DJ Jazzy Jeff
The DJ (a.k.a. Jeffrey Allen Townes) and Smith were known as the hip-hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. While their last album was released in 1993, they remain close. In 2019, Smith celebrated his birthday by joining Townes on stage in Budapest to perform their greatest hits.
“Me and DJ Jazzy Jeff got started in Philly over 30 years ago,” Smith told the audience. “There has never been a time in my life when I didn’t look to the side and have a great friend, and it is so important who your friends are. And DJ Jazzy Jeff, for more than half of my life, has been one of the best friends I’ve ever had in this world.”
In April 2022, Jeff defended his friend’s behavior at the Oscars during an interview with Chicago radio station 107.5 WCGI. “Don’t get it twisted that this was something that he was proud of. It was a lapse in judgment,” the producer said. “I think the thing that I’ve realized is I don’t know too many people that has had the least amount of lapse of judgment than him. I can name 50 times that he should’ve smacked the s–t out of somebody and he didn’t. So, for him to have a lapse in judgment, he’s human. And I think a lot of the criticism comes from the people who don’t think people like that are human.”
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