DJ Jazzy Jeff Interview
The Diversity & Independence Of DJ Jazzy Jeff

By Todd E. Jones

The Grammy award winning producer and half of DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince has broken down barriers by making an extremely diverse producer-driven album on an indie-label. DJ Jazzy Jeff’s debut solo album, “The Magnificent” from The Beat Generation Series from B.B.E. Records, is not just a hip-hop record. It is an LP filled with soulful singing, deep house grooves, underground hip-hop emcees and mind-blowing scratching. By being diverse and independent, DJ Jazzy Jeff has stepped out Will Smith’s shadow and earned the respect of music lovers old and new. In the middle of June 2002, I had a deep conversation with the man, the myth, the turntable wizard.

T.JONES: “How Are You?”
JEFF: “I’m Good!”

T.JONES: “Tell us about your new album ‘The Magnificent’”.
JEFF: “Wow! I don’t know where to begin. I was approached by Peter at BBE Records about their Beat Generation series. It’s a series that came to a lot of producers and basically said, ‘Tell me what makes you the best producer and answer that question with an album’. That’s very different in this age especially since the music industry is based solely on how many records you can sell and not much about the creative control or integrity. So, to be able to do a record where I can get the musical side off my chest was refreshing. I jumped on it. It was the hardest record I ever had to start and the easiest record I ever had to finish. When someone gives you that creative control to do whatever you want, you are so unused to that you don’t know what to do. I’m a D.J. first and foremost so do I do a D.J. album? I love soul music so do I do a soul album? I love underground hip-hop too. Do I do an underground hip-hop album? I thought of it this way: If I am creatively free, why am I trying to put myself in a category? Why not just be everything and do what you feel!”

T.JONES: “What was it like working for an independent label compared to the major label days of DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince?”
JEFF: “They (the Indies) don’t have the budget and all of that but it’s kind of like, to me, it felt more ‘grass roots’ like how it was back in the day. There was much more emphasis on making a good album, being creatively free, and giving out something that is cool. There is a really big marketplace in the music industry for people who love good music. There are a lot of people who love good music that is not necessarily what is on the radio or what sells a lot.”

T.JONES: “Do you have a favorite song on the new album?”
JEFF: “No, I don’t really have a favorite but the one that is probably closest to me is ‘We Live In Philly’ (with Jill Scott). Basically, we did a remake of Roy Ayers’ ‘We Live In Brooklyn’. Jill and I sat down and we wrote down a bunch of stuff that happened in Philly history. It was wild because she just went in the booth and just did a dream sequence where she pretty much free styled it. You don’t have to be from Philly to enjoy it or understand it.”

T.JONES: “How did you get started as a DJ and a producer?”
JEFF: “I think DJ-ing and producing go hand in hand because if you are DJ-ing in the clubs, your job is to keep the floor moving and keep people’s attention span. You are like a producer on the fly. For me, it was a natural progression. I have been DJ-ing since I was 10 years old, playing records in parties and going into the whole hip-hop era. I was playing all of these records and thinking to myself ‘If this was me, I would change this beat this way or put this in’. I got to the point where I just wanted to try to make some of the records I wanted to play.”

T.JONES: “Is there a video made for a song from the album?”
JEFF: “We are in the process of getting ready to shoot one for ‘For The Love Of The Game’ (with Pauly Yamz & Baby Blak).”

T.JONES: “Who are these unknown emcees on your album? (i.e. Pauly Yamz, Baby Blak, etc.)?”
JEFF: “Well, Pauly Yamz and Baby Blak are very underground. On the deep underground note, Baby Blak is from Ill-Advised and has a bunch of records out. Pauly Yamz had a bunch of guest appearances on some records. I wanted to make a record that was not about who was on the record as much as it was about the songs being dope. Many times, there is a lot of pressure from record companies to get someone with a big name. I did a record 4 years ago on Columbia and it was a lot different because there was so much emphasis about who I was going to put on the record. It was about making something dope. On this record, I did a song with Shawn Stockman (‘How I Do’) from Boyz II Men and I love playing it for people because they really like it and they ask who it is. It’s cool because they let me know they truly liked it first. I could have told them it was John Doe on the record and they would have been happy. It was important to me to have integrity and not try to use all kinds of angles to sell records. ”

