect to have it done before the summer. You can find Chip on myspace at www.myspace.com/chipfu

ABOVE: Chip Fu

ABOVE: Chip Fu

ABOVE: Chip Fu

ABOVE: Tony Rahsaan. Chip's business partner

Posted by D-Nice at 09:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)