DJ Jazzy Jeff Interview
The Voice
KEEPING IT FRESH
BY Davina Morris

DJ, producer and businessman, Jazzy Jeff is a Philly phenomenon in the world of music. Gearing up to release Hip Hop Forever 2 - the 39-year-old talked to W2W about work, Will and "wifey".

It seems like just yesterday when we watched poor Jazz getting literally thrown out of the Banks' home by Uncle Phil in US comedy The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air.

But with his own production company A Touch Of Jazz under his belt, as well as his reputation as a top-class hip-hop DJ, it seems that no-one's gonna be throwing Jeff out the music game for a long time yet.

The 'Philly Sound' we've come to know most recently, through artists like Jill Scott, Musiq and Soulchild - all of whom, Jeff has worked with - is described by the man himself as "old soul mixed with hip-hop mentality". He offered his take on why Philadelphia seems so good at breeding such soulful talents.

"I think it's our history, with greats like Gamble and Huff [legendary '70s production team], who got us used to a certain level of quality. And then I think it's our insecurity, because there was a time when people weren't looking at Philadelphia. That insecurity made us go in the basement, have our own jam sessions and just create music amongst ourselves."

And now, everybody's listening. The neo-soul genre offered an alternative to straight-up modern R'n'B, blending classic soul with new school vibes and that mix created a successful package. Described as possessing an 'old soul', it's no surprise that Jeff's forthcoming CD Hip Hop Forever 2 has something of an old school flavour.

"It's kind of like an old school-style mix tape. There's a lot of mixed tapes out there now that aren't like the mixed tapes that I grew up on. So I thought it would be cool if we made this mix like a party set - like it was happening live. There's no-one on the mic yelling and screaming and shouting out their friends - not that that's wrong - but this is an alternative."

Apart from starring alongside Will Smith in The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, the pair were, of course, musical partners, Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince. Together they hit the charts with tracks such as Summertime and Boom, Shake The Room, but now their schedules don't permit them to see each other as often as they'd perhaps like.

"We hooked up in LA, not long ago to do an old Jazzy Jeff and Fresh Prince show, which was good. This summer, we're gonna try and do some really surprise guest shows. We wanna just show up unannounced at a couple of places and just perform. Will's gonna be on the East Coast working on a movie soon, so with him in New York and me in Philadelphia, I'll be able to drive up and see him in my spare time."

But when they do meet up, do they greet each other with their own unique take on the 'high five' that they did on Fresh Prince?

"Nah. We haven't done that since the show!"

It seems a long time ago, but Jeff looks back on his time on the show with fond memories.

"It was really crazy. Going from performing in front of 30,000 people on stage to performing in front of 300 people on the set of a TV show, I never thought that millions of people were watching it on TV. People used to ask me if I got nervous filming for TV and I was like, 'It's only 300 people'. But then you'd start realising that it was a lot more than 300 people watching you when the show went out! But I had a lot of fun. There were times that I'd look at myself on TV and just think, 'How the hell did I get on television? What fool put me on television?'

But it was really good."

Just in case you didn't know, it was A Touch Of Jazz that was responsible for the creation of The Fresh Prince's theme tune - a tune that has made its way into some UK club DJ's record collection! Do they drop that tune in clubs in Philly?

"Erm. no! It's funny, I remember it got played one time when I was overseas and it kinda threw me off. I was like, 'What are they doing?' But then I got told that people really like it and I was like, 'Oh!' I found that pretty weird, but it was cool."

Having started in the music business in the mid '80s, Jeff's been around to see a good few changes. Ask him what he thinks is one of the most significant developments and he answers without hesitation.

"The explosion of hip-hop - especially after it was said that it wasn't gonna work and it wasn't gonna last. To watch the world become engulfed in hip-hop is a big change. I remember people saying to me, 'What are you doing this for? This is never gonna last. You can't make a living from this'. But not only has hip-hop made a lot of people a lot of money, it's touched people too. Hip-hop has taken me from South America to South Africa to south London! It's incredible."

Despite his demanding career, Jeff is balancing a love life as well. Having earlier described his lady as his "Mrs", I wondered if that was literal.

"No, not in the literal sense."

And is he happy in love?

"Yes, but it's very hard. Maintaining a relationship and doing what I'm doing is very difficult. But I never got anything that was worth keeping without it being hard."

Aah. Well, it seems life is pretty sweet for Jazzy Jeff. He certainly has no complaints.

"I wanna just continue putting out records and continue touring a lot of places and just make people have a good time. I really enjoy what I do, I get a chance to see the world and meet so many different people and just play good music. If I can do this until I can't do it any more, I'll be blessed. I already feel that if everything ended for me today, there's no way in the world that I could complain."

Hip Hop Forever 2 is out on April 12 on BBE/Rapster Records