History
When he was growing up, he found that listening to his parents was unbearable. He got a job as a newspaper boy at age 7 to support his family. Once he grew up, he developed a reputation and following as a school and block party DJ extraordinaire, Jazzy Jeff was the feature of the duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince. As a duo, they had several gold and platinum-selling albums and singles in the late 1980s and early 1990s, earning them the first rap Grammy ever presented in 1989 for Parents Just Don't Understand. When Smith branched out into television with the sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Jazzy Jeff played a recurring character named "Jazz", Smith's best friend on the show. The two characters always greeted each other with their signature handshake (swinging mid-five, point-back/snap with both characters saying "Pssh!").
Jazz' trademarks include being physically ejected from the house by Uncle Phil (James Avery), screaming as he went flying out the front door. This was referenced in the song "N.Y, N.Y." by Lloyd Banks from his second album Rotten Apple, with the lyric "I throw a bitch out the crib like Jazzy Jeff". [1]
DJ Jazzy Jeff is not to be confused with Jeffrey Myree from the earlier hip hop group Funky Four Plus One, which in fact filed and won a lawsuit over the name Jazzy Jeff against Jeff Townes and Jive records when they signed DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince. After DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince broke up, Townes went on to become a prominent R&B, soul, and neo soul record producer, establishing the A Touch of Jazz production company in his native Philadelphia. Among the artists that Jazzy Jeff has helped develop are Jill Scott and Musiq. Even though he separated from Will Smith as music partners, they are still best friends and still occasionally work together. Some songs by Will Smith were produced by Jeff Townes (Ex. Here He Comes), and he has performed on some songs by Will Smith such as "So Fresh" and "Potnas". In addition, he appears in several of Smith's music videos such as "Will2K", "Freakin' It", and "Party Starter". On some occasions, he makes appearances with Smith on live concerts, producing DJ scratches.
He, along with DJ Cash Money, is credited with making the transform scratch famous.
On July 2, 2005, DJ Jazzy Jeff performed with Will Smith at the Live 8 concert in Philadelphia. In the past, Will has performed on concerts with DJ Jazzy Jeff for the scratches. Moreover, Will acknowledges him in his music like "Comin' To The Stage" from the album Lost & Found or "Potnas" in his album Willennium.
His 2007 release TROTM (The Return of the Magnificent) is a classic work which returns to the roots of hip-hop with a neo-soul mixture included. This album featured numerous collaborations with old school and new school artists including CL Smooth, Big Daddy Kane, Pos from De La Soul, Method Man, Peedi Crakk (a remake of Brand New Funk), Rhymefest, and Raheem DeVaughn.
In 2007, he appeared with Rhymefest in the video DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Fest directed by Konee Rok, in which he makes music in his home recording studio with Rhymefest and they reveal that they are working on an album together called "I'm the DJ, I'm the Rapper".
Discography
Solo work as DJ Jazzy Jeff
* Unreleased album from Sony Records (1998)
* One cut in Battle of DJs
* The Magnificent (2002)
* Soulheaven Presents Jazzy Jeff in the House (2004)
* The Soul Mixtape Groovin' Records USA (2005)
* Hip-Hop Forever II Rapster Records (2004)
* Hip-Hop Forever III BBE Records (2006)
* The Return of The Magnificent EP (2007)
* The Return of the Magnificent (2007)
* The Return of Hip Hop EP (2007)
As DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince
* Rock the House (1987) #83 US (Gold)
* He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper (1988) #4 US (3x Platinum)
* And in This Corner… (1989) #39 US (Gold)
* Homebase (1991) #12 US (Platinum)
* Code Red (1993) #64 US (Gold)
* Greatest Hits (1998) #144 US, #20 UK
* Before The Willennium (1999)
* The Very Best of D.J. Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince (2006)
Miscellaneous
* 1991 - Deep, Deep, Trouble with Bart Simpson and the remixes; from The Simpsons Sing the Blues
* 1997 - Jazzy Jeff's Theme; from the album Nuyorican Soul
* 1998 - "When To Stand Up" featuring Eminem
* 1998 - I Don't Know by Slum Village (scratches); from the album Fantastic, Vol. 2
* 1999 - The Next Movement by The Roots (scratches); from the album Things Fall Apart
* 2004 - Mirrorball (DJ Jazzy Jeff Full Sole Remix) by Everything But The Girl; from Adapt or Die: 10 Years of Remixes
* 2005 - Papa Was A Rollin' Stone (DJ Jazzy Jeff & Pete Kuzma Solefull Mix) by the Temptations; from Motown Remixed.
