When I heard that The Fresh Prince of Bel Air legend DJ Jazzy Jeff was making an appearance at the club next to my apartment, I was determined to meet him. Nothing was going to stop me.
The 'Summertime' star had at two-hour DJ set planned at Sankeys nightclub as a part of his European tour, and after a number of emails, I managed to land an interview with the man behind one of my favourite childhood characters.
In all honesty, I didn't have much of a clue what Jazz had been up to since Fresh Prince. I, like others, loved his character in the show but had lost track of his career.
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After a quick Google search and several YouTube videos, I saw what a talented and renowned DJ he still is.
I was told, quite abruptly, at 11.30pm, that my name would be on the door and that if I arrived at the club at 12.30am, I'd have 10 minutes with the man himself.
I knocked back as much beer as I could while I jotted down several naive questions before making my way to the club. Upon arrival, I was swiftly escorted to the room where DJ Jazzy Jeff would be chilling before his set.
It soon occurred to me that I had no idea of what he looked like nowadays. I mean, it'd been twenty years since I last saw him on television. People age. Time and shit.
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A couple of guys were in the room when I arrived, and either of them could have been Jazzy Jeff as far as I was concerned. They weren't. They were just two guys from a clothing brand who'd come to give him some free tees.
After a few minutes of small talk, the entourage arrived and, thankfully, Jeff shook my hand and introduced himself. I didn't have to play the guess game, to my relief.
He was remarkably friendly and his manager told me to help myself to the food and drink on the table. I wasn't in the mood for brie and ciabatta, but there was vodka. And no one else was drinking, so I, to my detriment, efficiently worked my way through a bottle of Grey Goose. Very quickly. In hindsight, it was pretty impressive.
After several minutes of drinking, I was told to sit down with Jeff. At that point, I was as pissed as my uncle John at a family party.
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I reeled off a number of questions. And when I say "reeled off", I mean I drunkenly slurred loads of shite to him for quite a while. He seemed to like me though, which was nice considering I reeked of free booze. The best kind.
I warned him prior to the interview that I'm scouse and of course a lot of the questions would inevitably be about The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. He didn't mind. He was proud to be part of such an iconic programme.
LB: I've got to ask it. Would you ever get back together for a one-off special 'Fresh Prince' episode?
JJ: Yeah! Absolutely! If everybody would do it, I'd do it! But everyone else has to agree first.
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LB: Do you think it's possible? Should we get excited?
JJ: I have no idea. Anything's possible right now!
LB: You've played some huge arenas. Do you prefer those big venues or smaller, intimate gigs?
JJ: Small. Always. You're right there with the people. You feel that energy. You don't feel that in big spaces, and if you do, it's always a delayed reaction. In fact, I could have played Sankeys six times. Man, this is one of my favourite venues.
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LB: How did you get the name Jazzy Jeff?
JJ: My name (Jeffrey Allen Townes) was too long. You used to have to get your name written on your shirt but I couldn't afford it. So I shortened it to Jazzy Jeff.
LB: What one piece of advice would you give to aspiring DJs trying to make it?
JJ: Oh shit. Find one thing that makes you different from everyone else. Listen, if you're like everyone else, why would I book you? I'd just book someone else.
LB: Do you get bored of 'Summertime'? The song, not the season.
JJ: No! You know why? It's only the shit for three months of the year!
LB: Will Smith said he wants to record a new album and do a world tour with you. Is it going to happen?
JJ: I hope so! We always talk about it. It's just scheduling. He's a lot busier than I am. Well, he's a different kind of busy.
LB: Do you think it'll happen?
JJ: Oh absolutely. It'd be great.
LB: Your performance with Eminem was incredible. Where does something like that rank in your career highlights?
JJ: I don't rank stuff because I'm not done yet. But yeah that was really, really cool. It's a shame it has to be a special occasion for us to do stuff like that. That's my man right there.
LB: You've ticked off everything an aspiring DJ would want to do - where do you go now? How do you make goals when you've already done it all?
JJ: I never had goals. I just wanted to play music and wanted people to have a good time. I don't try to set myself up for failures. Like, I'm in the back of a taxi and all I'm doing is enjoying the ride. So whenever he kicks me out, I'm good. I told my agent I want to play for everybody on the earth. Like, I don't care if they can't afford it, I want to play for the kids in the jungle. If we can make it happen, let's do it. Although there are a couple of places I won't go, because I hate bugs 'n' shit. But I want to play for everyone in the world.
Me and DJ Jazzy Jeff being great friends ft. a glass of complimentary vodka
After the interview, I was told to stick around as long as I wanted to catch the set. It was evident as soon as he began playing how this guy won the world DJ championship.
However, about half an hour into the performance, I ran out of vodka and decided that instead of going the bar, I'd just go backstage for more.
I pulled off some bullshit excuse to the man on the door and told him I'd left my notepad in the room, and before I knew it, I was reunited with what was left of the complimentary spirits as DJ Jazzy Jeff wowed a crowd of rowdy Mancunians downstairs.
After twenty minutes of hammering all the booze backstage, a member of staff came in and bollocked me for drinking all of Jeff's alcohol. I filled up an empty water bottle with Malibu and staggered out to watch the rest of what was an incredible set.
The rest is a bit of a blur if I'm honest, and I have no idea whether I liaised with Jeff after the set, so I'm just going to presume we left on the best of terms.
Words by Liam Bond
Topics: Celebrity, Music, Manchester