History Music / DJJazzyJeffAndTheFreshPrince

* PrecisionFStrike: ''"You saw my blinker, bitch!"'' One of only two times Will Smith ever used heavy profanity in his lyrics.

Their 1988 follow-up album, ''He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper'', made them hip-hop stars and broke ground for the genre in a number of ways. It was notably the first double album by a hip-hop act, and the album's first single "Parents Just Don't Understand" won the first-ever UsefulNotes/GrammyAward for Best Rap Performance. The album's second single, [[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet "A Nightmare on My Street"]], was considered for inclusion in ''Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet4TheDreamMaster'', but was rejected. Will and Jeff released it anyway, and the song became their second crossover hit. Unsurprisingly, they were promptly sued for copyright infringement by Creator/NewLineCinema, forcing them to bury the tapes of the song's music video[[note]]The video was eventually leaked 30 years later, causing Sony and New Line to work out a deal to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVbaYFVUbLo release it legally]][[/note]], pay royalties for the samples used in the song, and issue a disclaimer on subsequent pressings of the album denying affiliation with the film. Despite the legal trouble, the album went triple platinum, becoming only the eighth rap album to get at least one such certification.

Their fifth and final album, ''Code Red'', didn't arrive until 1993. At this point, the rap scene had shifted to the West Coast, and fans were all but shunning pop-friendly rap acts. In response, they used a much harder sound than ever before, utilizing more soul and jazz samples than their previous releases. ''Code Red'' went gold, and gave the group their first UK number-one single in "Boom! Shake The Room", but did not reach the success of ''Homebase''.

** Subverted in "Nightmare On My Street", since Prince didn't realize he was actually dealing with the real Freddy Kruger until after the latter struck him.

->''Listen homeboys,\\

So next time a girl gives you the play\\

-->-- '''The Fresh Prince''''s EstablishingCharacterMoment from "Girls Ain't Nothing But Trouble".

DJ Jazzy Jeff And The Fresh Prince are a Hip Hop duo[[note]]originally a trio-- more on that later[[/note]] from West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They're best known for their radio-friendly and storytelling styles of hip hop, with hit singles like "Girls Ain't Nothing But Trouble", "Summertime" and "Parents Just Don't Understand." What's little known about them is that they met completely by chance.

In 1985, Jeff Townes was performing at a house party just a few doors down from where Will Smith was living at the time, and was missing his hype man. Will decided to fill in, and the two quickly felt strong chemistry, to the point where Jeff was genuinely upset when his original hype man finally showed up.

Not long after, they decided to join forces as a group, dubbing themselves "DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince". Will then enlisted friend and local beat-boxer Clarence "Ready Rock C" Holmes to the group, making them a trio. Philadelphia-based record label Word Up! released their first single "Girls Ain't Nothing But Trouble" in late 1985. The single soon became popular, becoming a hit a month before Will graduated high school. Their success got the attention of Russel Simmons and Creator/JiveRecords. Their debut LP ''Rock The House'', originally released on Word Up!, was re-released by Jive in 1987, selling 300,000 copies.

Their 1988 follow up, ''He's The DJ, I'm The Rapper.'' made them hip hop stars. Recorded mostly in the United Kingdom and standing out as the first double-LP by a hip-hop act, they released the single "Parents Just Don't Understand," which peaked at number 12 on the ''Billboard Hot 100'', and earned the group the first-ever "Best Rap Performance" Grammy Award. The album's second single, [[Franchise/ANightMareOnElmStreet "Nightmare on My Street"]], was considered for inclusion in the ''Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet4TheDreamMaster'', but was rejected. Jeff and Will released it anyway, and the song became their second crossover hit, peaking at number 12 on ''Billboard''. Unsurprisingly, they were promptly sued for copyright infringement by Creator/NewLineCinema, forcing the group to bury the tapes of the song's music video [[note]]the video was eventually leaked 30 years later, causing Sony and New Line to work out a deal to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVbaYFVUbLo release it legally]].[[/note]], and pay royalties for the samples used in the song. Despite the legal trouble, the album went Double Platinum.

Things began to go south for the duo in 1989. Their third album ''And In This Corner...'' only went gold, and their lead single "I Think I Can Beat Mike Tyson" failed to make an impact on the charts despite Tyson himself making a cameo in the music video. Not helping things was Will's money troubles. Will had blown through nearly ''three million dollars'' without giving a cent to the IRS. As a result, the IRS began to take all of his assets from him until he paid up. Ready Rock C would leave the group a year later due to creative differences.

