D-Nice and Kevin Liles are two of the biggest names in hip-hop. D-Nice is a popular DJ who many people leaned on for entertainment during the lockdown period of the COVID-19 pandemic, while Liles is one of the genre’s biggest executives. The two moguls collided for the film Hip House, which premiered at the 2023 American Black Film Festival in Miami. Executive producers Liles and D-Nice, as well as director Whitney Clinkscales and Keesha Boyd from Comcast, spoke to rolling out about the docu-series.
How did you all approach the creation of this three-part docuseries?
Liles: Right now, there’s a lot of storytelling, and our story’s being told by too many other people who didn’t actually live it. Me being from Baltimore, D being from New York, Kelly, Nolan, my friend Spin, Terry and Wayne, you can’t talk about Hip House without them. And shout out to my man Frank, who isn’t here, but he’s another tell [the story] without him. We’re international, and we just wanted to tell the right story, so you put the right people together because everybody here believes not only in Hip House but in hip-hop, our culture.
D-Nice: I was just tired of seeing stories that weren’t authentic when it comes to our culture, hip-hop, DJ culture in general. Growing up, and I’m not as old as the other guys, so I had to discover these records by going shopping. I didn’t always live the same music. Once we started talking, it was like “Man. This is exactly where I want to be. These are the songs and the music I love, hip-hop and house music. I love it.
As Black women in the industry, how do you navigate the challenges of representation and inclusion?
Clinkscales: I love this question because one of the things I always say with my work is to bring more seats to the table. If there aren’t enough seats, there’s definitely room in the overflow, we’re going to build new tables. That’s definitely something I try to always bring to every project I’m on.
I surround myself by celebrating and championing women, Black women and queer women. It’s exciting for me to be involved with these people because they believe in that diversity and inclusion as well.
Boyd: That’s right. I completely agree.
I would add, I always say this when it comes to media, TV and movies: Content has the ability to inspire, motivate and transform someone’s life. It’s important everyone feels seen so they can be impacted and affected in the same way. I think it’s incredibly important to have women, people of color, everyone in front of the screen, as well as behind the scenes. That’s my role- to be behind the scenes. Make sure I’m opening Doors and stewarding our company dollars in the right direction to support emerging Black creators. I’m so excited to support Whitney in this project as a director. I’m just along for the ride, and I’m super excited.
