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He may be most widely recognized as a backup DJ and comedic foil for Will Smith, but don’t make the mistake of grouping DJ Jazzy Jeff with Garfunkle, Oates and other lesser-known members of musical duos. From his humble beginnings spinning soul and funk records at block parties in Philadelphia in the late 70s, Jazz has become an internationally famous DJ with more than 30 years of experience on the turntables, not to mention a respected producer and businessman. Before performing in front of a packed house at QBar in Bangkok, Jazzy Jeff talked with the Bangkokrecorder about Napster, producers, and why he would still DJ even if he never made a dime.
So you are on an Asian tour right now?
Yeah
Where you been so far? You were in Japan last night?
Actually I started in the U.K. I was in London, Sheffield, Manchester, and then I went to Hamburg, Germany, and I flew to Hong Kong. I was in Hong Kong, I was in Japan, and now I’m here.  How has playing around the world changed your outlook on things?
I think traveling around the world, it has no choice but to change your outlook on life. I know people who are afraid to leave their neighborhood. And just to be able to see the world, eat different food, meet different people, it’s crazy. And I tell people that they need to realize how big the world is, and actually how small it is. Because for me to come to Thailand and link up with someone from Philly, it shows how big it is but how small it is too. And I think that the size of the world is all in your brain. I have probably taken 15 to 20 of my friends and given them jobs to travel around the world. Just so they can open their minds up and see different things musically, culturally. I love it, love it. And musically it helps me out just to get the experience. It’s like food. You’re getting music from all over the world. And then you get a chance to go home, go in your kitchen and you try it. So I can’t wait until I go into the studio and take a lot of the music that I’ve gotten from around the world and see what I can do with it.
Did you ever think hip hop would be so big that you would be able to travel around the world and making a living out of it?
This was fun, this was fun. You did this for fun. Like I understood in basketball when Charles Barkley said ‘I would play basketball for free.’ I understand the life of a basketball player. This is something that you do for enjoyment. If no one was paying me a dime, I would DJ everyday. So for that, to be able to turn it into your job, I have the greatest job in the world. There is not a night that I go to work unhappy.
How about the state of hip hop in the United States?
I think its great because it’s not New York anymore. It’s everywhere. It’s down south, east coast, west coast, Midwest. But the problem I have with it is that the media only lets you know about 10 songs. And there might be 10,000 good ones. But unfortunately the masses only get 10. For me to go around the world and see how hip hop has grown, I don’t think its fair for the marketing and the focus to be on such a small number of songs. And that’s just because of business. That’s only because somebody pays for those 10 songs. And the effect is, in the country right now, there might be from this guy who can’t get a job. And it’s a shame he can’t get a shot because he doesn’t financially have the money to let people know how good he is. Because is used to say that the media and radio was supposed to be for the people. Let me expose you to what’s new out there. Not that somebody is going to pay me and I’m only going to show you these 10 songs. That’s just not right.
 There are certain producers in America, not to name names, but some who almost monopolizing the charts.
Well the funny thing is that the producers don’t pay us. I can’t be mad at them. I think it just gets to the point where the record labels pay the producers. And then the record label pays what they have to pay to get the song released. The way that it goes a lot of times is that you have something pure, and when they see that you can make money off of it, the people come in and they grab it and they do whatever they want to it. They suck all of the nutrients out and then throw it away. But I think that this will be the best day for music, when they get to the point when they feel they can get nothing else from it. Because then it’s going to go back to the guy in his basement. It’s going to go back to the guy who comes up with something new and original because he has a fair shot. That’s why I completely support the whole Internet. I believe that most of the people that go on the Internet and download are not downloading because they just don’t want to pay for the music. There are just a lot of people that are just like, ‘there is nothing good that’s being played out here, so I need to go and find it.’ Do you know what was funny? Being honest, it took a long time for me to get into the whole Napster thing. And the first time that I went on Napster, I didn’t look for anything new. I went and looked for all of the old stuff that I couldn’t find anymore. You turn on the radio and you hear the 10 same songs. It’s like ‘yo, there has got to be something else out there.’ And I just think a bunch of people are going to look for it. They will find it.
So what are you listening to right now?
Man, I like so many different kinds of music I confuse myself. I buy everything.
Before you perform, tell me what you do, what is your ritual?
None. I don’t like coming to the club before I come on cause I get antsy. A lot of times, I come in and in 15 minutes I’m on. I don’t like hearing music that I cant play.
What about your production company? What are you doing with that right now?
Well I took a minute off being on the road. I’ll come back in December.
And how is the hip hop scene right now in Philly?
I really cant answer that cause I haven’t been there in awhile. But most of the guys that I know that DJ or rhyme in Philly aren’t in Philly anymore. They’re either on the road or doing something. So a lot of times, places slow down because everybody’s working. And right now I think Philly is kind of slow, but it’s slow for a good reason because everybody is out doing something.
On a lighter note, how often do people bring up the Starter hat commercial?
(Laughing) I haven’t heard that one in awhile.
Really? I used to love that commercial.
Thank you.
Do you still remember the lines to it?
Uh, no.
You don’t have to answer. Also, I was wondering. What was Carlton like off the set?
He was cool. He wasn’t the coolest but he was cool. He was a lot cooler than he was on the show.
Interviewed by Eric Taylor
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