Will Smith, DJ Jazzy Jeff to reunite for ‘A Grammy Salute to 50 Years of Hip-Hop’

The Grammy Award-winning duo will be joined by LL Cool J, Queen Latifah and more celebrated rap stars during this televised hip-hop tribute, taping Nov. 8 and airing on CBS on Dec. 10.

TheGrio Staff

Nov 2, 2023

DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince are reuniting and returning! Will Smith and his legendary DJ partner, Jeff Townes, are set to perform as part of “A Grammy Salute to 50 Years of Hip-Hop.”

Smith and Townes will rock the stage in a massive tribute to hip-hop music and culture, taping on Nov. 8 at YouTube Theater in Inglewood, California, according to Billboard. The special will air at 8:30 p.m. ET on Dec. 10 on CBS and will stream on Paramount+.

Joining the Philadelphia duo are other hip-hop luminaries from various generations: Big Daddy Kane, Arrested Development, LL Cool J, Monie Love, Rakim, Juvenile, MC Lyte, Jermaine Dupri, Queen Latifah, Warren G, Questlove and Black Thought of The Roots, T.I., Three 6 Mafia, De La Soul, Cypress Hill, The Lady of Rage, Talib Kweli, Spinderella, 2 Chainz, The Pharcyde, Too $hort and others.

“DJ Jazzy Jeff” Townes (right) and Will “the Fresh Prince” Smith (left) will reunite for a salute to hip-hop. Above, the two performed in September 2019 in Budapest, Hungary, during the Paramount Pictures, Skydance and Jerry Bruckheimer Films “Gemini Man” concert at St. Stephens Basilica Square. (Photo: Ian Gavan/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures)

The special is an extension of the expansive hip-hop tribute performance at the 2023 Grammy Awards. With Questlove serving as chief curator and musical director, the 15-minute tribute featured a round-robin show of notable rap acts like De La Soul, Salt-N-Pepa, Run DMC, Lil Baby and GloRilla. Questlove will return as co-curator of the special taping on Nov. 8.

Smith and Townes have special connections with the Grammys. The duo won the inaugural Grammy Award for best rap performance in 1989 for “Parents Just Don’t Understand,” despite boycotting the event because the category would not be televised. The following year, they became the first rap group to entertain on the Grammy Awards stage, performing “I Think I Can Beat Mike Tyson.”

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The salute will be one of Smith’s first major public appearances since the 2022 Academy Awards, when he surprised everyone and slapped comedian Chris Rock during the telecast over a joke the comic made targeting Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.

While the Oscar-winning rapper-turned-actor has largely kept out of the public eye since the infamous incident, Smith is using his first love — music — to reenter the spotlight. Last month, “Class of ’88,” a Smith-hosted podcast series about hip-hop’s ascent into the mainstream, premiered via Audible | Wondery. Townes appears as the first episode’s guest, with Salt-N-Pepa, Rakim, Chuck D and Rick Rubin also set to be on the podcast.

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