DJ D-Nice Hosts An IG Live Social Distancing Uplift Party And Everybody Shows Up

From Ava Greenwell to former Vice President Joe Biden. From Justin Timberlake to Will Packer Jr. From Bernie Sanders to Michelle Obama to Dj Khalid to Janet Jackson and Rihanna, Dj D-Nice hosted a Saturday night Instagram live party featuring everybody’s favorite, uplifting music, an energetic vibe and an overwhelming feeling of unity.

D-Nice gave us the party we need on the night that we need it. It was the culmination of five days of uplift. He also told us to wash our hands, maintain our social distance and support each other in our time of need.

For background, New York, California and, as of Saturday at 5 p.m., Illinois residents were told to stay at home in an effort to flatten the transmission rate of the coronavirus. I won’t repeat the numbers here, suffice it to say they are rising and that equipment – including tests – are needed in every state across the union. So, it seems, that to inject a little joy into this dire situation, D-Nice went live on IG and decided to spin the turntables for a solid 45 or so minutes, bringing more than 100,000 people into the party by the end of the set.

“One of my favorite artists is in here, Janet Jackson,” D-Nice said while rocking out. “ We love you Janet. C’mon man. We love you. It’s insane.”

And by insane, D-Nice was referring to the fact that everybody from the legendary basketball star Dr. J and rocker Lenny Kravitz showed up to dance at home – social distance-style – with the likes of Lalah Hathaway and Nile Rodgers. As one user commented during the live: it was a chance to breath the same virtual air of Michelle Obama and NASA.

And let me tell you, after a week of worry and layoffs, for many users, this was a welcome musical respite. The hearts were flying, as were the smiles. As D-Nice says, “We turned this into a global party.”

A number of celebrities have turned out this past week to offer encouragement to the people. But D-Nice did a bit more than offer a version of “Imagine” that was well-intentioned but largely panned by may people. He declared it the largest party in the world by the time that Mark Zuckerburg, Ludacris and Dwyane Wade showed up, before giving a shout out to all the hospital workers who are on the front lines fighting Covid-19 this Saturday night.

“It’s the biggest party in the world going on right now,” he said, bouncing in his white t-shirt and rimmed hat. “Mark Zuckerberg what’s up bro.”

There’s something about joining a virtual party larger than the number of attendees of the 2020 Super Bowl on a Saturday night presumably spent home alone in many states while everything is so uncertain in America and the world. In real time, D-Nice asked Zuckerberg to please not shut off the Live as it approached 95,000 viewers and was playing the best of Stevie Wonder.

At that point, Kelly Rowland predicted 100K. And it was only 9:22 pm. CST when it hit 92,000 people. It hit 105,000 people before 9:30 p.m. D-Nice explained that he started the party five days ago to bring some smiles to some faces.

“There’s so much love and unity,” D-Nice said while pushing into the quintessential last dance party song, the Beyonce version, created by Chicago band Maze: “Before I Let Go.” But it wasn’t over! Buju Banton and Stevie Wonder hopped in and the party started all over again.