Soon after the departure of Ready Rock C, Will was approached by {{Creator/NBC}} and famed record producer Quincy Jones about making a sitcom based around himself. This led to the creation of ''Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir'', which boosted Will's exposure (and allowed him to pay off the IRS via garnishing roughly 25% of his check for the first three seasons), and paved the way for other black musicians to have their own sitcoms such as ''Series/LivingSingle'' with Music/QueenLatifah, ''Series/InTheHouse'' with Music/LLCoolJ (which incidentally [[{{Crossover}} crossed over]] multiple times with the ''Bel Air'' cast) and ''{{Series/Moesha}}'' with {{Music/Brandy}}. Jeff would appear in ''Bel Air'' as the recurring character "Jazz", who was [[RunningGag almost always tossed out of the Banks' household every time he appeared]]. Will also recorded the theme song for the show, which was released in the Netherlands in 1990, and peaked at number 3 on their music charts.

With a boost in exposure from the show, and some pocket money left over from the first season, Will and Jeff released their fourth album ''Homebase'', which went platinum and included their biggest hit in the USA to date, "Summertime," peaking in the ''Hot 100's'' Top Five and netting them their second Grammy Award. The album was also notable for the change to a more mature style than their previous releases, which served as the precursor to the style Will would use on his solo albums. The duo also released a song called "Higher Baby" as part of the [[UsefulNotes/OlympicGames 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games]] compilation ''Barcelona Gold''.

Their fifth and final album, ''Code Red'', didn't arrive until 1993. At this point, the rap scene had shifted to the west coast, and fans were all but shunning pop-friendly rap acts. In response, they used a much harder sound than ever before, utilizing more soul and jazz samples than their previous releases. ''Code Red'' went gold, and gave the group their first UK number-one single in "Boom! Shake The Room", but did not reach the success of ''Homebase''.

After ''Code Red'', Will and Jeff split to focus on their own solo projects, and occasionally do reunion performances once in a while. The duo went on their first tour in decades in 2016.

---> '''Jazzy Jeff:''' "Man, first your parents just don't understand..."\\

-->''The roof was open, the music was high.\\

--> ''I could've got away, I almost had em shook\\

---->''I started hiking it\\

---->''I thought I got away,\\

* DistinctDoubleAlbum: The original vinyl and cassette versions of ''He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper'' are considered the first double album in hip-hop. The first record, which is also side 1 of the cassette, has more straightforward rap song. The second half, referred to as a "bonus scratch album" on the original LP, has some rapping present, but it takes a backseat to Jeff's DJ'ing and Ready Rock C's beatboxing. The CD versions avert this; the standard CD cuts "Another Special Announcement" and edits several tracks to fit the rest on a single disc, while the 2017 reissue includes the unedited album but moves the last four tracks (which make up side 4 of the LP) to the bonus disc with several bonus tracks following.

* DistinctDoubleAlbum: The original vinyl and cassette versions of ''He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper'' are considered the first double album in hip-hop. The first record, which is also side 1 of the cassette, has more straightforward rap song. The second half, referred to as a "bonus scratch album" on the original LP, has some rapping present, but it takes a backseat to Jeff's DJ'ing and Ready Rock C's beatboxing. The CD versions avert this; the standard CD cuts "Another Special Announcement" and edits several tracks to fit the rest on a single disc, while the 2017 reissue includes the unedited album but moves the last four tracks (which make up side 4 of the LP) to the bonus disc with several bonus tracks following.

* DoItYourselfThemeTune[=/=]ThemeTuneRap: [[Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir "Yo Home To Bel Air"]], though some compilations simply give it the same name as the show itself.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness:
** While Will had an impressive solo career under his real name, he has only ''three'' solo credits as "The Fresh Prince". In fact, all of Will's solo credits under that moniker were features, and the most successful one was a charity single, "Voices That Care".
** LaterInstallmentWeirdness: Conversely, the group is mostly known for their "teen" sound from their first three albums. Many don't even realize that their later, more mature singles like "Summertime" were recorded as a duo, and not as one of Will's solo tracks.

* InstrumentalHipHop: Jazzy Jeff shows off his turntable skills on several songs, including "A Touch Of Jazz" "DJ On The Wheels" "Jazzy's In The House" and "Hip Hop Dancer's Theme"

----

And that's true. However, that page is centered on his film career and his music post-1993. This page is for his time with DJ Jazzy Jeff from 1985-1994. Any examples that only apply to his solo work should go there.

