DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince

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Will Smith, 1993
DJ Jazzy Jeff, 2003

DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince was a hip-hop - duo from Philadelphia , consisting of the actor and rapper Will Smith and DJ and music producer Jeff Townes was.

history

Smith met Townes at a party when he was 16. Together they later recorded songs that Smith presented to various record companies . 1987 her first appeared Single Girls Is not Nothing but Trouble at the label Word Up Records. Due to small successes, the label Jive Records became aware of the two. Word Up Records then licensed the rights to Jive.

In 1986 Smith, who had taken over the part of "Fresh Prince" in the joint formation, accompanied Jazzy Jeff to the DJ battle of the New Music Seminar (NMS). DJ Jazzy Jeff was able to defeat the then world champion DJ Cheese in the first round and won the competition in the end.

In 1987 the duo released their debut album Rock the House . A year later, the second album He’s the DJ, I'm the Rapper , was released, which went down in music history as the first hip-hop long player to be released on double vinyl. The Fresh Prince, who stood out for his humorous lyrics, became a millionaire at a young age. In 1988 the duo received the first Grammy in the rap category for the track Parents Just Don't Understand . The video was also named "Best Rap Video" at the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards .

In 1990, producer Benny Medina offered Will Smith the lead role in a sitcom . Smith accepted the role, playing a boy from Philadelphia who moved to live with relatives in the affluent Bel Air area . The series ran on the US channel NBC and later became known in Germany under the title The Prince of Bel-Air . While the role of Prince of Bel Air laid the foundation for Will Smith's Hollywood career, Jazzy Jeff appeared regularly as a guest on the 144-episode series. Townes also founded the production company "A Touch of Jazz" in the same year.

In 1993 Code Red , the duo's fifth album, was released. In the years that followed, DJ Jazzy Jeff did noticeably worse financially, while Smith starred in Bad Boys (1995), Independence Day (1996), Men in Black (1997) and Public Enemy No. 1 (1998). In 2001, Will Smith received $ 20 million and an Oscar nomination for the lead role in Ali .

In 2000, Jazzy Jeff worked with ATOJ as Executive Producer on the debut album Who Is Jill Scott? the singer Jill Scott . In the following time Townes concentrated more on the work as a DJ and released the producer album The Magnificent . In January 2005 the producer celebrated his 40th birthday with various DJ colleagues like Biz Markie . The Fresh Prince released the solo albums Born to Reign (2002) and Lost and Found (2005) under his real name at the beginning of the 21st century .

In 2007 it was announced that Will Smith will rededicate himself to his music career and want to perform again with Jazzy Jeff. In November 2018, a video from the year 1988 was distributed from the Friends of Fresh Prince . It shows an unreleased video for Nightmare On My Street . The video had been destroyed by the label at the time because copyright lawsuits were feared.

Discography

Studio albums

year title Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)
Remarks
DE DE AT AT CH CH UK UK US US R&B R&B
1987 Rock the House - - - UK97 (1 week)
UK
US83
gold
gold

(18 weeks)US
R&B24 (33 weeks)
R&B
First published: March 19, 1987
Producers: Dana Goodman, Lawrence Goodman
1988 He's the DJ, I'm the rapper - - - UK68 (2 weeks)
UK
US4th
Triple platinum
× 3
Triple platinum

(55 weeks)US
R&B5 (47 weeks)
R&B
First released: March 29, 1988
Producers: DJ Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince
Bryan “Chuck” New, Pete Q. Harris
1989 And in This Corner ... - - - - US39
gold
gold

(20 weeks)US
R&B19 (20 weeks)
R&B
First published: October 31, 1989
Producers: DJ Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince,
Nigel Green, Pete Q. Harris
1991 Home base - - - UK69 (1 week)
UK
US12
platinum
platinum

(42 weeks)US
R&B5 (31 weeks)
R&B
First published: July 9, 1991
Producers: Jeff Townes, Craig King,
Hula & K. Fingers
1993 Code Red DE61 (9 weeks)
DE
- CH35 (5 weeks)
CH
UK50 (6 weeks)
UK
US64
gold
gold

(15 weeks)US
R&B39 (12 weeks)
R&B
First published: October 12, 1993
Producers: Pete Rock , Markell Riley,
Teddy Riley , Will Smith, Jeff Townes,
Hula & K. Fingers, Xavier Hargrove,
Victor Emanuel Cooke, Dallas Austin

Compilations

year title Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)
Remarks
DE DE AT AT CH CH UK UK US US R&B R&B
1998 Greatest hits DE69 (4 weeks)
DE
- - UK20th
silver
silver

(6 weeks)UK
US144 (6 weeks)
US
R&B93 (1 week)
R&B
First published: May 19, 1998

More compilations

  • 2000: Before the Willenium
  • 2003: Platinum & Gold Collection
  • 2006: Collections
  • 2006: The Very Best of DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince
  • 2010: The Best Of
  • 2015: Playlist: The Very Best of DJ Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince

