DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince - Summertime

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DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
Summertime / Girl's Ain't Nothing But Trouble
Jive JIVE 279 (1991)

As I randomly pull music from my collection I come across a lot of 80s/90s hip hop of which a lot have not aged well.  One example is the flip side of this 45 which, although fun, shows it's age.  The title track however is to me a timeless gem.

DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince are Jeff Townes (DJ Jazzy Jeff) and the "A" list actor Will Smith (aka The Fresh Prince). The duo first met in 1985 at a house party and soon decided to join forces.  Having been signed by a Philadelphia label Word Records in 1986 they released their debut single (the flip side of this 45) which featured a sample of "I Dream OF Jeannie"

The duo picked up considerable airtime on MTV during the late 80s early 90s and off the back of this Will Smith stared in the sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air which ran from 1990-96.  The duo also achieved much success including 4 Grammy awards (best rap performance), 2 American Music awards and 2 MTV Video awards.  Will went on to a worldwide cinema career whilst Jeff still works in the music industry.

This 45 released in 1991 was the duo's most successful single reaching #4 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and #8 on the UK charts. The video below, at the time of publishing this blog, has notched up nearly 80 million views showing its worldwide appeal. Thirty-five years on its warm mellow sound celebrating all that is good about summer is still one of hip hops finest.










FLAC





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