DJ Jazzy Jeff

Born on 22 January 1965 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Townes adopted the stage name DJ Jazzy Jeff, and gained an underground following for working as DJ at local parties and schools. He teamed up with Will Smith to become the duo known as DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince. Together the group received a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance in 1989 for their single, “Parents Just Don’t Understand.” They garnered a second Grammy Award for their single “Summertime,” which also peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In 1986 DJ Jazzy Jeff won the world DJ competition, New Music Seminar DJ Battle.

As a solo artist, DJ Jazzy Jeff recorded his first album with Sony Music in 1998, but it was necer released. It wasn’t until 2002 when he released and album entitled “The Magnificent,” andfour albums later, he followed up in 2007 with “The Return of The Magnificent.” The album featured numerous collaborations with many different artists including CL Smooth, Big Daddy Kane, Pos from De La Soul, Method Man, Rhymefest, and Raheem DeVaughn. From 2009 to 2012 he released a number of mix tape albums.

In 1990 when Smith started to branch out with his acting career for the television show, “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” Jazzy Jeff played a recurring character named Jazz. After the duo broke up, DJ Jazzy Jeff went on to become a prominent R&B, soul, and neo soul record producer. He establised the A Touch of Jazz production company in his native Philadelphia, and helped develop artists such as Jill Scott and Musiq Soul Child, Eminem, The Roots, Jewel, Darius Rucker, Talib Kweli, Floetry, and Rhymefest. In 2013 he released a web series documenting his hundreds of shows from around the world entitled “Vinyl Destination.”