Jeffrey Allen Townes (born January 22, 1965), known professionally as DJ Jazzy Jeff (or simply Jazz), is an American disc jockey (DJ) and music producer. He was a member of DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince with

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his acting career starring as a fictionalized version of himself on the NBC sitcom '' The Fresh ...

. He is credited, along with DJs Spinbad and Cash Money, with making the

transformer scratch Turntablism is the art of manipulating sounds and creating new music, sound effects, mixes and other creative sounds and beats, typically by using two or more turntables and a cross fader-equipped DJ mixer. The mixer is plugged into a PA syste ...

famous.

Early life and initial career

Townes was born on January 22, 1965, in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

. Early on, he developed a reputation and a following as a school and block party DJ. He was ten years old when he first became interested in being a DJ. He told author Paul Stenning, "At summer time block parties I wouldn't be the one dancing, I sat where the DJ was set up, watching him. Even when I would go to other block parties in other neighborhoods I was still infatuated with the DJ. He was the guy that played music that everyone in the neighborhood loved. You might not have known his face, you might not have known his name but he was the guy that made everyone move." He took the stage name DJ Jazzy Jeff. He was one half of the duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, along with

. The group received the first Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance in 1989 for " Parents Just Don't Understand", though their most successful single was " Summertime" which earned the group their second Grammy and peaked at number 4 on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online stream ...

Career

Acting

When Smith branched out into television with the sitcom ''

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' is an American television sitcom created by Andy and Susan Borowitz for NBC. It aired from September 10, 1990, to May 20, 1996. The series stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart ...

,'' Jazzy Jeff played a character named Jazz, Smith's best friend on the show. Jazzy Jeff was initially a recurring character in the first season, but became a regular shortly thereafter. In the early seasons, the two characters always greeted each other with their signature handshake (swinging mid-five, point-back, snap with both characters saying "Pssh!"). A running joke throughout the show's run involved the character being physically ejected from the house by Uncle Phil ( James Avery), most often using the same footage for comedic effect, but sometimes filming new footage instead. Jazz had an unrequited crush on Hillary Banks (played by Karyn Parsons). Jeffrey Allen Townes aka Dj Jazzy Jeff

Music

One of the first records DJ Jazzy Jeff ever appeared on was with the Korner Boyz (Street Artz Records) and their songs "Bust the Move" and "The Saga of Roxanne", which featured legendary Philadelphia rappers MC Parry P and Grand Tone. The instrumental was called "Jazzy Jeff Scratch" (1985). As a duo, DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince had several gold and platinum-selling albums and singles in the late 1980s and early 1990s, earning them the first rap

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

ever presented in 1989 for " Parents Just Don't Understand". At the time of winning the Grammy Award, DJ Jazzy Jeff came home crying as he had just $500 in the bank. DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince also won a second Grammy for " Summertime". After DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince broke up, Townes went on to become a prominent R&B,

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest att ...

, and

neo soul Neo soul (sometimes called progressive soul) is a genre of popular music. As a term, it was coined by music industry entrepreneur Kedar Massenburg during the late 1990s to market and describe a style of music that emerged from soul and con ...

record producer, establishing the A Touch of Jazz production company in his native Philadelphia. Among the artists that Jazzy Jeff has helped develop are Eric Roberson, Jill Scott, Musiq Soulchild,

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing Hip hop music, hip hop in Middle America (United Sta ...

the Roots The Roots are an American hip hop band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy F ...

, Raheem DeVaughn, Darius Rucker,

Talib Kweli Talib Kweli Greene (; born October 3, 1975) is an American rapper. He earned recognition early on through his collaboration with fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def in 1997, when they formed the group Black Star. Kweli's musical career continued with ...

, Floetry,

Rhymefest Che Smith (born July 6, 1977), better known by his stage name Rhymefest, is an American rapper from Chicago whose first official album, '' Blue Collar'', was released in 2006. His prominent songwriting credits include co-writing Kanye West's " ...

