Tuesday, October 10, 2006

D-Nice - "Call Me D-Nice"

Many years before Stuart Scott began calling every athlete who's name began with the letter "D" D-Nice, there was this guy, the real D-Nice. He was also known as the Human TR-808, which I can't figure out, because I don't remember him doing a beatbox even once. Of course, KRS-ONE continued calling himself "DJ KRS" for the longest time and I don't think I ever heard him cut up one record.

Anyway, D-Nice was one of the earlier members of Boogie Down Productions, and by most accounts, he got DJ Scott La Rock killed (despite what others may think). D-Nice was a relatively good lyricist, though he fell into that kind of tried-and-true BDP mold: always trying to be conscious, always having KRS-ONE's back, etc.

One of my favorite memories of this album goes like this: I'm listening to this album with my boy Mike Cialini, and there is a song called "The TR-808 is Coming" and as was KRS's custom, he would always tell you what year that song in question was fresh for. The album came out in 1990, so KRS says the song is "fresh for 1990, and also fresh for nineteen ninety one and two." Flash forward a couple years to 1993; Cialini and I are inexplicably listening to this album and that song comes on. He says "fresh for nineteen ninety one and two" and I say to Mike, "Man, he's right this song sucks now. I remember thinking it was good last year."

I guess you had to be there.



I start to think, a very big conscious all around me
Who will be the sucker MC to try to doubt me
Is it you, or you, or you, or you, or him
But I'm like a tree and every lyric is a limb
You throw it on the turntable, very unstable
But you gamble because you need that example
There's a 1000 MC's on the planet earth now
What is the word you say to get hers
Some like to explain, some talk educated
Some like McBoo, he's X-rated
I like to think of myself as a pure rebel
A radical thinker on a musical level
'Cause suckers wanna stop me and girls wanna kiss
Wherever I go, yo, it seems I can't be dis
'Cause my name is D-Nice but all the girls call me Derek
It ran through my crew so I guess I've inherit
The job of explaining and also retaining
The fact D-Nice is remaining
Not a king nor a prince but as a teacher
Wit dopies like this, I know I'm gonna reach ya
So now I don't think you should all despise
This fact D-Nice is on a rise
Straight to the top like a bubble of water
It's a slaughter so I think you oughta
Think realistically, not egotistically
It's suicide if you even think of dissing me
'Cause if you try, I'm a make you wait
To learn the reason I'm the 808, but just call me D-Nice

2 comments:

'Don' Cialini said...

Bitch. I had this in que for my blog for the sole purpose of telling the story about the "fresh for ..." bit. That is one of my favorite memories as well. However, my recolection is this. Sometime just after the new year in '93, we were on the phone and you mentioned this song and how not that long ago it was fresh but now it just sucks. I could be wrong though. Either way, its a great memory and if your readers got beef...

I'll wax that ass, tax that ass, fax that ass, lax that ass.

Signed, Tim Dog

Unknown said...

Scrilly, it's actually the "Ass-Blaster Gay-R.S. One." We've been over this.

I also remember that D-Nice was actually kicked out of Boogie Down Productions for the Sex & Violence album (along with Jamal Ski, Harmony, Heather B and KRS's own ex-wife, Ms. Melodie!). But why? I never understood what the fallout was. All KRS said in the liner notes was that BDP was "rolling tight and hard this year." And then all the rest of his albums came under the KRS-ONE moniker. I will never understand that black African.