DJ Jazzy Jeff Interview
Big Jeffrey Style
Jeffrey Townes' aka Jazzy Jeff's name has
featured in the credits of records by Nuyorican Soul, Jill
Scott, and Musiq (nee Soulchild), Common, Lil Kim and Eminem.
He's produced R&B and Bart Simpson records, paid tribute
to disco dons, Chic and has remained a prominent exponent
of turntable artistry for nearly 20 years. For all these achievements,
he will always be best known as DJ for superstar-actor-entertainer,
Will Smith (The Fresh Prince) who he's known since his early
teens. After a string of albums with Smith, the legendary,
Jazzy Jeff has finally released his debut album, The Magnificent.
Amazon.co.uk contributor Maxine Kabuubi caught up with Mr
Jeff for a chat about his life and music.
Amazon.co.uk: The Magnificent is released
on British independent, BBE, why did you choose to work with
them?
Jazzy Jeff: I met Pete through Kenny Dope
and Little Louis Vega (Masters of Work) who I'd worked with
on Nuyorican Soul and who spoke really highly of the label.
We actually talked about doing the Beat Generation album a
long time ago. I was real busy with A Touch of Jazz stuff
but was vibing off the idea. We give you complete creative
control to answer the question what makes you a producer.
I ain't coming back from that. I'm not messing with my musical
integrity again.
Amazon.co.uk: The left-field sound of The
Magnificent has surprised people who only know your work from
Will Smith or The Fresh Prince and are not aware of your production
company, A Touch of Jazz.
Jazzy Jeff: Yeah, I choose to do it this
way. I wanted to work with a lot of Philadelphia-based talent.
I really thought about who would be pure fun to work with,
who would tear up the script. Pauly Yamz and Baby Blak, Flo
Brown, Jill (Scott), folk I knew who could step off a creative
limb with me. People who would test the boundaries of what
they do lyrically and vocally. That's why Raheim there, why
Eric Roberson is there, why Raheim is there and why I had
to do a track with Masters of Work and V.
Amazon.co.uk: Philadelphia seems to be going
through another glory age like the times of the Gamble and
Huff 60s and 70s soul days?
Jazzy Jeff: Yeah, Frankie Virtue (legendary
hip-hop producer), The Roots, Musiq, Eve, Jill, Pauly, Raheim,
Bilal, it's all happening. During the first wave of hip-hop,
Philly suffered from a real hip-hop crisis and to be honest
has been fighting for legitimacy since those City of Brotherly
Love days. There was no scene as such for a long time. It's
now really vibing and there's a lot of musical unity.
Amazon.co.uk: You were the executive producer
of Jill Scott's album, Who is Jill Scott?, how did that relationship
come about?
Jazzy Jeff:
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I was driving down the street and I stopped at a light and
Jill was standing at the corner outside a store. She said
"Hey Jeff Townes, I want to hook up".
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I met her through a very close mutual friend, she kept on
saying you really need to hear Jill sing. I was driving down
the street and I stopped at a light and Jill was standing
at the corner outside a store. She said "Hey Jeff Townes,
I want to hook up". Two days later I played her a bunch
of tracks. The next day she calls me and tells me she's written
a song [laughs]. So I go pick her up and she sings "A
Long Walk" to me. I immediately took her to the studio
and started recording.
Amazon.co.uk: The album had a sensational
effect on the R&B scene. Were you surprised that it was
such a big hit?
Jazzy Jeff: Yes, it was crazy. We were happy
if people liked it and it would sell 100,000 copies because
although I knew it was good, we didn't expect it. It just
took off and what was strange was the the way it took off.
Jill didn't have much promotion, Jill didn't have a lot of
marketing, it was a word of mouth thing. And Jill's crazy.
Listen to her lyrics on "We Live in Philly". (the
penultimate track on The Magnificent) She's one in a million.
(giggles affectionately). Love her.
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It just took off and what was strange was the the way it took
off. Jill didn't have much promotion, Jill didn't have a lot
of marketing, it was a word -of-mouth thing.
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Amazon.co.uk: How did you respond to the
criticism that The Fresh Prince and Jazzy Jeff's material
wasn't hardcore enough?
