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

From Ava DuVernay and former vice president Joe Biden to Justin Timberlake and Will Packer Jr., Bernie Sanders, former First Lady Michelle Obama, DJ Khaled, 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 needed on the night that we needed it. It was the continuation 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 angst.

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. Americans in other states had spent the day scurrying to grab supplies for a potential lockdown. I won't repeat the numbers here of the infected and the dead, but 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 legendary basketball star Dr. J to rocker Lenny Kravitz showed up to dance at home-social distance-style-along 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, "Club Quarantine" offered a welcome musical respite that on Saturday alone lasted for at least nine hours. The hearts were flying, as were the smiles. As D-Nice says, "We turned this into a global party." (Viewers started taking shots every time he changed his hat. By midnight CST, that was like nine.)

A number of celebrities have turned out this past week to offer encouragement to the people. Other DJs including DJ MOS and 9th Wonder took to live as well, spinning music for hours and hours, in a spirit of uplift throughout the week. But D-Nice offered a bit more than a singalong version of "Imagine" that was well-intentioned but largely panned by many people. He played music that represented a wide swath of the nation and in so doing, people joined in, creating what he described as the largest party in the world by the time that Mark Zuckerberg, Ludacris and Dwyane Wade showed up virtually. Additionally, he gave shout outs 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 100,000. And it was only 9:22 p.m. 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. He also paid homage to Kenny Rogers by playing iconic song "The Gambler." Rogers died March 20 at the age of 81.

DNice also debuted a new song by Childish Gambino close to the end of the nine-hour dance party set, that returns at 3 p.m. PST on Sunday, March 22, 2020.

"There's so much love and unity," D-Nice said while pushing into the quintessential last dance party song, the Beyoncé version, created by West Coast band Maze: "Before I Let Go." But it wasn't over. Buju Banton, Donnie Walhburg, Jenny McCarthy, Diddy and Stevie Wonder hopped into the live stream. D-Nice took a quick dinner break and the party started all over again-raising vibrations all over the world.