We sat down with DJ D-Nice in an exclusive interview to honor and remember the late, great Heavy D. The music legend would have been 46-years-old today and was a long time friend of D-Nice. Check him out as he drops some serious knowledge about appreciating living legends.
Global Grind: Out of all the pictures that you’ve taken, do you have a personal favorite/best picture?
DJ D-Nice: I can tell you that right now. The picture that I photographed of a certain person that moves me no matter when I see it, is a shot that I got of Heavy D in the studio on his last album before he passed.
He was sitting in daddy’s house with his legs kicked up on the counter and he was writing, he was writing his lyrics for one of his songs. The reason why it meant so much to me was because, I like to photograph people and celebrities in kind of like a candid way. Even though they know I’m shooting. I’m in the room.
They know I have my camera and that I’m gonna take pictures. The thing about it with Heavy is that he would call me every time he went to the studio in New York. “Bring your camera. I love when you bring your Nikon. Bring your camera. Document this.” There were some days that didn’t even feel like getting up and going to the studio but because it was Hev. He invited me into his space, into his world and to document that and have so many of those images.
Whenever I see this one particular one it just take me back to that time of being around my friend. Sometimes when you actually know legends, you don’t realize that they’re legends. This dude is a legend. Melanie Fiona is on her way to being a legend. I know, Puff is a legend. Mary J. Blige, legends. I kind of forget that, because we’re friends. And now that my brother is gone and I look back at that image. It’s just powerful. It’s moving. It’s just wonderful that he pulled me into his world like that.
Especially in our business we meet so many people and we’re always on the go. We’re always moving and making things happen. You forget that these people you’re actually working with are on their way to being legends. We’ve all done some incredible things. I’m just learning to appreciate that more.
Photo Credit: D-Nice