Jazzy Jeff: There's nobody in this world
that can't tell me that Will and I weren't hip-hop. I mean,
from doing the housing projects, doing the shows, me being
a well-known DJ in Philly. Will being someone who could free-style.
Putting out "Girls Ain't Nothing But Trouble" (1989
on Jive) and it blowing up at hip-hop clubs. People were loving
it, going crazy.
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There's nobody in this world that can't tell me that Will
and I weren't hip-hop. I mean, from doing the housing projects,
doing the shows, me being a well-known DJ in Philly. Will
being someone who could free-style.
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Amazon.co.uk: Scram featuring Freddie Foxx
hilariously diss those "brothers who think they are hardcore."
Why do you think the backpack nation in hip-hop are so hung
up on "keeping it real" and obsessing about maintaining
an underground ethic?
Jazzy Jeff: "Girls and Parents Just
Don't Understand" (from X album, released on Jive, 1990)
were just as popular as "Eric B For President" (Eric
B and Rakim) in B-boy hip-hop circles then. In those simple
old days we would be doing tours with Public Enemy, Kid 'N'
Play, Heavy D and the Boyz and Run DMC it wasn't a big deal.
They would come check us and vice versa and we would be digging
each other.
Amazon.co.uk: Were you never criticised by
the militant Chuck D (frontman of Public Enemy)?
Jazzy Jeff: The funny thing was that the
criticism didn't come from our peers, it was definitely a
media vibe. You guys aren't hard enough; you guys are from
the suburbs. It was like Damn. I grew up in 57th & Ratmer
Street, West Philadelphia and I'm from the suburbs (sighs)
and I'm looking around and thinking you don't know anything
about me.
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The funny thing was that the criticism didn't come from our
peers, it was definitely a media vibe. You guys aren't hard
enough; you guys are from the suburbs.
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Amazon.co.uk: Is there any truth in the rumours
that you and Will are planning some scaled-down shows, just
you and him, no dancers, no gimmicks
Jazzy Jeff: Will is a hip-hop purist at heart.
He's probably frustrated with the state of hip-hop right now.
We talked about it and said it would be really cool if we
could just scale back to two turntables and a mic. A couple
of years ago we were over in London for the Men in Black Premiere,
doing a promo tour and we did a night at Sound, the old Jazzy
Jeff and Fresh Prince show. The thing is Will is such a perfectionist
that he may not want to take the chance of going back for
a long haul.
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Will is a hip-hop purist at heart. He's probably frustrated
with the state of hip-hop right now.
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Amazon.co.uk: Are you the Jazzy Jeff who
released an album in 1995 on Jive?
Jazzy Jeff: No. I honourably swear that I
am not the Jazzy Jeff who released an album on Jive..
Amazon.co.uk: Was it you or Cash Money who
invented the transformer scratch? (Ask your resident beat-box
extraordinaire for a vocal demonstration or just ask a good
hip-hop DJ)
Jazzy Jeff: Neither. The first person to
do something similar to the transformer scratch was a DJ back
in the day called Spinbad in Philadelphia. It was very primitive
but it was pretty much the concept of the transformer scratch.
What I did was add a rhythm to it. Money did another variation.
Amazon.co.uk: Your version is the staple
of hip-hop Djing now though isn't it?
Jazzy Jeff: I don't like taking credit for
it as Grandmaster Theodore was the first person to scratch
and we are all taking pointers from him.
Amazon.co.uk: There was once a rumour doing
the rounds that you were going to be working with jazz guitarist,
Pat Metheny. Was there any truth in that?
Jazzy Jeff: Oh God, caught out again. It's
funny I met Pat Metheny eight years ago at the Grammies. I'm
a big fan and I was sitting outside the bathroom and I was
like that' Pat Metheny and he was like Jazzy Jeff and I was
shocked he knew who I was. We sat there talking, exchanged
numbers. He called me when he played Philly, gave me tickets
and he said at the show that he was gong to do a collaboration
with Jazzy Jeff. I froze, it scared the hell out of me. I
was so intimidated I never called him again.
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