DJ Jazzy Jeff And The Fresh Prince are a Hip Hop duo[[note]]originally a trio - more on that later[[/note]] from West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They're best known for their radio-friendly and storytelling styles of hip hop, with hit singles like "Girls Ain't Nothing But Trouble", "Summertime" and "Parents Just Don't Understand." What's little known about them is that they met completely by chance.

Their 1988 follow up, ''He's The DJ, I'm The Rapper.'' made them hip hop stars. Recorded mostly in the United Kingdom, they released the single "Parents Just Don't Understand," which peaked at number 12 on the ''Billboard Hot 100'', and earned the group the first-ever "Best Rap Performance" Grammy Award. The album's second single, [[Franchise/ANightMareOnElmStreet "Nightmare on My Street"]], was considered for inclusion in the ''Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet4TheDreamMaster'', but was rejected. Jeff and Will released it anyway, and the song became their second crossover hit, peaking at number 12 on ''Billboard''. Unsurprisingly, they were promptly sued for copyright infringement by Creator/NewLineCinema, forcing the group to bury the tapes of the song's music video [[note]]the video was eventually leaked 30 years later, causing Sony and New Line to work out a deal to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVbaYFVUbLo release it legally]].[[/note]], and pay royalties for the samples used in the song. Despite the legal trouble, the album went Double Platinum.

* {{Cuckold}}: The second scenario of "Girls Ain't Nothing But Trouble" just barely averts it. In it, Fresh Prince showed interest in a very forward woman who [[SarcasmMode conveniently]] neglected to tell him she was already spoken for. Inevitably, just as they were about to knock boots, her boyfriend shows up, sees Prince with his girl, and is ready to open a can of whoop-ass on him. Well aware he wasn't going to win the CockFight, Prince dives out the window into a blizzard to avoid getting stomped out.

After the legal dust settled, New Line offered the lead roles of ''Film/HouseParty'' to the group, seeing their potential. Both Jeff and Will declined it, saying [[HilariousInHindsight they weren't interested in making films at the time]]. The roles went to Kid 'N Play instead.

'''DJ Jazzy Jeff And The Fresh Prince''' are a Hip Hop duo[[note]]originally a trio - more on that later[[/note]] from West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They're best known for their radio-friendly and storytelling styles of hip hop, with hit singles like "Girls Ain't Nothing But Trouble", "Summertime" and "Parents Just Don't Understand." What's little known about them is that they met completely by chance.

Their 1988 follow up, ''He's The DJ, I'm The Rapper.'' made them hip hop stars. Recorded mostly in the United Kingdom, they released the single "Parents Just Don't Understand," which peaked at number 12 on the ''Billboard Hot 100'', and earned the group the first-ever "Best Rap Performance" Grammy Award. The album's second single, [[Franchise/ANightMareOnElmStreet "Nightmare on My Street"]], was considered for inclusion in the ''Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet4TheDreamMaster'', but was rejected. Jeff and Will released it anyway, and the song became their second crossover hit, peaking at number 12 on ''Billboard''. Unsurprisingly, they were promptly sued for copyright infringement by Creator/NewLineCinema, forcing the group to bury the tapes of the song's music video, and pay royalties for the samples used in the song. Despite the legal trouble, the album went Double Platinum.

Not long after, they decided to join forces as a group, dubbing themselves "DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince". Will then enlisted friend and local beat-boxer Clarence "Ready Rock C" Holmes to the group, making them a trio. Philadelphia-based record label Word Up! released their first single "Girls Ain't Nothing But Trouble" in late 1985. The single soon became popular, becoming a hit a month before Will graduated high school. Their success got the attention of Russel Simmons and Jive Records. Their debut LP ''Rock The House'', originally released on Word Up!, was re-released by Jive in 1987, selling 300,000 copies.

After ''Code Red'', Will and Jeff split to focus on their own solo projects, and occasionally do reunion performances once in a while. The duo are set to go on their first tour in decades in 2016.

* BreakupBreakout: While Jazzy Jeff is still a highly respected and sought after hip hop producer and DJ, Fresh Prince undeniably came out of the group as [[Creator/WillSmith the top dog]].

** In "Nightmare On My Street", Fresh Prince casually blows off Freddy Kruger after realizing he was dreaming. It's only when [[spoiler:Freddy seriously injures him]] that he realizes he's in serious danger and makes a run for it.

** In "You Saw My Blinker", Fresh Prince gets manhandled by a court bailiff during a courtroom session for a rather... [[ClusterFBomb colourful outburst]] (which included him [[FlippingTheBird giving the finger to the judge]]), and sent to jail ''again'', this time for being held in contempt of court.