* 2005 - Lost & Found by Will Smith; produced intro song Here He Comes and several DJ scratches on several tracks
* 2005 - The Minstrel Show by Little Brother; Scratches on the song Watch Me.
* 2006 - Feel It (Jazzy Jeff Soulful Remix) by the Black Eyed Peas; from Renegotiations: The Remixes
* 2006 - Night in Tunisia (DJ Jazzy Jeff Remix) by Duke Jordan
* 2007 - Ear Drum by Talib Kweli; Scratches on song NY Weather Report.
* 2008 - Get Busy by The Roots (scratches); from the album Rising Down.
Nightmare On My Street
DJ Jazzy Jeff Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
About this guy, you all know me I was scared as hell
He comes to me at night when I crawl into bed
He's burnt up like a weenie and his name is Fred
He wears the same hat and sweater every single day
And even if it's hot outside, he wears it anyway!
He's home when I'm awake, but he shows up when I sleep
I can't believe that there's a nightmare, on my street!
And we had just gotten off of tour last night
So the gang and I thought that it would be groovy
If we summoned up the posse and down watch a movie
I got Angie, Jeff got Tina
Ready Rock got some girl I've never seen in my life
That was alright though, ''cause lady was chill
Then we dipped to the theater set to ill
Buggin' , cold havin' a ball
And somethin' 'bout Elm Street was the movie we saw
The way it started was decent
You know, nothin' real fancy
About this homeboy named Fred
And this girl named Nancy
But, word! When it was over, I said, "Yo, that was def!"
And everything seemed alright when we left
But when I got home and laid down to sleep
That began the nightmare, on my street!
It was burnin' in my room like an oven
My bed soaked with sweat, and man, I was buggin'
I checked the clock, and it stopped at 12:30
It had melted it was so darn hot, and I was thirsty
I wanted something cool to quench my thirst
I thought to myself, Yo! This heat is the worst!
But when I got downstairs, I noticed something was wrong
I was home all alone, but the TV was on.
I thought nothin' of it as I grabbed the remote
I pushed the power button, and I then almost choked
When I heard this aweful voice comin' from behind, it said
"You are my favorite rapper, but now you must die!" (?)
Man, I ain't even wait to see who it was
Broke inside my drawers and screamed, "So long ''cause!"
Got halfway up the block, I calmed down and stopped screamin'
And thought, Oh, I get it, I must be dreamin'
I strolled back home with a grin on my grill
I'm thinkin' since this is a dream, I might as well get ill
I walked in the house, the big, bad, Fresh Prince
But Freddy killed all that noise real quick
He grabbed me by my neck and said,
"Here's what we'll do. We've got a lotta work here, me and you,
The souls of your friends, you and I will claim.
You've got the body, and I've got the brains."
I said, "Yo, Fred. I think you've got me all wrong.
I ain't parnters with nobody with nails that long.
Look, I'll be honest man, this team won't work
The girls won't be yours, Fred, your face is all burnt"
Fred got mad and his head started steamin'
But I thought what the hell, I'm only dreamin'
I said, "Please leave Fred, so I can get some sleep.
But gimme a call, and maybe we'll hang out next week."
I pat him on the shoulder, say, "Thanks for stoppin' by."
