Jeffrey Allen Townes, better known as DJ Jazzy Jeff, is a producer, deejay and actor famous for a show that the Eagles have embraced en route to Super Bowl LVII. We’re talking, of course, the 1990s classic, . He’s also a lifelong Philadelphia sports fan, who, in recent weeks, performed at the NFC championship game, put on an epic show at the Grammys to celebrate “50 years of hip hop,” and performed his signature Fresh Prince handshake with Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts—in a moment that went viral— Nick Sirianni, in a moment that did not. We caught up with him this week to talk Eagles, Hurts, Fresh Prince and LVII.
ON THE GRAMMYS: “The Grammys were fun. The Eagles are better. [Laughs.] If we can get a win, then this will be the greatest week of my life.”
ON HIS PHILADELPHIA SPORTS FANDOM: “Listen, I've always been one of those people who knows you're supposed to root for your home team. You can have favorite players. But your home team should be your favorite team. The Eagles have always been my favorite team. Eagles, Sixers, Flyers, Phillies. We've had good years; we've had sucky years. You just kind of ride through it, and when you roll through the bad years, it makes the good years sweeter. I never rooted against the Eagles.”
ON AN OLD FRIEND HE CANNOT ROOT FOR ON SUNDAY: “I was joking with somebody this morning. I said, , . Because Andy Reid is of that fraternity. I'm automatically going to route.”
ON PHILADELPHIA SPORTS FANS: “They're very passionate, extremely passionate. I've always said, if you have thick skin, and you come and play for any Philadelphia sports team, all they want you to do is try. In the sense of somebody like Ben Simmons, people in Philadelphia just didn't feel like he tried hard. No one expected him to make 10 3-pointers a game, just . Like, if we know that you're trying, we’re gonna ride with you. The only time you’re going to have problems with Eagles fans is when they feel that you’re not trying. We get an unfair rap, because we will be hard on our own teams. But we will build our own team up if the team is doing what they're supposed to do. I would like somebody to be honest with me. That’s what makes us who we are right now.”
ON JALEN HURTS’S CONNECTION TO THE FAN BASE: “He doesn't get too high. He doesn't get too low. And people really appreciate that he came in and did the work. That was the thing that everybody saw. Like he came in and exceeded expectations. At first, they were skeptical all the way up into pretty much training camp. Jalen didn't complain. He didn't say anything. He was just like, . And he showed them proof. So I think he has proven himself to the hometown fan base. Enough that it’s kind of like . We're set as far as quarterbacks.”
ON HOW THE HANDSHAKE WITH HURTS CAME TO BE: “Oh, man. I got a chance to go to the Cowboys game. And I got a chance to go into the locker room and I met Coach Sirianni, who came up and said he was a huge fan of the show, which kind of blew my mind. Sirianni and I actually did the handshake.
“Here’s the thing: I don't do the handshake with anyone—I only do it with Will Smith—but I do what I feel compelled to do with my hometown teams. So, as soon as Jalen saw a deal, I was like, , , . So as soon as Jalen saw me, on the field [before the NFC championship game], it was almost like, . And I didn't realize there was a camera guy, right behind meLike we weren't trying to do that, for the cameraThat was me and JalenAnd then next thing you knowI looked up and it was .”
ON HURTS, A FAN OF 1990S AND EARLIER R&B AND SHOWS LIKE THE , BEING AN OLD SOUL: “Oh, absolutely. You can see it in the way that he plays. Like , It feels to me like he's been here for eight years.”
ON TWO BLACK QUARTERBACKS STARTING IN THE SUPER BOWL: “You can't push race or ethnicity on any type of accolades. It got to a point that, you know, there was a stereotype where, the best quarterbacks are white, the best wide receivers are black, the best running back, and it's kind of like, , . It's like, ? ?
“Jalen and Pat are defusing that mentality. Because a lot of times people have [those ideas] and don't even know where they got it from. It was just what you were used to seeing. Right? You get somebody like Jalen or Patrick Mahomes. That starts to change the narrative. Like, , . Like, .
“That shouldn't even be a lead story [going into the Super Bowl]. It should just be: You got two of the best quarterbacks in the NFL going head-to-head. It was never a lead story when Peyton and Brady played. So it shouldn't be a lead story now.”
ON , THE OSCAR-WINNING DOCUMENTARY ON THE HARLEM CULTURAL FESTIVAL: “I loved it. Love Questlove. That was organic, you know, to realize that this footage was locked in a basement for years. It’s kind of like, , , . He found it, and he pieced it all together.”
ON EAGLES OWNER JEFFREY LURIE’S EXECUTIVE PRODUCER ROLE ON IT. “Wait? Jeffrey Lurie was involved. Man! That makes me love Jeffrey Lurie even more!”
ON IF THERE’S A SONG HE’D CHOOSE THAT EMBODIES THE EAGLES’ SEASON: “I haven't come up with the soundtrack yet. I want to see the end of this movie. Then I can figure out the soundtrack, because I’ll know it. I don’t know if my soundtrack is going to be a sad story or a triumph. So I’m gonna wait until I see the end before I put out the score.”
ON THE LINEMEN’S CHRISTMAS ALBUM WITH SKILL PLAYER CAMEOS: “I loved it. First of all, Jordan Mailata, blown away by his voice. And I’ve always been a major fan of Jason Kelce. Jason Kelce Philadelphia. Through and through, he’s been here. I was so excited to meet him and even more excited that he was a fan of mine. That’s what it’s really about.”
ON HURTS’S EARNED STATUS: “He is the new Fresh Prince. He gets the handshake from me whenever he wants it.”