Singles

year Title
album
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)
Remarks
DE DE AT AT CH CH UK UK US US R&B R&B
1986 Girls Ain't Nothing but Trouble
Rock the House
- - - UK21 (8 weeks)
UK
US57 (12 weeks)
US
R&B81 (5 weeks)
R&B
First published: September 1986
Producers: Jeff Townes, Will Smith
1987 The Magnificent Jazzy Jeff
Rock the House
- - - UK93 (2 weeks)
UK
- R&B61 (9 weeks)
R&B
First published: February 1987
Producers: Jeff Townes, Will Smith
A touch of jazz
rock the house
- - - UK79 (2 weeks)
UK
- R&B65 (8 weeks)
R&B
First published: May 1987
Producers: Jeff Townes, Will Smith
1988 Parents Just Don't Understand
He’s the DJ, I'm the Rapper
- - - UK87 (4 weeks)
UK
US12 (19 weeks)
US
R&B10 (20 weeks)
R&B
First released: April 1988
Grammy (Best Rap Performance)
Producers: Jeff Townes, Will Smith
A Nightmare on My Street
He’s the DJ, I'm the Rapper
- - - - US15 (16 weeks)
US
R&B9 (15 weeks)
R&B
First published July 1988
Producers: Jeff Townes, Will Smith, Pete Q. Harris
Brand New Funk
He’s the DJ, I'm the Rapper
- - - - - R&B76 (9 weeks)
R&B
First published: November 1988
Producers: Jeff Townes, Will Smith
1989 I Think I Can Beat Mike Tyson
And in This Corner
- - - UK94 (1 week)
UK
US58 (8 weeks)
US
R&B23 (11 weeks)
R&B
First published: October 1989
Producers: Jeff Townes, Will Smith, Pete Q. Harris
1990 The Groove
And in This Corner
- - - - - R&B70 (7 weeks)
R&B
First published: February 1990
Producers: Jeff Townes, Will Smith
feat. Grover Washington, Jr.
1991 Summertime
homebase
DE12 (17 weeks)
DE
- CH11 (13 weeks)
CH
UK8th
gold
gold

(19 weeks)UK
US4th
platinum
platinum

(18 weeks)US
R&B1 (18 weeks)
R&B
First published: June 1991
Grammy (Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group)
Authors: Kool & the Gang , Will Smith,
Hula, K. Fingers, Ricky West
contains samples from Summer Madness
by Kool & the Gang, 1974
Ring My Bell
Homebase
- - CH29 (1 week)
CH
UK53 (2 weeks)
UK
US20th
gold
gold

(19 weeks)US
R&B22 (13 weeks)
R&B
First published: September 1991
Author: Frederick Knight
Original: Anita Ward , 1979
The Things That U Do
Homebase
- - - - - R&B43 (10 weeks)
R&B
First published: December 1991
Producers: Jeff Townes, Will Smith, Craig King
1993 Boom! Shake the Room
Code Red
DE8th
gold
gold

(21 weeks)DE
AT17 (11 weeks)
AT
CH8 (21 weeks)
CH
UK1
silver
silver

(13 weeks)UK
US13 (20 weeks)
US
R&B21 (16 weeks)
R&B
First published: June 1993
Authors: Keith Mayberry, Lee Haggard,
Walter Williams, Will Smith
contains samples from Funky Worm
by Ohio Players , 1972
1994 I'm Looking for the One (To Be with Me)
Code Red
DE88 (4 weeks)
DE
- - UK24 (4 weeks)
UK
US79 (7 weeks)
US
R&B51 (9 weeks)
R&B
First published: November 1993
Authors: Mike Smith, Teddy Riley
Contains borrowings from Tell Me If You Still Care
by SOS Band , 1983
Can't Wait to Be with You
Code Red
- - - UK29 (5 weeks)
UK
- -
First published: February 1994
Authors: Luther Vandross , Will Smith
contains samples from Never Too Much
by Luther Vandross, 1981
Twinkle Twinkle (I'm Not a Star)
Code Red
- - - UK60 (4 weeks)
UK
- -
First published: May 1994
Authors: Alton Taylor, Ronald Bell, Jeff Townes, Will Smith
1998 Lovely Daze
Greatest Hits
- - - UK37 (2 weeks)
UK
- -
First published: June 1998
Author and original: Bill Withers - Lovely Day , 1977

More singles

  • 1987: Just One of Those Days
  • 1988: Don't Even Try It
  • 1992: Yo Home to Bel Air
  • 1992: You Saw My Blinker
  • 1994: I Wanna Rock
  • 1998: Greatest Hits - Megamix Sampler
  • 1998: Summertime '98
  • 2004: The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air (UK:silversilver)
  • 2006: Summertime (2006 Remixes)

swell

  1. The Return of "The Fresh Prince"! ( Memento from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  2. 30 year old video of DJ Jazzy Jeff and Fresh Prince surfaced. Retrieved November 13, 2018 .
  3. a b c Chart sources: Singles Albums UK US US2
  4. a b c gold / platinum databases: DE UK US

Web links