, and many more. Despite separating from

as a music partner, they remain close friends and occasionally work together. Some songs by Smith were produced by Townes, and he has performed on some songs by Smith such as "So Fresh" and "Potnas". In addition, he appeared in several of Smith's music videos such as "Will2K" and "Freakin' It". On some occasions, he made appearances with Smith at live concerts, producing DJ scratches. On July 2, 2005, DJ Jazzy Jeff performed with Smith at the Live 8 concert in Philadelphia. Moreover, Smith acknowledges him in his music such as "Comin' to the Stage" from the album '' Lost and Found'' and "Potnas" from his album '' Willennium''. His 2007 release ''

The Return of the Magnificent ''The Return of the Magnificent'' is the second studio album by DJ Jazzy Jeff. It was released via BBE and Rapster Records in 2007. It is the official follow-up to '' The Magnificent'' (2002). It includes guest appearances from CL Smooth, Big D ...

'' featured numerous collaborations with old school and new school artists including CL Smooth,

Big Daddy Kane Antonio Hardy (born September 10, 1968), better known by his stage name Big Daddy Kane, is an American rapper who began his career in 1986 as a member of the Juice Crew. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential and skilled MCs in ...

Pos POS, Pos or PoS may refer to: Linguistics * Part of speech, the role that a word or phrase plays in a sentence * Poverty of the stimulus, a linguistic term used in language acquisition and development * Sayula Popoluca (ISO 639-3), an indigenous ...

from

De La Soul De La Soul () is an American hip hop trio formed in 1988 in the Amityville area of Long Island, New York. They are best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternati ...

Method Man Clifford Smith, Jr. (born March 2, 1971), better known by his stage name Method Man, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is known as a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He is also half o ...

, Peedi Peedi (a remake of "Brand New Funk"),

, and Raheem DeVaughn. In 2007, he appeared with Rhymefest in a video directed by

Konee Rok Konee Rok is an American music video and documentary director. He has done film and video work with many popular artists in hip-hop, rap music and break dancing culture. He has directed music videos, documentaries and commercials featuring Gram ...

, in which he makes music in his home recording studio with Rhymefest. In 2008, Townes performed with Smith at the premiere of the latter's 2008 film '' Hancock''. In 2009, he made a mixtape titled ''He's the King...I'm the DJ'' in honor of the late entertainer

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...

. Townes was featured in the video game '' DJ Hero'' as a playable character. He also has some original mixes in the game. In 2010, DJ Jazzy Jeff and

Mick Mick is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Michael. Because of its popularity in Ireland, it is often used in England as a derogatory term for an Irish person or a person of Irish descent. In Australia the meaning broade ...

(formerly known as Mick Boogie) teamed up to release the ''Summertime: The Mixtape'' series. The mixes are released every summer. In 2013, DJ Jazzy Jeff performed with Will Smith on ''

The Graham Norton Show ''The Graham Norton Show'' is a British comedy chat show presented by Graham Norton. It was initially broadcast on BBC Two, from 22 February 2007, before moving to BBC One in October 2009. It currently airs on Friday evenings, with Norton ...

''. Also that same year, DJ Jazzy Jeff released ''Vinyl Destination'', a web series documenting his hundred plus DJ shows from all around the world. He also appeared as the lead interview in Paul Stenning's book ''Success – By Those Who've Made It''. In 2015, he performed the scratch overdubs for the film ''

Straight Outta Compton ''Straight Outta Compton'' is the debut studio album by rap group N.W.A, which, led by Eazy-E, formed in Los Angeles County's City of Compton in early 1987. Released by his label, Ruthless Records, on August 8, 1988, the album was produced ...

''. In August 2017, DJ Jazzy Jeff and Will Smith performed two shows in Europe: MTV Summerblast Music Festival in

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...

and the Livewire Festival in

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre rivers, and is ...

Personal life

DJ Jazzy Jeff married Lynette C. Jackson in

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...

on July 31, 2010. He has four children: two sons from a previous relationship including actor Amir Mitchell-Townes, and a son and daughter with Lynette.

