The success of a cognac is a seasoned game. And while hip-hop is getting long in the tooth, celebrating 50-plus years of boom bap, it's a far cry from cognac's existence, which started in the 1500s.
While the two worlds are not unfamiliar, the recent launch of Martingale Cognac and its roster of multicultural investors—including legendary DJ D-Nice (neé Derrick Jones)—are betting big (price point is $120) that they've created a special product that puts a sweeter twist on the spirit.
Created by the Thomas family, fourth generation cognac producers, Martingale entered the market with the aim to be a disruptor. With ownership that includes a diverse group of investors from wine and spirits veterans to entertainment icons, and from successful business people to Martingale’s own dedicated team—each one of whom is a part owner of the brand, the floral and fruity spirit’s origin story seems far afield from its predecessors… that is until you look deeper. At its core, Martingale shares a lot in common with other cognacs and D-Nice. The ideas of growth, tradition and reputation are key drivers.
LEVEL spoke with the multihyphenate (DJ, photographer, entrepreneur and investor) at the Maison (house) that birthed the new spirit—just kilometers from the 40-year-old vines that are its source ingredient—to talk evolution, family and legacy.
LEVEL: People know you as a DJ–whether that was because of Club Quarantine or your early days with KRS-One and Boogie Down Productions. What people don’t know is that you’re also a celebrated photographer and entrepreneur. Tell me about your career evolution.
D-NICE: In ’91 [or] ’92, people started to consider me old school. I was only like 21 years old at the time. But I had started so young. Being signed to a record company, and not having the ability to just go out and put out music the way people do now, I was forced to just learn other things about being creative. There was a buddy of mine who was a big manager in the music business, named Chris Lighty. One day, Chris said to me, “Man, you're D-Nice. You don't have to make music. You can be creative in anything that you want to do.” And I just decided instead of trying to make demos, I was like I'm going to try this other thing.
I always had a camera with me, but I didn't tell anyone about it. And I started the web development side of it first. My company was called United Camps. I was building microsites for AT&T, Reebok, J Records and Arista [Records]. Motown [Records] was my first client, and I just loved being creative that way. And a client of mine, a menswear company, asked me to build their site, but I didn't like the images. So, I went and bought another camera, hired a model, and then I shot it myself. I used that work and incorporated it into the website. And then after that, it kind of took off with, with photography as well. I was a featured photographer on “America's Next Top Model.” I shot campaigns for Nike, other spirits companies, album covers… I just love being creative. Fast forward now, I always wanted to have a life of no regrets. Where you can look back one day and say, “Man, I tried this. I was involved in that.” And that's the way I live, man.
Why did you always have a camera with you? And how did you develop that eye?
I was always taking pictures when I was a kid, but I didn't respect the negative. It's like you got the print of it and everyone was happy. Oh, I got the print right. Done. But the value is in the negative. And when that part of my career was over, the rap career, I looked back and I didn't have that many images. I didn't have anything tangible to one day show my kids. So, I said if I ever had a chance to travel the world again, I will always keep a camera with me. I'm going to take pictures. And I went to school for photography for a year once I realized that I wanted to do it. This was even while I was building websites. I ended up going to school for it because I wanted to be respected. I wanted to understand how to shoot.
One of my favorite photographers happens to be Gordon Parks. I was photographed by him, and he was probably like in his late seventies [then]. It was a bunch of us. It was for [XXL Magazine’s] Great Day in Harlem shoot. And to watch someone who was the ultimate artist—he was a writer, director, photographer, published books—to watch him at that age, still loving what he was doing all of his life. I was like, “Man, I want that kind of experience.” I want to be able, when I'm 70, to still do what I love. I could take pictures forever. I can play music forever. I won't be in the clubs [laughs], but I can play music forever. It was totally inspired by Gordon. One day, I sat next to him, and he didn't remember who I was, but we were at this Paul Robeson one-man show, [starring] Avery Brooks, I'll never forget it. He sat right next to me and watched the show. At intermission, I started asking him questions about cameras and what he loved shooting. And then I ended up just, kind of patterning myself after Gordon.
You’re having this successful career in digital and photography, so what brought you back to the DJ booth?
I started back in the days as KRS[-One]’s DJ after DJ Scott La Rock passed on. And then I dropped my own records. And it's funny, when I returned to the scene, building all these websites, and doing these [other] projects, I wanted to throw an afterwork mixer and I couldn't find someone that played everything that I'd loved. Hip-Hop DJs really didn't just randomly drop Stevie Wonder at midnight when the party was hot. Yeah. To me, I just want to hear whatever feels good. And couldn't find a DJ, so I started doing it myself. I don't want to say it took off from there, but my interest in DJing really took off.
