Throwback: DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince – He’s The DJ, I’m The Rapper
Posted in Artists, Joints, Throwbacks on July 1st, 2008 by Hyphen
In honor of seeing the latest Will Smith flick, Hancock, last night, I thought I’d post up one of my favorite albums of all time. DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince literally changed my life, since they’re responsible for the first hip-hop I ever heard. Plus, my entire sense of humor was shaped by their music and the greatest TV show of all time, “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” The first cassette I owned was Rock The House when I was 6 years old (woah…20 years ago), but their second album, He’s The DJ, I’m The Rapper, was the joint that put me over the top. I must have listened to it a million times, and to this day, I still have every line, adlib, and scratch memorized. Clearly, part of my affinity for this LP is sentimental, but I think it’s still dope music that stands the test of time. Peep the title track for example, where Will absolutely blacks out. Black Thought has said it was his favorite verse growing up, and that rhyme alone is greater than the careers of most contemporary rappers.
If you’ve never heard this album, listening to it for the first time in 2008 clearly won’t mean the same for you as it did for me, but you need to check it out. If you remember it, but haven’t pulled it out in ages, do so. Afterall, it’s summer…and that’s officially JJ+FP time. There are even rumors that we might see some tour dates from Jeff and Will over the next few months (if they come to Seattle, it’s a WRAP). And go see Hancock…it’s dope.
DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince – He’s The DJ, I’m The Rapper
Bonus: The Smoking Section has the other JJ+FP albums up for download right here.
