DJ Jazzy Jeff
|
Jeff Townes, AKA DJ Jazzy Jeff |
DJ Jazzy Jeff (born
Jeffrey A. Townes on
January 22,
1965 in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an
American hip hop DJ/
turntablist and hip hop/
R&B record producer. He is best known for his early career with
Will Smith as half of
DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince.
Together, the duo had several gold and platinum-selling albums and singles in the late
1980s and early
1990s, earning them the first rap
Grammy ever presented in
1989 for
Parents Just Don't Understand. When Smith branched out into
television with the
sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Jazzy Jeff played the popular
recurring character "Jazz", whose trademarks were 1) to be physically thrown out of the house by Will's Uncle Phil (
James Avery); and 2) his silly one-liners.
DJ Jazzy Jeff is not to be confused with
Jazzy Jeff from the earlier hip hop group
Funky Four Plus One which in fact filed and won a lawsuit over the name
Jazzy Jeff against Jeff Townes and Jive records when they signed
DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince.
After DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince broke up, Townes went on to become a prominent
R&B,
soul, and
neo soul record producer, establishing the
A Touch of Jazz production company in his native Philadelphia. Among the artists that Jazzy Jeff has helped develop are
Jill Scott and
Musiq.
He is also credited for creating the famous "Transformer" scratch. (See:
Scratching)
On
July 2 2005, DJ Jazzy Jeff performed with
Will Smith at the
Live 8 concert in Philadelphia.
Solo work as DJ Jazzy Jeff
*One cut in
Battle of DJsThe Magnificent (
2002)
*"Soulheaven Presents Jazzy Jeff In the House" (
2004)
*"The Soul Mixtape" Groovin' Records USA (
2005)
*"Hip-Hop Forever II" Rapster Records (
2004)
*"The Return Of The Magnificent" BBE Music (
2006)
As DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince
Rock the House (
1987) #83 US
He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper (
1988) #4 US
And in this Corner... (
1989) #39 US
Homebase (
1991) #12 US
Code Red (
1993) #64 US
Greatest Hits (
1998) (including material from Will Smith's solo career) #144 US, #20 UK
*
Will Smith*
Jill Scott*
Eric Roberson*
Kev Brown*
Raheem De Vaughn*
DJ Jazzy Jeff (Official site)
*
Will Smith and Jazzy Jeff Fan Site*
Jazz Edward Geoffries free form jazz band who are named partly in tribute of DJ Jazzy Jeff.
*http://www.jazzyjefffreshprince.com/
*http://www.djjazzyjeff.com/frames.html
