award winner and
1990 nominee
Will Smith of the duo
DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince at the
Emmy Awards in 1993 at the
32nd Annual Grammy Awards (1990) For the 31st Grammy Awards (1989), Best Rap Performance nominees included DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince for "Parents Just Don't Understand",
J. J. Fad for "Supersonic" (from the
album of the same name),
Kool Moe Dee for "
Wild Wild West",
LL Cool J for "
Going Back to Cali", and
Salt-n-Pepa (the duo consisting of
Cheryl James and
Sandra Denton) for "
Push It". The duo known as DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince consisted of DJ Jazzy Jeff (birth name Jeffrey Townes) and actor Will Smith, whose nickname also appeared in the American television sitcom
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, in which he starred. "Parents Just Don't Understand" appeared on the duo's 1988 album ''
He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper. "Going Back to Cali" appeared on the soundtrack to the film Less than Zero'' as well as LL Cool J's 1989 studio album
Walking with a Panther. Kool Moe Dee's "Wild Wild West" and Salt-n-Pepa's "Push It" appeared on the albums
How Ya Like Me Now and
Hot, Cool & Vicious, respectively. Rap and
heavy metal categories were introduced the same year (along with
Best Bluegrass Album), but, according to the show's producers, time constraints prevented both categories from being televised. Nominee Kool Moe Dee performed during the ceremony, but the rap award was presented during the "usually fast-paced pre-televised ceremony". DJ Jazzy Jeff and Will Smith led a boycott of the ceremony and were joined by fellow nominees LL Cool J and Salt-n-Pepa. Salt-n-Pepa issued the following statement: "If they don't want us, we don't want them." While Smith was absent from the ceremony, Jeff was present to accept his award. In 2004, Serena Kappes of
People magazine ranked Smith's ceremony boycott number eight on its list of Top 10 Grammy Moments. Smith later earned Best Rap Solo Performance awards in
1998 for "
Men in Black" and
1999 for "
Gettin' Jiggy wit It", and was nominated again in
2000 for "
Wild Wild West". Nominees for the 32nd Annual Grammy Awards included
De La Soul for "
Me Myself and I", DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince for "
I Think I Can Beat Mike Tyson",
Public Enemy for "
Fight the Power",
Tone Lōc for "
Funky Cold Medina", and
Young MC for "
Bust a Move". "Me Myself and I" appears on De La Soul's studio album
3 Feet High and Rising and in 2008 was ranked number 46 on
VH1's list of the 100 Greatest Hip Hop Songs Ever!!! "I Think I Can Beat Mike Tyson", written by the duo along with Pete Harris, appears on DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince's third album
And in This Corner.... "Fight the Power" appeared on the 1988
soundtrack for the film
Do the Right Thing and later on Public Enemy's third studio album
Fear of a Black Planet (1990). The song ranked number one on VH1's aforementioned list, number 40 on
AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs list, and number 322 on
Rolling Stone's 2004 list of "
The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". "Funky Cold Medina", written by Young MC, Michael L. Ross and
Matt Dike, first appeared on Tone Lōc's debut album
Lōc-ed After Dark. "Bust a Move" appeared on Young MC's debut album ''
Stone Cold Rhymin'''.
Allmusic editor
Stephen Thomas Erlewine described the song as "unabashed catchy" due to its "skittish, rhythmic guitar riff, looped beats", backing vocals, and "funny" rhymes. The award was presented to Young MC. ==Recipients==