Then I opened up the door and said, "Take care, guy!"
He got mad, threw back his arm, and slashed my shirt
I laughed at first, then thought, Hold up...that hurt.
It wasn't a dream, man, this guy was for real
I said, "Freddy, uh, uh, there's been an aweful mistake here."
No further words, and then I darted upstairs
Crashed through my door then jumped on my bed
Pulled the covers up over my head and said,
"Oh please, do somethin' with Fred!"
He jumped on my bed and threw the covers with his claws
Tried to get me...but my alarm went off. and then
Silence
It was a whole new day, I thought.
Heh...I wasn't scared of him, anyway.
Until I noticed those rips in my sheets
And that was proof that there had been a nightmare, on my street.
Oh man, I gotta call Jeff, I gotta call Jeff
See'mon, see'mon...
See'mon Jeff, answer!
See'mon man
Jeff: Hello...
Prince: Jeff, it's Prince man, Jeff, wake up Jeff, wake up!
Jeff: What do you want?!
Prince: Jeff, wake up, man. Listen to me. Jeff
Jeff: It's 3 O'clock in the morning, what do you want?
Prince: Jeff, listen, Jeff, would you listen to me? Whatever you do, don't
Fall asleep.
Jeff: Man!
Prince: Jeff..listen to me. Don't go to sleep
Jeff: Look, I'll talk to you tomorrow, I'm goin' to bed
AGHH.....AGHHH
Prince: Jeff! Jeff! ..........Jeff, answer me, Jeff!
Freddy: I'm your D.J. now, Princy...HA HA HA
"Nightmare On My Street" is a song by DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince (Will Smith) from their album He's The DJ, I'm The Rapper, released on April 7, 1988. The song tells a story about Freddy Krueger, the villain from the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" film series, who haunts the singer's dreams. The song starts with the singer introducing Freddy and detailing his physical appearance as "burnt up like a weenie." The singer then proceeds to describe how he first encountered Freddy after watching "A Nightmare on Elm Street," and Freddy began to haunt his dreams.
The singer continues his story and emphasizes the horror of his experience by telling how Freddy tried to kill him in his dreams as he realized that he was in danger. The singer wakes up from the dream to find out that there are actual rips in his sheets, and Fred had been real all along. The song ends with a nightmarish twist when Freddy’s evil voice is heard on the phone. The song uses sound effects throughout to create a suspenseful atmosphere, building on the imagery of Freddy Krueger as a bogeyman.
Line by Line Meaning
Now I have a story that I'd like to tell
I have an experience I want to share
About this guy, you all know me I was scared as hell
This guy terrified me, and you all know it
He comes to me at night when I crawl into bed
He visits me when I go to sleep at night
He's burnt up like a weenie and his name is Fred
His body is burned and he is called Fred
He wears the same hat and sweater every single day
He always wears the same hat and sweater
And even if it's hot outside, he wears it anyway!
Even in hot weather, he still wears them
He's home when I'm awake, but he shows up when I sleep
He's present during the day but appears in my dreams
I can't believe that there's a nightmare, on my street!
I can't believe I have a terrifying dream on my own street
It was a Saturday evening if I remember it right
If I recall correctly, it happened on a Saturday evening
And we had just gotten off of tour last night
We just finished a tour the previous night
So the gang and I thought that it would be groovy
My friends and I decided it would be cool
If we summoned up the posse and down watch a movie
If we gathered our friends and watched a movie together
I got Angie, Jeff got Tina
I brought Angie, Jeff brought Tina
Ready Rock got some girl I've never seen in my life
Ready Rock came with a girl I didn't know
That was alright though, ''cause lady was chill
But it was fine because the girl was cool
Then we dipped to the theater set to ill
We left for the theater ready to have a good time
Buggin' , cold havin' a ball
We were excited and having a great time
And somethin' 'bout Elm Street was the movie we saw
We watched a movie called Elm Street
The way it started was decent
The movie began in an okay way
You know, nothin' real fancy
It wasn't anything extravagant
About this homeboy named Fred
It focused on a guy named Fred
And this girl named Nancy
And a girl named Nancy
But, word! When it was over, I said, "Yo, that was def!"
