DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince were an American hip hop duo from West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, consisting of rapper Will Smith and turntablist Jeff Townes. Active full time from 1986 to 1994 and occasionally thereafter, the duo became just the third rap group in recording history to receive platinum certification, after Run-DMC and the Beastie Boys. The group received the first Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance in 1989 for "Parents Just Don't Understand" (1988), though their most successful single was "Summertime" (1991), which earned the group their second Grammy and peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Will Smith and Jeff Townes have remained close friends and claim they never split up, having made songs together under Smith's solo performer credit. DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince have sold over 5.5 million albums in the US. Their latest performance dates back to November 2023.
Jeffrey Allen Townes, known professionally as DJ Jazzy Jeff, is an American DJ and producer. He was one half of the hip hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, along with rapper-turned-actor and fellow Philadelphia native Will Smith. He is credited, along with DJs Spinbad and Cash Money, with popularizing the transformer scratch.
The Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance is an honor presented to recording artists for quality rap performances. It was first presented at the 31st Annual Grammy Awards in 1989 and again at the 32nd Annual Grammy Awards in 1990, after which point the award was split into two categories: Best Rap Solo Performance and Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. These two categories were combined again in 2012 as a result of a restructure of Grammy categories, and the reinstated Award for Best Rap Performance was presented at the 54th Grammy Awards in 2012. The restructuring was the consequence of the Recording Academy's wish to decrease the number of categories and awards and to eliminate distinctions between solo and duo or group performances.
"Girls Ain't Nothing but Trouble" is the debut single by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, from their 1987 debut album Rock the House released on Philadelphia-based Word Records. It was released in 1986. The music is built around a sample from the theme tune of the 1960s television series I Dream of Jeannie. It was featured in the eighth episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air where Will and Carlton were battling over a girl. In the song, Will Smith warns his crew to stay away from young women and recounts some unfortunate experiences with them. In the end of the 1988 version, DJ Jazzy Jeff references two of the duo's further singles, "Parents Just Don't Understand" and "Nightmare on My Street." The song was only released on vinyl. The music video was released in 1986.
He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper is the second studio album by American hip hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince. It was the first double album in hip hop music, and was the eighth rap album to become a platinum album.
And in This Corner… is the third studio album released by MC/DJ duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince. The album was released in October 1989, reaching #39 on the US Billboard 200 albums chart. The album was not released on Compact Disc in the UK. However, it was available on this format in most of Europe.
Homebase is the fourth studio album released by hip-hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince. The album was released on July 23, 1991, reaching number 12 on the Billboard 200 charts and number 5 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. It received generally favorable reviews from critics. The album was certified Platinum and won an American Music Award for Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Album in 1992.
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors is a 1987 American fantasy slasher film directed by Chuck Russell in his feature directorial debut. The story was developed by Wes Craven and Bruce Wagner and is the third installment in the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise and stars Heather Langenkamp, Patricia Arquette, Larry Fishburne, Priscilla Pointer, Craig Wasson, and Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger. Nancy Thompson, now a psychiatrist, and Kristen, a patient who can bring others into her own dreams, team up with other kids to launch a daring rescue into the dreamland and save a child from Freddy Krueger.
"You Saw My Blinker" is the fourth and final single taken from DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince's fourth studio album, Homebase. The song is one of only two times that Will Smith has cursed in the lyrics of a song, the other being "Tell Me Why", a song from Smith's fourth studio album, Lost and Found.
"Parents Just Don't Understand" is the second single from American duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince's second studio album, He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper (1988). In the song, the Fresh Prince details his problems with his parents, whom he feels do not understand the challenges of being a teenager.
"Summertime" is a song by American hip-hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, released in May 1991 by Jive and RCA as the lead single from their fourth studio album, Homebase (1991). The song was produced by Chicago-based producers Hula and K. Fingers, and it won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the 1992 Grammy Awards. It spent a week at number #1 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart, as well as reaching #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also became the duo's first single to enter the top ten of the UK Singles Chart, peaking at #8.
"I Think I Can Beat Mike Tyson" is the first single taken from DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince's third studio album, And in This Corner…. The song was released as a single in late 1989. This is the duo's first single to be available on Compact Disc format. It peaked at number 58 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Dream Warriors" is a song by American band Dokken, that was written by members George Lynch and Jeff Pilson for the movie A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors. The song was released as a single in 1987, charting at number 22 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and was also released on Dokken's fourth album, Back for the Attack, as the closing track to that album.
Greatest Hits is the first compilation album by DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince. The album includes several of the duo's biggest hits, including "Girls Ain't Nothing but Trouble", "Parents Just Don't Understand", and "Summertime". This also includes the previously unreleased track "Lovely Daze", and two solo tracks by Will Smith from his major-motion picture film, Men in Black.
"Funky President (People It's Bad)" is a funk song by James Brown. Released as a single in 1974, it charted No. 4 R&B. It also appeared on the album Reality. According to Brown the "funky president" of the song's title was meant to refer to U.S. President Gerald Ford, who had succeeded Richard Nixon in the White House shortly before it was recorded.
"Yo Home to Bel-Air", alternately titled as "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (Theme)" or merely "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air", is a song by DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince first heard in 1990 as the theme song to the NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Lyrics were composed by rapper and sitcom star Will Smith, performing under his stage name the Fresh Prince, and the song was produced by Jeffrey Townes under his stage name DJ Jazzy Jeff.
Jeffrey Miree, also known as MC Jazzy Jeff, is an American rapper and member of the Funky 4 + 1 who was active from 1979 to 2002.
Michael Jones, better known by his stage name Wax, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, musician, producer, and comedian. He became a YouTube star after uploading several videos of himself rapping and singing. He currently resides in Los Angeles, California. Wax is best known for his single "Rosana", which was released in 2012 and again in Europe in 2013. There it reached number one in Austria and top ten places in several other European countries.
"Ring My Bell" is the second single released from American hip hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince's fourth studio album, Homebase (1991). The song samples and shares the same name as Anita Ward's 1979 single, "Ring My Bell", though the original lyrics were replaced by those written by Will Smith. Nevertheless, The song's original writer, Fredrick Knight was sole writer who received writing credits. The song appears on Smith's series, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in the closing credits from "The Mother of All Battles" off the season 2 episode.
Friday on Elm Street is a collaborative studio album by American rappers Fabolous and Jadakiss. It was released on November 24, 2017, by Street Family Records, Roc Nation, D-Block Records, Def Jam Recordings. The album is preceded by one single, "Stand Up" featuring Future.