T.JONES: “There’s a rumor on the internet forums that you did a song with Will Smith for your lp. Is that true? If so, why wasn’t it on the lp?”
JEFF: “No. We really wanted to do an old school tribute where we were going to go back with 2 turntables and mic and all the rest of that. This is the first time that I was working on a record and he was working on his record at the same time. He was finishing up ‘Ali’ and went right in the studio to do his LP. Our schedules really clashed and we kept laughing because he kept on saying ‘When you coming out here to help me with my record?’ and I was like ‘Yo! When are you coming out here to help me with mine?’ We laughed a couple of times because this was the 1st project that we didn’t help each other on.”

T.JONES: “You are known for inventing the ‘Transform Scratch’. Could you tell us what that is and how you invented it?”
JEFF: “I don’t really like taking credit for that. Grand Wizard Theodore was the 1st person to ever scratch and we are all imitating him when it comes down to that. The 1st person I ever heard do anything similar to the ‘Transform Scratch’ was a DJ from here (Philly) in the 80’s named Spinbad. It was very basic, very primitive. Basically, what I did was I took it and added a lot of rhythm to it and put it on records for the world to hear. Another DJ in Philly basically named it. You’re just scratching while you’re cutting on and off in a rhythmic pattern to scratch and make beats with one turntable.”

T.JONES: “Who would you like to work with that you did not work with yet?”
JEFF: “Wow! That’s really funny because there’s a bunch of people. I want to work with a bunch of jazz artists. I really want to work with Sting. But still, I have this really big thing that I really want to work with Bonnie Raitt”

T.JONES: “What was it like going from a Grammy-award winning hip-hop act to doing your own thing?”
JEFF: “It’s kind of the same and then, it’s a little different. My mindset is a little more free now because with the Grammies, you have to keep up with a certain pace that sometimes gets you exhausted. It comes down to not so much about your creativity as is keeping up with a status symbol. It’s a little easier now because I can sit back and relax a little bit more. Right now, I kind of feel a little bit like I did in the beginning when I had no expectations. I just did what I did and not know where it was going to take me.”

T.JONES: “What were some of the major obstacles you encountered after Will Smith went solo?”
JEFF: “I didn’t really encounter any. Will going solo had a lot to do with me not really wanting to do the major music thing as much. A lot of people thought he went one way and I went the other. After being signed to a major label for 10 years and learning a lot about the music business the hard way, I didn’t want to be signed anymore. I needed my independence and needed to clear my head. The music business is not like a lot of people think it is. It can really catch you off guard. It got to a point where I needed to be cleansed.”

T.JONES: “What made you start Touch Of Jazz (production company) and how did you start it?”
JEFF: “That had a lot to do with my musical diversity. Growing up with my Pop, he listened to a lot of jazz like Rush Montgomery and Count Bassie. Then, the older brothers that I grew up with, listened to ‘Return To Forever’ and ‘The Weather Report’. Then, with me growing up in the hip-hop era, I had all of that music inside of me. Back in the day, it was hard because people weren’t too receptive of people who were multi-faceted. You wouldn’t accept Jazzy Jeff doing strictly a jazz album. Starting my own production company gave me the ability to put up this wall that I could kind of hide behind, and pretty much do whatever I want. Fortunately, the industry changed today and people are doing a little bit of everything. But back then, my main reason for starting the company had more to do with what I wanted to do because I didn’t really want to be in the foreground because I knew I wanted to make music until I couldn’t make music anymore and not just from an artist side. It gave me the ability to tap into new music and try new things.”