But let me tell you, when it ended, I thought, 'Wow, that was great!'
And everything seemed alright when we left
We all felt fine as we left
But when I got home and laid down to sleep
But as soon as I got home and went to bed
That began the nightmare, on my street!
That's when the nightmare started on my street
It was burnin' in my room like an oven
My room felt extremely hot, like an oven
My bed soaked with sweat, and man, I was buggin'
My bed was drenched in sweat, and I was freaking out
I checked the clock, and it stopped at 12:30
I looked at the clock, and it was stuck at 12:30
It had melted it was so darn hot, and I was thirsty
The heat had melted the clock, and I was thirsty
I wanted something cool to quench my thirst
I needed a cold drink to satisfy my thirst
I thought to myself, Yo! This heat is the worst!
I said to myself, 'Wow! This heat is unbearable!'
But when I got downstairs, I noticed something was wrong
But as I went downstairs, I realized something was amiss
I was home all alone, but the TV was on
I was the only one home, but the TV was playing
I thought nothin' of it as I grabbed the remote
I didn't think much of it as I picked up the remote
I pushed the power button, and I then almost choked
But when I pressed the power button, I was startled
When I heard this aweful voice comin' from behind, it said
Suddenly, I heard a terrible voice from behind saying
"You are my favorite rapper, but now you must die!"
"I used to admire you as a rapper, but now you have to die!"
Man, I ain't even wait to see who it was
I didn't wait to see who it was
Broke inside my drawers and screamed, "So long ''cause!"
I panicked, searched for an escape, and yelled, 'Goodbye, cause!'
Got halfway up the block, I calmed down and stopped screamin'
After running halfway down the block, I calmed down and stopped shouting
And thought, Oh, I get it, I must be dreamin'
I realized that I must be dreaming
I strolled back home with a grin on my grill
I casually walked back home, smiling
I'm thinkin' since this is a dream, I might as well get ill
Since I'm in a dream, I thought I might as well have fun
I walked in the house, the big, bad, Fresh Prince
I entered the house, feeling confident as the Fresh Prince
But Freddy killed all that noise real quick
But Freddy destroyed my confidence in an instant
He grabbed me by my neck and said,
He grabbed my neck and said,
"Here's what we'll do. We've got a lotta work here, me and you,
"We have a lot of work to do, you and I,
The souls of your friends, you and I will claim.
We will both take the souls of your friends.
You've got the body, and I've got the brains."
You have the physical body, and I have the intelligence."
I said, "Yo, Fred. I think you've got me all wrong.
I responded, "Fred, I think you misjudged me.
I ain't parnters with nobody with nails that long.
I don't associate with people who have such long nails.
Look, I'll be honest man, this team won't work
To be honest, this partnership won't succeed
The girls won't be yours, Fred, your face is all burnt"
The girls won't be interested in you, Fred, because of your burnt face"
Fred got mad and his head started steamin'
Fred became angry, and steam started coming out of his head
But I thought what the hell, I'm only dreamin'
But I shrugged it off, knowing it was only a dream
I said, "Please leave Fred, so I can get some sleep.
I pleaded, "Fred, please leave so I can go back to sleep.
But gimme a call, and maybe we'll hang out next week."
But give me a call, and maybe we can hang out next week."
I pat him on the shoulder, say, "Thanks for stoppin' by."
I patted him on the shoulder and said, "Thanks for visiting."
Then I opened up the door and said, "Take care, guy!"
Then I opened the door and bid him farewell.
He got mad, threw back his arm, and slashed my shirt
He became angry, swung his arm, and tore my shirt.
I laughed at first, then thought, Hold up...that hurt.
