DJ Jazzy Jeff’s New Live DJ Set; The ‘Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’ Co-Star Makes Music To ‘Break From the Norm’
DJ Jazzy Jeff left quite the impression on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air as Will Smith’s hilarious friend. And even before that, he was mixing and making music. After the show ended in 1996, he continued to do so, choosing that path over acting. Now, he has a new DJ set with DJ MICK for summer 2020.
DJ Jazzy Jeff was in a rap duo with Will Smith, which led to his appearance on ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’
While DJ Jazzy Jeff wasn’t on every episode of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, he was a very memorably part of it. Not only was he infatuated with Will’s cousin Hilary, but he continually got kicked out of the house because of it. Is there nothing better than that footage of Jazz getting thrown out of doors by Uncle Phil?
But even before the show, DJ Jazzy Jeff made up the duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince. They received their first Grammy for Best Rap Performance in 1989 for “Parents Just Don’t Understand.” And their other song you might remember, “Summertime,” won a second Grammy and rose to 4 on the Billboard Hot 100.
DJ Jazzy Jeff is partnering with Summer Water rosé
While “Summertime” will never get old, summer 2020 has kind of dulled a lot of things. But that’s where DJ Jazzy Jeff’s newest gig comes in. He made a new Summertime 2020 mixtape with DJ MICK, and also has a live DJ set coming up on July 18. He shared on Instagram that the set will include the “Best of Summer Songs,” and be from 3 to 5 p.m. EST, in collaboration with Winc’s Summer Water droplets rosé.
“My song ‘Summertime’ explained to people that music can provide a ‘break from the norm,’” DJ Jazzy Jeff said in a statement. “This summer, our mixtape and this collaboration hopefully will do exactly that.”
MICK also added that the two of them have made “the soundtrack to the summer for over a decade.”
“I joked that our mix would be the perfect ‘warm weather & drink some rosé’ soundtrack. This year, it really is the official ‘warm weather & drink rosé soundtrack,” MICK said.
Winc’s VP of Brand, Shiloh Gray also shared how exciting this collaboration is and how Summer Water and this mixtape go hand in hand.
“Summer Water was made for summertime; to conjure those indelible moments when everything felt just right,” Gray said. “Summertime 2020 was meticulously crafted to tap into those same memories and officially welcome the season. In discussions with MICK & Jeff, in a time when everything feels scary and new, giving the world a super dose of summer nostalgia felt imperative. We’re proud that we can do just that in a way no one else can.”
DJ Jazzy Jeff wanted to continue with music, not acting, after ‘Fresh Prince’
With DJ Jazzy Jeff’s continuation of music, it’s a little reminder that he chose that over acting. It turns out that, initially, Smith had asked his friend to come on the show for two episodes, which DJ Jazzy Jeff was reluctant to do so, according to I Am Hip-Hop Magazine.
“Acting was not something I even wanted to consider, I couldn’t see myself acting at all. It was Will who convinced me, he was my friend, it was his journey,” he told the site in 2019. “Will said, ‘Think about it this way, you only have two episodes to do, so if you don’t like it, you only have two to do and if you do like it, you have two to look forward to!’ ”.
Those two episodes turned into a recurring role for all six seasons. And as stated before, he was a well-liked character at that, with a pretty memorable presence.
“I had many offers after that, however I turned them all down as I really wanted to focus on my music,” he said about the notoriety he received after the show. “I will be doing the same thing as I have been doing for the past 30 years.”
Whether it’s with his Summertime 2020 mixtape or making music in general, it’s what DJ Jazzy Jeff enjoys doing.
“I make people happy with my DJing in the club, I come home to my family and I go into the studio to make music that I love,” he said. “Fear usually comes from the unknown, It’s like Albert Einstein, he always wore the same shirt every day.”
