DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince Reunite For Grammy Hip-Hop Special – Billboard

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DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince are set to reunite A Grammy salute to 50 years of hip-hop musicIt will be taped on November 8th at the YouTube Theater in Inglewood, California. This will be one of Will Smith’s first major public events since he humiliated Chris Rock at the 94th Annual Academy Awards in March 2022.

During the ceremony, after Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, Smith walked on stage and slapped Rock, whose head was shaved due to alopecia areata. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences banned Smith from its events for a decade as punishment.

Here, the mood is decidedly celebratory, making it a safe place to begin Smith’s gradual re-emergence in the public eye. DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince, Arrested Development, Big Daddy Kane, Black Sheep, Cypress Hill, Decable Planets, T.J. They join a packed lineup of artists like Quik, E-40, Chlorilla, Gunna, Jeezy, Juvenile, Lotto. , Looneys, MC Light, Roxanne Shande, Spinderella, Three 6 Mafia, TI, Two $Hard, 2 Chainz, Warren G, YG, Black Thought, Bun B, Common, De La Soul, Jermaine Dupri, JJ Fat, Talib Kweli, The Lady of Rage, LL Cool J, MC Shaw-Rock, Moni Love, The Barside, Queen Latifah, Questlove, Rakim, Remy Ma, Mama Luke and Yo-Yo.

DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince made Grammy hip-hop history twice. The awards show did not have a dedicated category for rap or hip-hop until the 1988 awards, which were presented on February 22, 1989. The duo’s genius pop hit „Parents Just Don’t Understand” was their first hip-hop record. Grammy Award (Best Rap Performance) But they were not invited to participate in the program that year.

A year later, on February 21, 1990, the duo became the first hip-hop act to perform at the Grammys. “We want to dedicate this performance to all the rappers who have stood by us over the last year and helped us earn the right to be on this stage tonight,” Smith said before he and DJ Jazzy Jeff launched into “I Think I Can Beat Mike Tyson.

Tribute Special Dec. 10 will air from 8:30 – 10:30 PM ET/PT on CBS and will be available to stream live and on-demand on Paramount+.

A Grammy salute to 50 years of hip-hop music Produced by Jesse Collins Entertainment. Collins, Shawn Gee, Dionne Harmon, Claudine Joseph, LL COOL J, Fatima Robinson, Jeannae Rouzan-Clay, and Ahmir „Questlove” Thompson for Two One Five Entertainment will serve as executive producers and Marcelo Gama will serve as executive producer.

An extended „50 Years of 50-Hop” segment was one of the highlights of the 65th Annual Grammy Awards on February 5. It kicked off a year of hip-hop celebrations that underscored the genre’s importance and dominance.

The segment received universal acclaim. advertisement boardJoe Lynch named it the best performance on the 2023 Grammys broadcast. „While it’s impossible to sum up 50 years in any way (it struggled for decades to gain mainstream respect and eventually became the dominant genre in American music), this electrifying repertoire brought to life the dynamic personalities, pulsating grooves, deft deliveries and unpredictable flourishes that made hip-hop a global force. make.”

Questlove chose a 15-minute spot on the Grammys broadcast that featured three dozen rap acts. Collins, Robinson and Gee (Questlow’s manager and head of LNU) were also among the producers of the segment.

While many assumed that the success of the Grammys broadcast led CBS to rush into production of a special, according to a source, the special was in the works before anyone knew there would be a segment on the broadcast.

Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. hinted at the upcoming special in a statement announcing the telecast division. „For five decades, hip hop has not only been a defining force in music, but a huge influence on our culture,” he said. „Its contributions to the arts, fashion, sports, politics and society cannot be overstated. I am so proud that we are honoring it in such a wonderful way on the Grammy stage. This is just the beginning of our annual celebration of this essential music genre.

It’s the 50th anniversary (to this day!) of a back-to-school party in The Bronx that many point to as the beginning of hip-hop culture. CBS, which has aired the Grammys since 1973, aired another Grammy-branded special – A Grammy Salute to the Beach Boys – On April 9. The special was taped on February 8 at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood.

Doors open for tapings on November 8th at 6pm. The concert is set to start at 7pm and tickets are now available to the public Ticketmaster.com. YouTube Theater is located at 1011 Stadium Dr., Inglewood, CA 90305.