Discography

Solo work as DJ Jazzy Jeff

*Unreleased album from Sony Records (1998) *One cut in ''Battle of DJs'' *'' The Magnificent'' (2002) *''Soulheaven Presents Jazzy Jeff in the House'' (2004) *''Hip-Hop Forever II'' (Rapster Records) (2004) *''The Soul Mixtape'' (Groovin' Records USA) (2005) *'' Hip-Hop Forever III'' (BBE Records) (2006) *''The Return of The Magnificent EP'' (2007) *''

'' (2007) #55 US (Gold) *''The Return of Hip Hop EP'' (2007) * ''House of Tribes (T's Box)'' (2009) * ''My Faves Volume 1'' (mixtape) (2009) * ''DJ Jazzy Jeff presents: Jeff's in the House Vol. 1'' (mixtape) (2010) * ''What Happens in Vegas'' (mixtape) (2011) * ''LRG Life Colors'' (mixtape) (2012) * M3 (album) (2018)

As DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince

*''

Rock the House Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

'' (1987) #83 US (Gold); #97 UK *'' He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper'' (1988) #4 US (3× Platinum); #68 UK *'' And in This Corner…'' (1989) #39 US (Gold) *'' Homebase'' (1991) #12 US (Platinum); #69 UK *'' Code Red'' (1993) #64 US (Gold); #50 UK *''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

'' (1998) #144 US, #20 UK *''Before The Willennium'' (1999) *''The Very Best of D.J. Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince'' (2006)

Miscellaneous

*1991: "Work It Out" with Monie Love from the soundtrack ''

Boyz n the Hood ''Boyz n the Hood'' is a 1991 American coming-of-age hood drama film written and directed by John Singleton in his feature directorial debut. It stars Cuba Gooding Jr., Morris Chestnut, Ice Cube, Laurence Fishburne, Nia Long, Regina King, and An ...

'' *1991: " Deep, Deep, Trouble" (with

Bart Simpson Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional character in the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in '' The Tracey Ullman Sh ...

) and the remixes from '' The Simpsons Sing the Blues'' *1997: "Jazzy Jeff's Theme" (from the album '' Nuyorican Soul'') *1998: "When to Stand Up" (featuring

) *1998: "I Don't Know" – Slum Village (scratches; from the album '' Fantastic, Vol. 2'') *1999: "The Next Movement" –

The Roots The Roots are an American hip hop band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy F ...

(scratches; from the album ''

Things Fall Apart ''Things Fall Apart'' is the debut novel by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe, first published in 1958. It depicts pre-colonial life in the southeastern part of Nigeria and the invasion by Europeans during the late 19th century. It is seen as the ...

'') *2004: "Mirrorball (DJ Jazzy Jeff Full Sole Remix)" (by Everything but the Girl; from the album ''Adapt or Die: 10 Years of Remixes'') *2005: "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone (DJ Jazzy Jeff & Pete Kuzma Solefull Mix)" (by

the Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

; from '' Motown Remixed'') *2005: '' Lost & Found'' (by

; produced the intro song "Here He Comes" and several DJ scratches on several tracks) *2005: "Watch Me" – Little Brother (scratches; from the album ''

The Minstrel Show ''The Minstrel Show'' is the second studio album by hip hop trio Little Brother. It followed the critical success of their 2003 debut, '' The Listening''. The album was highly anticipated and touted as a probable breakthrough for the group, e ...

'') *2006: "Feel It (Jazzy Jeff Soulful Remix)" (by

The Black Eyed Peas Black Eyed Peas (also known as The Black Eyed Peas) is an American musical group consisting of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo (rapper), Taboo. The group's line-up during the height of their popularity in the 2000s featured Fergie (singer ...

; from '' Renegotiations: The Remixes'') *2006: "Night in Tunisia (DJ Jazzy Jeff Remix)" (by

Duke Jordan Irving Sidney "Duke" Jordan (April 1, 1922 – August 8, 2006) was an American jazz pianist. Biography Jordan was born in New York and raised in Brooklyn where he attended Boys High School. An imaginative and gifted pianist, Jordan was a regul ...

) *2006: "Foot in the Door" – Oddisee (mixed by DJ Jazzy Jeff) *2007: "NY Weather Report" –

(scratches; from the album ''

Eardrum In the anatomy of humans and various other tetrapods, the eardrum, also called the tympanic membrane or myringa, is a thin, cone-shaped membrane that separates the external ear from the middle ear. Its function is to transmit sound from the ...

'') *2007: " A Long Walk" – Jill Scott (made a cameo appearance in the music video) *2008: "Get Busy" –

(scratches; from the album '' Rising Down'') *2008: "Bring It Back" –

(producer; from the album '' El Che'') *2009: "Prince in Training" – MaC Renegade (hosted by DJ Jazzy Jeff) *2009: "Stay This Way (Jazzy Jeff Remix)" – by Peter Bjorn and John (featuring Big Pooh,

Chaundon Finian C. St. Omer II (born September 6, 1976), better known by Chaundon, is an American hip-hop artist from South Bronx, New York City. In 2008, he released his debut album ''Carnage'' and has become well known on the internet due to his website ...

