DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince

Will Smith (the rapper) and Jeff Townes (the DJ) create playful rap songs for teenagers. Followed by a TV show and a solo and movie career for Will Smith.

Information: Will Smith and Jazzy Jeff Fan Site
Suggested first purchase/best of: The Very Best of DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince
Suggested first album: He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper

Greatest Hits (1998) -- Even though it has most of the hits from the DJ and the rapper, this collection has some flaws. One is that it's not in chronological order, which doesn't sound like a big deal, but since almost all of these are story songs, the overall combined narrative of the songs should work as well. For example, Jeff refers to songs on the disc that you haven't heard yet. Also, this is spun more as a prehistoric Will Smith album than a DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince collection, as if this duo has no credence and Will Smith alone does. So "Men In Black," for example, is thrown in, a Will Smith song, and he's the one featured most prominently on the cover. Also it's got an unnecessary remix and a megamix and some of their less representative songs, like the one with the harsh (for the Fresh Prince) lyric, "You saw my blinker, bitch." Most of these problems are remedied with 2006's The Very Best of DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, though Greatest Hits does have the complete theme song to The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, so that's nice. There are the flaws, but even if you pick this one up instead of the superior 2006 collection, you still get "Girls Ain't Nothing But Trouble," "Parents Just Don't Understand," "A Nightmare on My Street," and "I Think I Can Beat Mike Tyson" -- the fun, silly, teenage, good-humored rap songs the duo is known for -- and "Summertime," probably their greatest song, and probably the best song ever if you're in the mood for some honest dead-on summer nostalgia.