At first, I laughed, but then I realized, 'Wait, that actually hurt.'
It wasn't a dream, man, this guy was for real
It wasn't a dream, this guy was actually real
I said, "Freddy, uh, uh, there's been an aweful mistake here."
I told Freddy, 'There's been a terrible mistake here.'
No further words, and then I darted upstairs
Without saying anything else, I quickly ran upstairs
Crashed through my door then jumped on my bed
I burst through my bedroom door and jumped on my bed
Pulled the covers up over my head and said,
I pulled the covers over my head and said,
"Oh please, do somethin' with Fred!"
"Oh please, make Fred go away!"
He jumped on my bed and threw the covers with his claws
He leaped onto my bed and tore at the covers with his claws
Tried to get me...but my alarm went off. and then
He tried to reach me... but then my alarm went off.
Silence
Everything became quiet
It was a whole new day, I thought.
I believed it was a brand new day
Heh...I wasn't scared of him, anyway.
I chuckled... I wasn't afraid of him, regardless.
Until I noticed those rips in my sheets
Until I noticed the tears in my bedsheets
And that was proof that there had been a nightmare, on my street.
That was evidence that there was indeed a nightmare on my street.
Oh man, I gotta call Jeff, I gotta call Jeff
Oh man, I need to call Jeff, I need to call Jeff
See'mon, see'mon...
Come on, come on...
See'mon Jeff, answer!
Come on, Jeff, answer!
See'mon man
Come on, man
Jeff: Hello...
Jeff: Hello...
Prince: Jeff, it's Prince man, Jeff, wake up Jeff, wake up!
Prince: Jeff, it's Prince, wake up Jeff!
Jeff: What do you want?!
Jeff: What do you want?!
Prince: Jeff, wake up, man. Listen to me. Jeff
Prince: Jeff, wake up and listen to me, Jeff
Jeff: It's 3 O'clock in the morning, what do you want?
Jeff: It's 3 o'clock in the morning, what do you need?
Prince: Jeff, listen, Jeff, would you listen to me? Whatever you do, don't Fall asleep.
Prince: Jeff, listen to me. Don't fall asleep, no matter what.
Jeff: Man!
Jeff: Man!
Prince: Jeff..listen to me. Don't go to sleep
Prince: Jeff, pay attention to me. Don't go to sleep
Jeff: Look, I'll talk to you tomorrow, I'm goin' to bed
Jeff: Look, I'll talk to you tomorrow, I'm going to sleep
AGHH.....AGHHH
AGHH... AGHHH
Prince: Jeff! Jeff! ..........Jeff, answer me, Jeff!
Prince: Jeff! Jeff! ... Jeff, respond to me, Jeff!
Freddy: I'm your D.J. now, Princy...HA HA HA
Freddy: I am your DJ now, Princy... HA HA HA
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JEFFREY TOWNES, PETER BRIAN HARRIS, WILLARD C. SMITH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@thewoomyconnoisseur
This slaps harder than Will Smith
@davidprice6462
That phone dialing and the conversation at the end was so iconic for us kids of the late 80s and early 90s.
@delwyn80
I got here the same way. LoL.
@Aftermidnite04
Man I remember that shit. Talkn bout running up a phone bill
@DrLuke49
Yea FaceTime somehow would not have hit the same LOL
@DrLuke49
@@Aftermidnite04 these mobile phone companies are barely legit scams too
@capsortee
how come it does have the end part that goes"...and if you listen to anything besides power 106, expecte to se me when you close your eyes!"
@eyeseer1
That piano chorus still chills and this is a great song on Halloween.
@nbuehster
Based on the original theme.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxU8veeydI4
I didn't know that when I first heard this in the late 90s, but I somehow thought it would make sense if that was the theme. (I never saw the movie, so I never heard the theme until a few years ago.)
@chanceweslowski7792
Please know that we can be saved if we come to God and do his will. Please repent and turn to Jesus. God bless you!