FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

Music

DJ Jazzy Jeff Is Touring Next Year...With the Fresh Prince

The Roots to perform as a backing band.

DJ Jazzy Jeff (Jeffrey Townes) and the Fresh Prince (Will Smith) were one of the most successful rap duos to emerge from the late 80s hip-hop explosion, releasing the platinum selling album He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper, that contained the teenage anthem "Parents Just Don't Understand."

We all know what happened to the rapper: Smith starred in the beloved TV series The Fresh Prince of Bel-AIr (in which Jeff made several guest star appearances), then rocketed his career to A-list status with Men In Black I, II, and III, married Jada Pinkett Smith, and is the father of Willow and Jaden.

Around the time Smith went off to pursue acting, DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince stopped performing live and became a studio project, producing albums up till '93 when the duo called it quits. Jeff went on to blaze solo career as a virtuoso turntablist and producer, working with Eminem, the Roots, and Floetry among others. This past year he produced the scratch overdubs for Straight Outta Compton.

But last night on the Tonight Show, after briefly repping for Willow's debut album, Smith stole his daughter's thunder by announcing that him and Jeff would be releasing a new album and hitting the road next year. "You know, we never really had a chance to go out and tour. So we decided a couple months ago to go out one good time and blaze it up." Joining the duo on tour will be the Roots. Fallon auditioned for a slot on the bill with a rendition of "The Greatest Love of All."

Whether Smith can still rap remains to be seen. DJ Jazzy Jeff however, still maintains kung fu turntable chops. Watch him do a solo for Serato in Auckland, New Zealand.