Now this is a story … about DJ Jazzy Jeff who rose to notoriety as one-half of DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince with Will Smith. By 1993, the West Philly Hip Hop duo had already won two Grammy Awards (Best Rap Performance for 1989’s “Parents Just Don’t Understand” and Best Rap Performance for 1991’s “Summertime”) and were on their way to becoming pop culture icons.
In between Grammys, Will Smith scored the lead role in the beloved sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and brought DJ Jazzy Jeff along with him. Thirty years later, Smith is a bona fide movie star, while Jazzy Jeff is one of Hip Hop’s most respected turntablists. Meanwhile, Hip Hop has evolved into the biggest genres on the planet and artists such as Snoop Dogg, Ice-T, Fat Joe and Outkast’s Big Boi are now the faces of giant corporations, proving just how far Hip Hop has come.
Now, Jazzy Jeff is the latest Hip Hop legend to cop an endorsement deal, one that combines his love for the National Basketball League and ’90s Hip Hop. Ahead of 2022 NBA All-Star Weekend, Michelob ULTRA has teamed up with Jazzy Jeff for a new campaign dubbed “Enjoy It Like It’s 1993.” In a recent Zoom interview with HipHopDX,DJ Jazzy Jeff spoke about the partnership and explained why people are seeing so many Hip Hop legends landing lucrative endorsements.
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“You got a chance to grow older with Hip Hop,” he tells DX. “So the people who were in charge when Ice-T [was around] and would not allow him to do commercials like that, there are people that bought Ice-T records who are now running these companies. So it’s a little bit different. It’s the changing of the guard. A lot of the heads of the companies have grown up with Hip Hop, so that’s why you’re seeing a big fusion of that.”
During All-Star Weekend, the beer company will bring NBA Jam to life by taking over a Cleveland bar to create “Boom Shaka Lakas,” a retro ‘90s barcade where fans can hang out between games. Special performances include a set from Fat Joe and DJ Jazzy Jeff (who has a secret character in the game) as well as a meet and greet with NBA legends Clyde Drexler, Dikembe Mutombo, Dominique Wilkins and James Worthy.
“I am a huge basketball fan,” Jazzy Jeff says. “Being able to go to the NBA All-Star Game and then do this event with Michelob ULTRA and NBA Jam is kind of like a super-duper throwback to the ’90s. So yeah, I mean, I’m excited, man. It’s a classic game, classic basketball game in the All-Star Game that merged with the classic video game, NBA Jam. We going back to ’93.”
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As DJ Jazzy Jeff explains, 1993 was “very bright and very colorful” — and he’s referring to his attire. Cross Colors, patterned shirts and African-style clothing was the norm back then, and he certainly hasn’t forgotten about them.
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“I don’t think I’m going to be as bright and colorful as I was in ’93, because I look at some of the stuff that I wore in ’93 and I don’t understand,” he says with a laugh. “But you know what, it was a fun time. With what they’re trying on to do with Michelob ULTRA and NBA Jam is really bringing that nostalgia and that fun back to the All-Star Game.”
All-Star Weekend goes down from Friday (February 18) to Sunday (February 20). Find more information here and check back soon for Part II of the HipHopDX interview with DJ Jazzy Jeff.
