Admin Hero1 Posted December 11, 2004 Admin Report Share Posted December 11, 2004 Jazzy Jeff wakes up Andy O'Brien THE 1988 DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince release, He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper, was one of those key crossover albums that brought rap to me and millions of other rural and suburban American white kids. It was the first rap tape I ever heard. After snatching it off the record store shelf, I immediately brought it to my best friend's house where we listened to it in his bedroom until the next morning. A few months later I had played the cassette into oblivion. In the early 90s while the Fresh Prince went on to movie stardom as Will Smith, Jazzy Jeff made his way back to Philadelphia to work in his newly founded production company "A Touch of Jazz." Two years ago, he hit the road again, but this time on his own. Last Saturday night he hit the turn tables at the Luxy for a night of house, funk, soul, and old school hip hop with guest MC Mad Skillz. Four days after he'd arrived and two days after that show, I ended up waiting for four hours in a hotel room for this legend to wake up from a jetlagged-induced slumber while his tour manager entertained me with Slim Jims, Pop Tarts, Rainblow, and photos of Russian strippers from The Fresh Prince and Jazzy Jeff's September tour of Europe. And finally, at 1:30am, the man himself emerged: POTS: So how was the show? JAZZY JEFF: I Loved it. The show was incredible, the crowd was incredible and the energy was incredible. The crowd was so open to what we were doing, it reminded me of the early days of hip hop. Just like the kids here, we would take everything they gave us. We just wanted to soak up every record we could find. We didn't have time to be selective or say, "Hey, they don't play that on the radio." We vibed with whatever sounded good. In some places I've played, it's been like taking the crowd on an educational tour of what it was. In Taipei, I was taking them on an educational tour of what it is. POTS: Do you feel that hip hop's commercialization has destroyed a lot of that enthusiasm? JJ: Yes, but more so outside the US. Before hip hop's commercialization, we were begging for it to get big. We didn't want the commercialization to take over, but it was great that eventually we got a record like "Parents Just Don't Understand," then there was NWA's "Niggaz You Love to Hate." Hip hop covered everything. I loved gangster rap. I loved everything. What people don't understand is although hip hop is a lifestyle, rap is a lyrical form. You can rap over any kind of music - jazz, funk, soul, opera, you can rap over anything. It can pull anybody in who just loves music, so it doesn't all have to be "hip hop." But now someone who has never played music chooses what you hear. hey just say, "We're gonna play this record 20 times a day to get into people's heads." The biggest problem is not what the radio plays, but what the radio doesn't play. POTS: Yeah, but Rush Limbaugh blamed the recent NBA brawl on "hip hop culture." JJ: That doesn't even make me mad. That's just an uneducated person. He doesn't know what hip hop is. POTS: Have you ever been able to go back to playing block parties? JJ: They really don't have those kinds of parties anymore and it's sad because that's where I cut my teeth. The block party is dead. Most people are so programmed by the radio stations that they just want to hear the same ten records that the radio plays over and over. It sucks for a DJ who wants to expose people to something new. You can throw one record and get everyone out on the floor. Twenty minutes later you can throw the same damn record on and they'll be back on the floor like they'd never heard it. It's like, "Are we in the Matrix or some ****?" While I was growing up, people would respond to the sound. If someone threw something on and it felt good, you just went with it. POTS: Have you checked out any local music in Taiwan? JJ: I haven't really been able to get as much Asian music, but DJ Noodles, who opened for me at the Luxy, was amazing. She could cut and I loved her selection. So many DJs just want to play the top-40 stuff, but I love it when a DJ grabs something obscure. She had guts. POTS: And what about the DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince reunion? JJ: We did a show in LA last summer and we went to Moscow, London, Paris, and Australia. I've got to go home after the tour and work on his new record with him. Will really wants to go on tour again. He really doesn't like doing performances without me. It always goes from the "Will Smith thing" then the "Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince" show. I've always been involved in his projects, but I've just never chosen to take the same "DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince" route again. After we finished our last record deal, I needed a break from the industry. I've always been involved, but it just wasn't contractual. I didn't want to get tied down again. I was in a contract when I was a 20-year-old kid. We were signed for ten years, so I was thirty-something when I got out. But I was like, "I have the wisdom of a 15 year old! I need to get out!" POTS: What advice do you have for the kids of Taiwan? JJ: Thanks for the support. Thanks for being open to new music. Hip hop is a great thing. If you take care of it, it'll take care of you. http://publish.pots.com.tw/english/Music/2...38_23jazzyjeff/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DefCEM Posted December 11, 2004 Report Share Posted December 11, 2004 Yo thats a dope interview!!!! Ahh, i can't believe that Will really wants to do a tour!!!! :bowdown: JJFP Rocks The House!!! :rock: :rock: :rock: :rock: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Hero1 Posted December 11, 2004 Author Admin Report Share Posted December 11, 2004 Yo thats a dope interview!!!! Ahh, i can't believe that Will really wants to do a tour!!!! :bowdown: JJFP Rocks The House!!! :rock: :rock: :rock: :rock: i can doubly confirm this..will would LOVE to do a tour..he loves performing so much.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzy Julie Posted December 11, 2004 Report Share Posted December 11, 2004 woohoo! thanx, lets just pray the tour actually happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Da Brakes Posted December 11, 2004 Report Share Posted December 11, 2004 You know that! That would be the icing on the cake for 2005!! :fingersx: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DefCEM Posted December 11, 2004 Report Share Posted December 11, 2004 Man I'll be on the tour, when he crosses Europe!!!! Word Up Da Brakes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbfprince Posted December 11, 2004 Report Share Posted December 11, 2004 yeah!!!!!!!! :rock: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver Tiger Posted December 11, 2004 Report Share Posted December 11, 2004 Thanks that was cool. Here's hoping for a tour. God Blessa! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lerkot Posted December 12, 2004 Report Share Posted December 12, 2004 (edited) Damn Jazzy gotta take vacation from his studio and just have a tour with Will... otherwise, i'll get mad Edited December 12, 2004 by Lerkot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonny 5 Posted December 12, 2004 Report Share Posted December 12, 2004 thanks for the interview Tim! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpinJack AJ Posted December 16, 2004 Report Share Posted December 16, 2004 Thanx 4 that!! Jazzy Jeff should be a spokesperson 4 Hip-Hop. He's got the love and drive 2 return it 2 what it should be like. I don't think the comment about FP wanting 2 tour is that impressive tho'...he's always wanted 2 tour, it's just never happened really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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