Retro Spins: DJ Jazzy Jeff And The Fresh Prince - And In This Corner...

I figured today would be a good day to wrap up my listening session of 80's albums from DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, AKA Will Smith, and Jeff Townes. 

It was my brother who introduced me to the duo. I don't know if he saw them on MTV, and from there decided to get the cassettes, or if he had heard about them before. Either way, the end result was he and I sitting on the floor, building Legos, and laughing to the tunes. I'm not gonna lie, back in the day, they were funny.

Playing through And In This Corner..., I was greeted by familiarity. Granted, it's been a while since my childhood, but I still remembered, Then She Bit Me, I Think I Can Beat Mike Tyson, Who Stole My Car?, and Too Damn Hype. Mind you, that was just the tip of the iceberg for this fifty-seven minute rap fest.

I had to shake my head when track five, You Got It (Donut), came on. The tune is all about (hopefully), a fictional girl who Will is seeing who is treating him like a punk by getting with other guys. It's such the opposite spectrum of how his real life wife treats him that it makes the song laughable.

What I also noticed while listening to it was how these songs probably wouldn't be socially acceptable these days. Tracks like The Girlie Had A Mustache. In this overly sensative era, I just don't think some would see the humor. You know how everyone likes to complain about something these days.

While I favored the more comical tracks, there were definitely moments of (somewhat) seriousness that stood out, such as, The Reverand.Jazzy Jeff certainly knows his way around a turntable and mixing board. Admittedly, I'm not to in tune with rap, but he defintiely stands out among what I know as top tier.

So how does their final 80's entry fare to their others? Well...I suppose it's better than getting slapped in the face. I kid...but not really. I do imagine that getting slapped would be far worse than listening to this, or any album. Overall, it's good. Separate the art from the artist, and you can't deny there's quality and enjoyment there.

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THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
May 3, 1980

 

THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
May 3, 1986

Retro Spins: DJ Jazzy Jeff And The Fresh Prince - He's The DJ, I'm The Rapper

Search the Weekly Top 40 in 1988 and you won't find DJ Jazzy Jeff And The Fresh Prince on it anywhere. That's too bad. Fortunately, this was rectified in 1988 when Parents Just Don't Understand won a Grammy for Best Rap Performance.

The album, He's The DJ, I'm The Rapper, is most notable for said hit, Parents Just Don't Understand and A Nightmare On My Street. However, in case you didn't know that the duo had a new album out, they made sure to clue you in with their track, Here We Go Again. The song not only tells you that you should have bought their prior album, but that the new one is out and readily available for purchase. It also clues you in on what the two have been up to.


Not being big into hip hop myself, DJ Jazzy Jeff And The Fresh Prince consist of the majority of my limited exposure to rap. I know that's not a very popular vote among rap purists who don't appreciate the silly nature of the two's music.

At one hour and twelve minutes, I appreciate the dedication to provide a record that gives fans their monies worth. It delivers solid beats, and has a fair amount of catchy songs to tap one's toes to. Being nostalgic minded, I have a soft spot for Human Video Game, which gives us classic hooks from some of the greatest 80's arcade hits.

Overall, it's a decent album, but not one I can see myself wanting to hear repeatedly. Definitely well worth catching up with it after decades since I heard it last.

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Retro Spins: DJ Jazzy Jeff And The Fresh Prince - Rock The House

DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince
Rock the House
1987

I don't personally know when Will Smith became a household name and a top contender for his own television show. However, I know it wasn't in 1987 when he and his pal Jeff released their debut album, Rock the House. Though the album found a small following thanks mostly to its lead track, Girls Ain't Nothing But Trouble, nothing found any love in the charts.

For me, what I found most appealing about DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince was that they were obviously there to have fun. Their songs weren't about drugs, sex or violence. Rather, they focused on being almost comedically entertaining. It's as if they were blatantly telling other rappers, "We're not here to be serious." I think it was because of this that the duo were able to break barriers of color so easily.

Sadly, if you're looking to grab the original version of this album you're going to have to track it down on the 1987 vinyl or cassette. The reason being that when the album was released on CD for the first time in 1988 (thanks to the success of the duo's follow up album He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper) the song Girls Ain't Nothing But Trouble was re-recorded and released only in an extended remix format.

It was this version which would finally enter the charts in October of 1988, again, because of the success of the duo's follow up album. However, the success was short lived as the song would debut at the number ninety-three spot, but be back off the charts by the following week.

I enjoyed the album as a whole. Mainly because (as I said above) it was fun. It was lighthearted, comical at times, groovy at others and overall good. Every song, either as a whole or in part, had something enjoyable for me. Granted while I won't be grabbing all of them for my iPod or iTunes 80's mix, I will be adding a few tracks; Girls Ain't Nothing But Trouble, Just One of Those Days, Rock the House, The Magnificent Jazzy Jeff and A Tough of Jazz.

Definitely looking forward to hearing more albums in the near future.

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