T.JONES: “Your album is very diverse. You have straight hip-hop but also R&B, spoken word, deep house, etc. The emcees are diverse too. How important was the diversity aspect for you in making this album?”
JEFF: “It was only important because someone gave me the ability to make a record that represented me. I wanted to represent myself with all of those things. I love house music. I love spoken word. I love soul music. I love underground hip-hop. I am a music lover. There is not a lot of music that I don’t like. There’s some that I like more than others but I’m one of those people who likes all kinds of music. I’m kind of pushing for the radio to be a little bit more open-minded. I believe music is for everybody and I’ll never have the ego to say what radio shouldn’t play. I think radio should play more diverse music because it’s not just about the records that sell 2 or 3 million copies. There’s a lot of really dope records that may only sell 50,000 and people don’t get a chance to hear. If you’re gonna play Jay-Z and R. Kelly all day, then you should play Slum Village and J-Live too all day.”

T.JONES: “How did you hook up with J-Live on the songs ‘Break It Down’ & ‘Charmed Life’ and what were those collabos like?”
JEFF: “I’ve been a fan of J-Live ever since he put out his first LP (‘The Best Part’) that never really came out. I thought it was really dope and I couldn’t believe that a record as dope as it was never really came out because of record company politics. It bothered me that someone out there was that dope and people didn’t know about it. I met him through a mutual friend and told him that I was working on a record. He was working on his too. We sat down and talked and agreed to do something. I ended up using a song I did for his record (‘A Charmed Life’) and a 2nd song (‘Break It Down’) for my album. We’re talking about going on tour together in the fall.”

T.JONES: “How did you hook up with Freddie Foxx on the song ‘Scram’ and what was that collabo like?”
JEFF: “Me a& Freddie Foxx have been cool for 10 years. I just called him and told him I wanted to do something and it was 2 seconds. We sent him a track and 2 days later, he was done. He came down to Philly and 20 minutes later, he was ready to go back to New York because he had it down already. Whenever we see each other, we talk about the old times, the old days and how hip-hop was. Way back in the day, he was on tour with Biz Markie and Run DMC. We reminisce a lot about how things were.”

T.JONES: “What was it like working with Michael Jackson?”
JEFF: “He was cool. A lot of people thought he was going to be weird but he was normal and very professional. He went in the studio and made sure his voice texture didn’t change from day to day. Of course, there was that intimidation factor.”

T.JONES: “What are some of your all time favorite hip-hop albums?
JEFF: “I have to say Run DMC’s ‘Raising Hell’, A Tribe Called Quest’s ‘The Low End Theory’, Biggie Smalls’ first album (‘Ready To Die’)… I can go on forever.”

T.JONES: “What are some new songs or artists that you are really feeling now?”
JEFF: “Right now, I’m really in love with the J-Live album (‘All Of The Above’). I’m in love with the song ‘Tainted’ by Slum Village. I’ve always been an SV fan. I’m really in love with the Jazzanova album.”

T.JONES: “How exactly did you get your name?”
JEFF: “Wow! That’s a good question! Someone gave it to me. I don’t exactly remember. I do remember, back in the day, I used to call myself Mix Master Jeff. We used to go to this store where we would pay 25 cents a letter to get your name on a shirt. ‘Mix Master Jeff’ was a lot of money. I had to shorten it to something easier and more within the budget.”

T.JONES: “Favorite movies?”
JEFF: “The Usual Suspects.”

T.JONES: “Nowadays, how do you construct a song? Do you do pre-production somewhere and then bring it to the studio? Do you ever just let things blossom in the studio?”
JEFF: “I absolutely, positively hate pre-production because that just means you are doing it twice. Just do it! I like going with what I feel and seeing what I come up with. I could tweek it and make it better but to be able to go into the studio and build is cool. I respect the producers that have the balls to go into the studio with nothing as an artist and say that they are going to come out with something. That means that they are truly tapping in to their creativity instead of pre-planning and pre-writing. I really love to go into the studio and just create something. Somebody’s sitting on the couch and their writing lyrics. We just go back and forth. That is how Will (Smith) and I used to make a lot of our records. Sometimes, it was just about capturing the moment. Will was someone who would do rough vocals and then, comeback and do it again. I would always make sure he got his rough vocals right because he never came into the studio and did it better than his rough vocals. Most of the time, it’s all about capturing that moment.”

T.JONES: “What song did you have the best time making in the studio?”
JEFF: “There is this song called ‘Then She Bit Me’ that probably was the most fun we ever had making a record because we literally wrote that song line for line. It was a stream of consciousness. It wasn’t supposed to make any sense. Line for line, someone would come up with something, and he’d walk in the booth and say that line and walk out. Then, we’d think of something else. We kept doing it. It’s pretty much the dumbest song that anyone has ever heard.”

T.JONES: “What was the last incident of racism that you have experienced?”
JEFF: “I just came back from South Africa last week and we got into the airport. It was me, Kenny Dope, Barbara Tucker and my traveling party, which were about 20 of us. We got into the airport and we had a VIP escort to take us through customs. We grabbed our bags and the gentlemen specifically told us to walk out of the door, make a left and go through the other doors. The first guys walked out of the door, made a left and went to go into the other doors but there was someone who said that they could not go that way. So, they backed out and went straight. When the gentlemen came around the corner and saw that we didn’t go left, he didn’t curse but he just screamed ‘Not that door! The other door!’ I never in my life heard anyone talk that way before. Especially since he did not curse, it was the eeriest feeling any of us ever had. He said it and as soon as soon as it came out of his mouth he looked like he thought ‘Ooops!’ He turned around and we thought ‘Who does he think he’s talking to?’ Soon, we shut down because we were in customs in South Africa. We’ve never been there. We don’t know if this is customary but it gave us a sense of how it was there. We got the sense that he was used to talking to people like that. It’s wild because one of the main reasons I went down there was to gain a perspective on how it is down there. We gained a perspective before we even got out of the airport.”

T.JONES: “In your opinion, what is the one major mistake you made in your career or in the business?”
JEFF: “Probably the major mistake that I have made was letting someone make me feel like I’m too important to keep track of money. Unfortunately, as young, black males, we have ego issues. We get people who are very smart and they make us feel cool that we do not have to worry about rent being paid. So, you’re busy walking around thinking ‘I’m cool because I have somebody that makes sure my rent gets paid every month.’ Many times, they are making sure their rent gets paid as well but with your money. Looking back, it takes a half an hour a month to go over all the bills. Sometimes, we think that we are so important that the half an hour doesn’t matter. I think it’s a psychological way that people put you in positions to make you not pay attention to your finances or the financial situation. That definitely came back to haunt me."

T.JONES: “Do you have a favorite drum machine, programming tool, instrument or sampler?”
JEFF: “SP-1200’s”

T.JONES: “What kind of turntables and mixer do you use?”
JEFF: “'Technics 1200 turntables and a Vestax 0-7 pro mixer.”

T.JONES: “You’ve been around the world many times right? What part of the world (what country or city) gave the best response to your show?”
JEFF: “I would have to either say Sweden as far as response and South Africa was chilling. There were 18,000 people in South Africa. An emcee grabbed the mic and said ‘Ladies & Gentlemen, Jazzy Jeff is in the building’ and the roar of the crowd actually made me feel uncomfortable. I was looking around thinking ‘Who are they doing that for? They doing it for me!?!?’ It was the appreciation level that definitely got me charged up.”

T.JONES: “Where were you during the Sept. 11th Terrorist attack on the World Trade Center? How do you think it will affect hip-hop music?”
JEFF: “I was supposed to be doing a Levis self-engineered tour in New York. We were all getting ready to jump in the car and leave for the drive up to NYC when the planes actually hit. It was wild because Jill Scott, Rahzel and a guy who travels with me were in New York at the time when the planes hit. It was weird because I was wondering if they were okay. I remember asking myself ‘What the hell is going on?’ My brain could not comprehend it. I felt like I was looking at a movie. I kept asking myself ‘Is the gig still on?’ because I didn’t understand the big picture right then and there. Looking back, it truly had a huge impact on our society or our economy. What scared me more than anything was exactly what happened? As much as we argue, have East Coast/West Coast beefs, or say how much more money we have, I always thought and said that the one thing that would dramatically change people like that is war. Hey, in World War II, no body had any money. It gets to a point where you didn’t really want to hear about somebody flossing after Sept. 11th because it dramatically changed our lives. On that day, my girlfriend and a couple of other friends of mine all stayed together. It was a nice day and no body was out. It gave me a perspective. For a long time, I didn’t want to go anywhere. I cancelled all my travel plans. I was supposed to go overseas and I cancelled that. I wouldn’t get on a plane. I wasn’t comfortable driving through any tunnels. I just wanted to stay home. It was a very eerie feeling because I felt trapped. We weren’t used to feeling that way in this country.”

T.JONES: “Usually, the emcees are battling on the mic but now, producers are battling too. Dr. Dre and Jermaine Dupri are beefing. Do you have an opinion on this?”
JEFF: “Battling is all apart of hip hop. The four cornerstones of hip-hop were breaking, graffiti, DJ-ing and MC-ing. There were battles in everything from the DJ’s to emcees to break dancing. It’s all hip hop.”

T.JONES: “What do you think hip-hop needs these days?”
JEFF: “I kind of liked that Nas / Jay-Z beef because it was a little different. Those 2 guys were lyrical geniuses and they were battling it out with wit. Why couldn’t Biggie & Pac do that? I think that was all a part of the essence of hip-hop. One of the things I do NOT like is that the art of turntablism is bigger than it has ever been and that absolutely nothing to do with hip hop. Like I said before, turntablism was one of the 4 cornerstones in hip-hop. Right now, it’s just rapping and producing. I am happy being a DJ since the turntable has outsold the rock guitar for the past 3 years. That means all of the kids want to buy turntables and become DJs. Still, Linkin Park is the reason the X-cutioners started to get the recognition they deserved. I wish that was people like Jay-Z were doing that because guys like him have the ability to anoint the DJ and give them their deserved recognition. Now, almost every alternative rock band has a DJ.”

T.JONES: “What advice can you give to up and coming DJs and producers trying to get into the music industry?”
JEFF: “Surround yourself with honest people that will tell you if your stuff is good or not. Do not surround yourself with people who will think that every single thing you do is great! You have to have somebody that will tell you ‘That’s terrible.’”

T.JONES: “Will Smith has always been in the spotlight and you have been more in the background. Even though you get tons of respect and props from producers, musicians, emcees etc.., did people ever treat you like you were in Will Smith’s shadow? If so, how did you overcome that?”
JEFF: “Nah, I’ve been very comfortable with my role. It’s funny because a lot of people don’t understand that this has been the game plan from day one for Will and myself. I think that since I have chosen not to take such a high profile role as Will, people automatically assume that I am not doing what I don’t want to do or that I am not happy. I am extremely happy with my path or the road that I have taken. It was exactly what I set out to do. It’s never been an issue. To me, it takes a lot of the heat off of me. That was a beautiful thing about our professional relationship. He was very outgoing and I was very laid back. That counter-balance helped our situation.”

T.JONES: “Now, we’re going to do a little word-association thing. I’m going to say a name of an artist or producer or group and you tell me the first word that pops in your head… ok? So, if I said ‘Chuck D’, you may say ‘revolutionary’… … “DJ Premier”
JEFF: “Beats… incredible beats!”
T.JONES: “Big L”
JEFF: “Legend”
T.JONES: “The Roots”
JEFF: “Philly”
T.JONES: “Phife Dawg”
JEFF: “Tribe”
T.JONES: “Jay Dee of Slum Village”
JEFF: “Innovative”
T.JONES: “Pete Rock”
JEFF: “Soul.”
T.JONES: “Gil-Scott Heron”
JEFF: “Poetic”
T.JONES: “Eminem”
JEFF: “Witty”
T.JONES: “Common”
JEFF: “Lyrical”
T.JONES: “Redman”
JEFF: “Funny”

T.JONES: “What do you want on your epitaph (your gravestone)?”
JEFF: “Here lies someone who brought some good music to some people. Hope you enjoyed it.”

T.JONES: “Do you have any final words for the people reading this?”
JEFF: “If you are not happy with the music you are hearing on the radio or the clubs, do a little investigation because there is a lot of good music out there. Now, unfortunately, is a time where you have to go find it because they aren’t going to make it present to you. Much love and appreciation!”