DJ Jazzy Jeff Interview
I-Jones Interview

By Arun Kamoji

In his own words DJ Jazzy Jeff is a very passionate music lover, who is trying to find his way in a commercial society by doing something that he loves, but to most people he is the simply the greatest DJ who ever lived. To fully grasp the influence Jazzy Jeff listen to what Charlie Dark says about him, “I’d have to say my ultimate gig was spinning at the Future Music party with Jazzy Jeff at this years Winter Music Conference. I thought I’d killed the dance but Jeff sent it onto overdrive with a DJ education in how to rock a crowd. Doubles, back to backs, transformer scratching and a jaw dropping tribute to Jam Master Jay that left everyone with tears in their eyes.” We had a chance to sit down and talk with Jeff.

A lot of people know you from the Fresh Prince of Bel Air, but tell us about your earlier days. How exactly did you get started?
Back in Philly, everybody wanted to be a DJ or an MC. So it was very prevalent for people to buy 2 turntables and a mic and try to live out your dreams. I don’t think anybody took it that serious that they were going to make a living out of it, but they saw it more as a hobby like some people played basketball, some people rhymed. I also grew up in a really musical household, and instead of playing an instruments, I was intrigued by records, and by all kinds of music. I remember going to a block party when I was very young, and this guy pulled out these giant speakers and set up all the equipments and had hundreds of people partying in the middle of the street. That was the day that I said I want to be that guy because he had a level of control, he was the conductor of the train. Playing popular music and the way that you are stringing the music to make these people have a good time, was just kind of cool to me.

Your first real success came with your performance at the New Music Seminar, How did that come about?
Will and I were doing a radio interview in Philly to promote Girls are Nothing but Trouble, the host says that she is judging this battle in NY City and that we need to talk after the show, so we finished the interview, and I went to her and I was like “were you serious” and so she picked up the phone and she called this guy named Dave who was one of the organizers of the New Music Seminar, and she was like, Dave, I have a guy I want to put in the battle for World Supremacy and he’s going to win. So after some hesitation, Dave finally agreed and they gave me all the rules and regulations, and so I put together a 30 second routine, and went to NY. Because I was from Philly, and because of Girls Ain’t Nothing But Trouble, and because people didn’t really know, I was the underdog straight from the door. It was one of those situations where no one paid any attention to me and Will, and we ended up sitting in the back and there were a couple of DJs in the there that had come to Philly and kind of knew who I was and what I can do and there were the one’s who were kind of talking to me. But they ended up putting me against the World Champion and I could tell it was one of those situations where they were just trying to get me out of the way, so I was upset. But even though, I went up to the World Champion DJ Cheese to wish him good luck, and stuck my hand out to shake his, but he kind of looked at me and didn’t shake my hand. So there were 2 sets of turntables and one of the sets, everybody who got on lost, so it became an issue, because DJ Cheese was the World Champion. So, I let him go on the good set of turntables and Will was really mad at me because he didn’t want me to lose, and I had my needles in my bag, and I set my turntables the way that I want, and tested the turntables out and everything was cool because the needles didn’t jump, so everything was cool. Not only did I beat him, but I was the underdog, on the underdog setup, there was no way that I was supposed to beat the World Champion, which made me feel real good, and after the first round, everybody waited for the round when I would come up. I kept doing different things, because people weren’t breaking records down, and people weren’t doing certain things and that’s when I transformed, in front of people outside of Philly, that was just one of those “what in the world is he doing” moments. The rhythm scratching threw a lot of people off, because people weren’t really into that. My whole thing was that I did everything based on rhythm. I wanted to sound appealing about Djing and scratching because I wanted everybody to understand what I was doing. I treated more like I was playing a percussion. (Ed. Note: This clip is courtesy the Battlesounds documentary, listen to the passion as he tells the story.)

Do you feel like that element is lost in DMC DJs, because, now it’s more technical?
Well, somewhat. I just met a couple of guys when I judged the US finals, who added a little bit of funkiness into their sets, which I enjoy. You know, it’s become so big, it’s almost like that with everything. You become too commercialized with what you are doing. It was a whole lot different back then because we didn’t have battle records or a lot of the tools or the mixes that were specifically set up for scratching or juggling. You kind of made good with what you had. You had your $29 Gemini mixer that you sprayed WD40 in the fader, which would burn out after 10 shows.

What did it do for you to win the New Music Seminar?
After the first round, I beat the champion, I just went through the rankings, and I was a little nervous because I felt like I am not a guy from NY and they are going to try to get me out of here somehow, you know there was a time, if anybody should have gotten a perfect score, it should have been me. You know there were times when you get close to a perfect score, and somebody gives you a 9 and you are like ok, you are really going to knock me off this one, so you kind of got a little nervous, but I ended up going all the way through and winning, and that kind of set up a lot of stuff because from then, everywhere I went, people where like, that’s the guy that won the New Music Seminars, so they wanted to know how and why I won, and what I did that was so special for me to win. So I started going around and showcasing at parties for these people who wanted to see.

So at what point did it take off for you and Will?
Well almost simultaneously, which was really cool because it was one of those situations where Girls Ain’t Nothing But Trouble was blowing up. We would show up to parties, do an intro, then I would come on and do a DJ set, and then we would bring out a human beat box set and then we would do the Girls Ain’t Nothing But Trouble. So we ended up giving everybody a full round of show, which I think is what started to blow Will and myself up.

You were on Fresh Prince with Will for a bit, and then you left. Was there just a need for you to start your own thing or was there another reason?
Well actually, I had a recurring role for the whole 6 years that the show was on TV. I was on the first episode and I was on the last episode. I just didn’t do it on a more consistent base because my music was more important to me. I had fun doing it but it wasn’t for me on a long-term basis.