, and Phil Nash from the mixtape ''Re-Living Thing'' with Mick Boogie) *2010: ''Summertime: The Mixtape Vol. 1'' – DJ Jazzy Jeff &

MICK Mick is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Michael. Because of its popularity in Ireland, it is often used in England as a derogatory term for an Irish person or a person of Irish descent. In Australia the meaning broade ...

*2011: ''Back for More'' – DJ Jazzy Jeff & Ayah *2011: ''Summertime: The Mixtape Vol. 2'' – DJ Jazzy Jeff & MICK *2011: "Shorti Bomb" – DJ Sat-One (with Chief Kamachi and DJ Jazzy Jeff) *2011: "No Strings (DJ Jazzy Jeff Roller Boogie Remix)" – Mayer Hawthorne *2012: ''Summertime: The Mixtape Vol. 3'' – DJ Jazzy Jeff & MICK *2012: "92 Til Infinity" –

Mac Miller Malcolm James McCormick (January 19, 1992 – September 7, 2018), known professionally as Mac Miller, was an American rapper and record producer. Miller began his career in Pittsburgh's hip hop scene in 2007, at the age of fifteen. In 2010, h ...

*2012: "Girl of My Life" –

Mint Condition Mint condition is an expression used to denote the quality of a pre-owned good as displaying virtually no imperfections and being in pristine condition relative to its original production state. Originally, the phrase related to the way collect ...

(scratches; from the album '' Music @ the Speed of Life'') *2013: ''Summertime: The Mixtape Vol. 4'' – DJ Jazzy Jeff & MICK *2013: "Classic" –

Shad The Alosinae, or the shads,Alosinae
Skratch Bastid; from the EP ''The Spring Up'') *2013: "Red Hot Flo (From Kokomo) (DJ Jazzy Jeff Remix)" – from ''

Boardwalk Empire ''Boardwalk Empire'' is an American period crime drama television series created by Terence Winter and broadcast on the premium cable channel HBO. The series is set chiefly in Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the Prohibition era of the 1920 ...

'' *2013: "Be Free (DJ Jazzy Jeff & James Poyser Remix" – Moonchild *2014: ''Summertime: The Mixtape Vol. 5'' – DJ Jazzy Jeff & MICK *2014: "World is Our Playground (DJ Jazzy Jeff Remix)" – DJ Vice *2014: "We Are One (DJ Jazzy Jeff Remix)" –

Terry Hunter Terry Hunter is a grammy-nominated American house music DJ from Chicago, Illinois. He has been active in the Chicago music scene since the early 1990s. He has produced many of his own albums, as well as remixes for other artists. Career In ...

(featuring Jay Adams) *2014: "Room Test" – Dayne Jordan (producer) *2014: "All About the Art" – Dayne Jordan and James Poyser (producer) *2014: "I Want It All" – Dayne Jordan (producer) *2014: "Play Dat!" – DJ Jazzy Jeff featuring Dayne Jordan *2014: "Lost" – Dayne Jordan (producer) *2014: "Fellow" – Dayne Jordan (producer) *2015: ''Summertime: The Mixtape Vol. 6'' – DJ Jazzy Jeff & MICK *2016: ''Summertime: The Mixtape Vol. 7'' – DJ Jazzy Jeff & MICK *2017: "Chasing Goosebumps" – The PLAYlist (executive producer) *2017: ''Summertime: The Mixtape Vol. 8'' – DJ Jazzy Jeff & MICK *2020: "Gotta Be Dope" R.A. The Rugged Man feat. A-F-R-O and DJ Jazzy Jeff

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jazzy Jeff, Dj 1965 births Living people 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American rappers African-American DJs African-American male actors African-American male rappers African-American record producers African-American songwriters American hip hop DJs Ableton Live users American hip hop record producers American male rappers American male songwriters American male television actors Grammy Award winners for rap music Male actors from Philadelphia Rappers from Philadelphia Record producers from Pennsylvania Songwriters from Pennsylvania Barely Breaking Even artists