Willard Carroll Smith II is an American actor, rapper and film producer. He has received multiple accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a BAFTA Award, and four Grammy Awards. As of 2024, his films have grossed over $9.3 billion globally, making him one of Hollywood's most bankable stars.
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 teenager born and raised in West Philadelphia who is sent to live with his wealthy uncle and aunt in Bel-Air, Los Angeles, where his lifestyle often clashes with that of his upper-class relatives.
DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince were an American hip hop duo from West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, consisting of rapper Will Smith and disc jockey 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. They performed together as recently as November 2023.
Jeffrey Allen Townes, known professionally as DJ Jazzy Jeff, is an American DJ, record producer and actor. 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.
Christopher Reid, formerly known as Kid, is an American rapper, actor and comedian. During the peak of his career with the rap duo Kid 'n Play, with Christopher Martin, Reid was notable for both his seven-inch, vertical hi-top fade and freckles.
Yo! MTV Raps is an American two-hour television music video program, which first aired on MTV Europe from 1987 to mid-90s and on MTV US from August 1988 to August 1995. The American version of the program was the first hip hop music show on the network, and was based on the original MTV Europe show, which first aired one year before the American version. Yo! MTV Raps produced a mix of rap videos, interviews with rap stars, live in-studio performances, and comedy. The show also yielded a Brazilian version called Yo! MTV and broadcast by MTV Brasil from 1990 to 2005.
Big Willie Style is the debut solo album by American rapper and actor Will Smith. It was released on November 25, 1997, by Columbia Records. The album was primarily produced by Poke & Tone, with other contributors including L.E.S. and Smith's former collaborator DJ Jazzy Jeff. The album was the first to be released by Smith since 1993's Code Red, the last by the duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince. Five singles were released, including Smith's first US Billboard Hot 100 number one, "Gettin' Jiggy wit It".
"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. The lyrics "nothing but trouble" were rerecorded by Jazzy Jeff in "Deep, Deep, Trouble" from The Simpsons Sing the Blues. 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.
Rock the House is the debut album from the hip hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince. The album was released on April 7, 1987 in Europe and the United States, and was subsequently re-issued in 1988 in Europe and the United Kingdom. Three tracks from the album were released as singles: "The Magnificent Jazzy Jeff", "A Touch of Jazz" and "Girls Ain't Nothing But Trouble". When the album was released on CD in 1988, the rerecorded version of "Girls Ain't Nothing But Trouble", which was released as a single after He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper ran its course, replaced the original 1986 recording.The art work for the Album cover was done by a local Philadelphia Artist Charles Gossett.
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.
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.
"Boom! Shake the Room" is a song by American hip hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince. The track samples the 1973 song "Funky Worm" by the Ohio Players. Released on July 16, 1993 by Jive Records, as the second single from the duo's fifth studio album, Code Red (1993), the single peaked at numbers 13 and 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100, as well as topping the charts of Australia, Ireland, Spain, and the United Kingdom. In Spain, it was a number-one hit for six weeks. Its music video was directed by American film director Scott Kalvert, featuring the duo performing onstage in front of a live crowd.
"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 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.
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.
"A Nightmare on My Street" is the third single from DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince's second studio album, He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper. The song became a crossover hit in the US, reaching #15 on the Hot 100. The song was released as a single in early 1988 on vinyl and cassette tape. The song humorously describes an encounter with the horror film villain Freddy Krueger and was considered for inclusion in the movie A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, but the producers of the film decided against its inclusion.
The discography of DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince consists of five studio albums, four compilations and 18 singles.
"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 sampled and shared the same name as Anita Ward's 1979 hit, "Ring My Bell", though the original lyrics were replaced by those written by the Fresh Prince. 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.
Fresh Prince may refer to:
