If you don’t like hip-hop, or follow it even superficially, you might want to think about it. If you’re of a certain age, background and upbringing, you will likely understand that hip-hop, or rap, can truthfully be called the illegitimate child of punk rock. The best rap is spontaneous, angry and politically charged. That said, it’s largely reached the point today where hip-hop, country and pop are tough to distinguish from one another. There are some pretty stout rap acts coming out of Nashville lately, just so you know. When you realize that, the fact that hip-hop has no geographical or demographic boundaries anymore, you’ll understand why it makes good sense to embrace this culture while launching its new F-150.
Harlem-born Derrick Jones, much better known by his D-Nice handle, is out front in the new Ford lifestyle campaign for the F-150 that’s called More Than Tough. The MC, producer and DJ is a true child of the New York City rap scene, having been a close cohort of KRS-One and Boogie Down Productions. D-Nice is best known recently as the impresario of Club Quarantine, a live Instagram home school that offset the pandemic during its nine-hour blast, which drew viewers including Mark Zuckerberg, Lenny Kravitz and Joe Biden. The campaign’s centerpiece is a 30-second spot following D-Nice as he hauls his turntables and mixers to a show, running them off the truck’s onboard power. Call Me D-Nice is the soundtrack. Yeah, it’s tough.
Jim Donnelly On Wheels 