What DJs would you pay to watch?
Q -bert, Premier, Kid Capri, Craze, Executioners, Jay Rock and I am sure there are a whole lot more. Internationally, Scratch Perverts and there are also a couple of guys I met in Australia that were really good. There are also a lot of good DJs in Canada. When I come out to Montreal, I hang out with A Trak. To me, it’s a big community. When you meet, you exchange numbers, and when these guys come to Philly, you hook up, and take them around, and it’s cool because Djing is where I got my start, and I will never turn my back on it.

What’s the doppest battle you have ever seen?
The first year Craze won the US, when he beat out Jay Smoke, and Shortkut. It was just great because that was the first year, where he really went crazy in a way where everybody was like, “Oh My God”! His routine was probably the most flawless routine I have ever seen that encompassed everything. He was cutting, scratching, and juggling with both hands. He was also doing crazy patterns at the same time. He did a DMC routine that I thought you could probably have danced off. He was so precise.

What’s so unique about Philly?
I don’t know if I can really answer because I don’t really know. Going to different places you realize that everybody has their little thing. Philly has its things, just like NY and Atlanta have their thing. I don’t exactly know what it is about Philly, maybe it’s the fact that it’s a very musically sound city, where there is a lot of tradition here, and that kind of helps. On the down periods, when people aren’t really checking for Philly, it’s when people that are here, are striving to do more, striving to do better and create some new stuff, and as soon as someone from Philly breaks through, it just helps us.

When did you start A Touch of Jazz Productions and what was your vision for it?
I started it in 1990, but it wasn’t like I had a huge plan. The real reason was because I loved all types music and I wanted to make all types of music, and I realized that people weren’t going to allow me to make all types of music, so I basically started my own production company. This way, I could hide behind the production company and do whatever I wanted. I could for instance make a rock album and wouldn’t have to tell everybody that it’s me. What it turned out to be was me getting other people like me that wanted to get into the studio and doing some interesting things.

What’s the future hold for A Touch of Jazz?
Well, what we are in the process of doing now is not being dependent on the music industry. A Touch of Jazz kind of got it’s mark with the Jill Scott records, and that’s someone we believe in, we kind of found, and we took into the studio and recorded an entire record on and presented it to the world and the world love it. What happens is, once you become successful with something like that and although we didn’t do that with Jill, you automatically have start to follow the industry guidelines, because the industry starts dictating by telling you they want this and that. Now, I am just regaining my focus, even though there are a lot of people who really like us around the world. I like to consider A Touch of Jazz a music lover’s paradise, so we are in the process of trying to direct all of the traffic to our website, where you can get stuff from us directly. It’s really crazy to go into a studio, cut 10 songs in 2 weeks, and put cuts and mix in it and then figure out who’s going to put it out. To me, that’s wack, because the most important think about music is making it.

How much does a Jazzy Jeff beat go for?
A Jazzy Jeff beat can go for...it can even be free. I just want to do music. There are people who come in here with a big budget and then there are the people who come in here with no budget at all. You get into situations where people can’t afford it, so whatever we have to do and however we have to do it, I am always there.

How would you describe your favourite routine?
You know what’s crazy, I have never ever considered myself a battle DJ. That’s why I think after the New Music Seminar, and the DMC’s, I never entered a battle. So my whole thing is that I don’t have battle routines, I just like rockin’ a party and rockin’ the crowd. I love playing old school hip hop more than anything because those records have so much emotions. I like doing stuff where people would say, “wow, I never thought of somebody doing that.”

When you’re judging DJ battles, what are you looking for specifically?
I think originality as much as possible, but I think I have tried to give advice to a lot of DJs, that when you are in a DJ battle, the key is that you have to understand, that there are people out there that aren’t DJS, that want to know what you are doing. If I take Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean record and start cutting it and I do a routine off of it, and because you know the original record, you know how I manipulated the record to say, “wow, what Jeff did was incredible.” You get a lot of DJs who do the most incredible routines off records that nobody has ever heard. How is one supposed to know how you rearranged and what you did, you are losing the appreciation level that people can have. One of the most important things to me about Djing when I judge is how smart you are as a DJ. You can have the most skills in the world, and you are gong to lose in a battle because you are not being smart. People didn’t understand when I used to say Kid Capri is one of the smartest DJs I knew, even though he may not be the best technical DJ, he may not have the best scratches or the best routines. It was crazy how Kid Capri could come to a party, and someone would do all of these fancy routines, and Kid Capri would stop the record, start tapping on the record, and the crowd would go crazy, because it’s so simple he made it understandable for the crowd. I think DJs need not to play for other DJs.

In ’93, DJ 8 ball, used a pitch and tone technique which was performed 2 years earlier by q-bert. Would you say that’s more biting or evolutionary style?
You know what, I am going to tell you what I feel about that. If you are going to look at biting we all bit of Grand Wizard Theodore. Somebody has to start something. I don’t ever look at anything as biting. qbert came up with a million things that were a launching pad for every new DJ out now. Now if you blatantly take what somebody did and not change it that’s different, but I love it when DJs grab something and make it theirs. To me, that’s what DJs are supposed to do.

How did you come up with your Jam Master Jam tribute?
Actually, that’s something that I have been working on for 5 years, just messing around. To have the opportunity to do it as a respect, was just perfect.

What is your favourite song of all time?
Running Away, Pharcyde.

What is your favourite track to scratch with?
Run DMC, Peter Piper.

What is your favourite track to juggle with?
Tribe Called Quest, Check the Rhyme.

What is your favourite track for battle break?
Hee Haw Break.

What is your favourite scratching sound?
Shannon let the music play.

What producing equipment do you use?
Everything you could possibly imagine. I am a fanatic and own a studio