Known for his involvement with Will Smith on and off of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, DJ Jazzy Jeff shares his early secrets of becoming a DJ — keep it cheap.
Hailing from Philadelphia, Jeffrey Allen Townes began as a block party DJ and worked his way to becoming one half of Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince. In 1986, Jazzy Jeff was awarded the World DJ Championship and in 1989 the duo won a Grammy for Best Rap Performance. When Will Smith gained more recognition and a TV series, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Jazzy Jeff went along for the ride.
"Back then, everybody's tag had their name in it. My name used to be Mix Master Jeff, so to promote your name, you would go to the store to get your name out on your shirt, and it was pretty much 50 cents a letter. Mix Master Jeff is really, really long," he told the Huffington Post. "I shortened it to Jazzy Jeff because that was a little bit easier on my pocket." Jeff has been touring with the name ever since, winning Grammys and becoming one of the most recognized DJs in the business.
As of late, Jazzy's schedule is chock-full with touring and devoting time to being a celebrity judge and ambassador for DJ contest, Red Bull Thre3style.This weekend, San Francisco's DJ J Espinosa achieved the U.S. championship and will make his way to Tokyo for the world championship in September.
Don't count the famous duo out just yet though, as a possible reunion may be in the works. "Whenever he's ready, I'm ready," said the celebrated DJ. "We've been talking a lot. Our biggest thing has always been time."
