Acting in 2002 When Smith branched out into television with the sitcom
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Jazzy Jeff played a character named Jazz, Smith's best friend on the show. Jazzy Jeff was initially a recurring character in the first season, but became a regular shortly thereafter. In the early seasons, the two characters always greeted each other with their signature handshake (swinging
mid-five, point-back, snap with both characters saying "Pssh!"). A running joke throughout the show's run involved the character being physically ejected from the house by Uncle Phil (
James Avery) while making a comical guttural scream, most often using the same footage for comedic effect, but sometimes filming new footage instead. Jazz had an unrequited crush on Hillary Banks (played by
Karyn Parsons).
Music One of the first records DJ Jazzy Jeff ever appeared on was with the Korner Boyz (Street Artz Records) and their songs "Bust the Move" and "The Saga of Roxanne", which featured legendary Philadelphia rappers MC Parry P and Grand Tone. The instrumental was called "Jazzy Jeff Scratch" (1985). As a duo,
DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince had several gold and platinum-selling albums and singles in the late 1980s and early 1990s, earning them the first rap
Grammy Award ever presented in 1989 for "
Parents Just Don't Understand". At the time of winning the Grammy Award, DJ Jazzy Jeff came home crying as he had just $500 in the bank. DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince also won a second Grammy for "
Summertime". After DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince broke up, Townes went on to become a prominent
R&B,
soul, and
neo soul record producer and actor, establishing the A Touch of Jazz production company in his native Philadelphia. Among the artists that Jazzy Jeff has helped develop are
Eric Roberson,
Jill Scott,
Musiq Soulchild,
Eminem,
the Roots,
Raheem DeVaughn,
Darius Rucker,
Talib Kweli,
Floetry,
Rhymefest, and many more. Despite separating from
Will Smith as a music partner, they remain close friends and occasionally work together. Some songs by Smith were produced by Townes, and he has performed on some songs by Smith such as "So Fresh" and "Potnas". In addition, he appeared in several of Smith's music videos such as "Will2K" and "Freakin' It". On some occasions, he made appearances with Smith at live concerts, producing DJ scratches. On July 2, 2005, DJ Jazzy Jeff performed with Smith at the
Live 8 concert in Philadelphia. Moreover, Smith acknowledges him in his music such as "Comin' to the Stage" from the album
Lost and Found and "Potnas" from his album
Willennium. His 2007 release
The Return of the Magnificent featured numerous collaborations with old school and new school artists including
CL Smooth,
Big Daddy Kane,
Pos from
De La Soul,
Method Man,
Peedi Peedi (a remake of "Brand New Funk"),
Rhymefest, and
Raheem DeVaughn. In 2007, he appeared with Rhymefest in a video directed by
Konee Rok, in which he makes music in his home recording studio with Rhymefest. In 2008, Townes performed with Smith at the premiere of the latter's 2008 film
Hancock. In 2009, he made a mixtape titled ''He's the King...I'm the DJ
in honor of the late entertainer Michael Jackson. Townes was featured in the video game DJ Hero'' as a playable character. He also has some original mixes in the game. In 2010, DJ Jazzy Jeff and
Mick (formerly known as Mick Boogie) teamed up to release the
Summertime: The Mixtape series. The mixes are released every summer. In 2013, DJ Jazzy Jeff performed with Will Smith on
The Graham Norton Show. Also that same year, DJ Jazzy Jeff released
Vinyl Destination, a web series documenting his hundred plus DJ shows from all around the world. He also appeared as the lead interview in
Paul Stenning's book ''Success – By Those Who've Made It''. In 2015, he performed the scratch overdubs for the film
Straight Outta Compton. In August 2017, DJ Jazzy Jeff and Will Smith performed two shows in Europe: MTV Summerblast Music Festival in
Croatia and the Livewire Festival in
Blackpool. In 2024, he went on tour with
New Kids on the Block as a supporting act, alongside
Paula Abdul, on
The Magic Summer Tour (2024). In 2025, DJ Jazzy Jeff was announced as one of the remixers for the
2026 FIFA World Cup theme, representing
Philadelphia. == Personal life ==