It started out like I wanted to have this hobby of DJing. I'll just do it and invite my clients out. But then once I got into it, I was like, “Wait, I think this is where my life should go. I should go in this direction.” I didn't have any real club opportunities. The club that ended up giving me a shot was a place called Serena. It was like a little small lounge in New York. They gave me a Wednesday night and let me do whatever I wanted to do. I started throwing these parties every Wednesday and one week it was 10 people. The next week it was 20. After that, it was like 50. But the one thing that was consistent was it was always 90% women coming because of what I was playing. My sets are very fun, friendly, promoting love and having a good time. It was a celebration. More people just started to come out and it took about maybe three years for people to really catch onto what I was doing. And after that, it just took off. I played all of the big events from Super Bowl to the Oscars—and I haven’t looked back.
Your career is now evolving yet again as you are now an investor in Martingale Cognac. How were you introduced to the brand?
My introduction to the brand was still a group of friends who thought that I would be a good fit to be involved in getting this out there. My love of cognac goes back to… It was the first drink that I had. And it wasn't the first drink because I just naturally gravitated towards cognac. Back when the legal drinking age was like 18 and growing up in New York City, it was the drink that I had with my uncle when one of my records, a song that I produced, went gold. It was a way to celebrate. My uncle has since passed on, but that moment lives within me forever.
So, when I think about a cognac and why I wanted to invest in it, it was really because this is like full circle for me. You know? Growing up, I never thought that I would one day be involved in something like this. It was just important to me that when I had the opportunity, I took it. The team is amazing. We’ve got an amazing CEO, and we all have the same interests. We want good stuff—we want quality. And I'm happy to be a part of it.
A couple years ago, I learned that African-Americans’ affinity for cognac was due, in part to Black soldiers fighting in France during World War II and getting treated better there because they were saving lives and holding this country down, and they brought the love of that spirit back.
D-Nice: We don't have enough of that. We don’t have enough people sharing stories like that. I didn't even know that's part of the reason why African-Americans love cognac. And it ties directly to our roots. That's a great one.
How do you define your role with Martingale?
Outside of just investing, I've always been involved in the tasting, the selection and some of the directions we're going to go in. But, really, I'm more [of an] investor. I just want to be involved with everything. You know, there's no one specific thing that I'm doing here.
How do you drink your cognac?
I'm not really a big mixed drink guy. If I'm going to drink cognac, I'm going to drink cognac. I like it with like one ice cube to open it up… or maybe even a couple of drops of water just depending on what time of day it is or what kind of vibe I'm on. For me, I always love a more traditional kind of [cognac] but add a little edginess to it. Our cognac is unlike anything that I've ever tasted before, so I'm excited about it. I can't wait for the world to taste it.
How do you envision that first time when you’re behind the decks at Club Quarantine with a bottle of Martingale, having that full circle moment—doing what you love with the spirit that you love and support?
Seeing what was happening during the Club Quarantine days and how much alcohol and wine was consumed. [laughs] It's funny because a lot of that happened while people were watching me. I personally enjoy having the spirit when I'm playing. I just create a different vibe whenever I'm kind of zoned in and dialed into it. Of course, you know, I'm going to be on my IG and of course talk about it. [laughs]
I was one of those people consuming and enjoying the vibes. You definitely brought some joy and some excitement to a time that was otherwise stressful. So, I appreciated it.
D-Nice: And that's why I love being involved with this because everything with me just seems to be about family. With the Tomas family… Guillaume is amazing. Being involved with it feels like home. It's all inclusive, you know? And that's what the music did for the world. We brought people together, so I want to continue doing that.
You enjoy cognac, but what does it feel like being here?
D-Nice: I've been here multiple times as an ambassador for another brand, but coming here this time as a partner in something that was done from the ground up, it's a totally different feeling—this feeling of accomplishment. Growing up as a kid in New York City, I never thought about these amazing opportunities that music would bring to me. And like now I see. I just feel like it's always important to one, always share the journey with people that are looking for some inspiration. That's what this is for me. When you think that life is over or you think that you can't go in another direction with your career, there are just many opportunities out there. This is another one, another way for me to say, “Hey, we gotta keep going, we gotta keep pushing.”
Also, it's about legacy. I don't particularly like doing things that I can't inspire my family with so they can go on and inspire their families in the future and continue to inspire other people. I've always lived my life like someone was watching. That someone that needed some inspiration was watching. So, it's all about family and all about inspiration for me. This whole thing, this entire experience of like initially coming out to this region based on being an ambassador and to now come back like, oh, you know, we got something going on here that is ours. It's a surreal moment, but it's something I've always imagined.
Comments
Leave a comment