“Fresh Prince” Star Jazzy Jeff Used “Brady Bunch” Name as Alias Because He Worried Fans Wouldn’t Take Him Seriously as a Producer
“Fresh Prince” Star Jazzy Jeff Used “Brady Bunch” Name as Alias Because He Worried Fans Wouldn’t Take Him Seriously as a Producer
Victoria EdelWed, July 1, 2026 at 6:49 PM UTC
0
DJ Jazzy Jeff in the 1990sCredit: Iris Honold/Shutterstock -
DJ Jazzy Jeff opened up about using a fake name from The Brady Bunch while producing some of his early records
At the time, he thought a hip-hop artist wouldn't be accepted as a producer of soul and R&B records
Jeff first found fame as one half of DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince with Will Smith and appeared on Smith's sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
DJ Jazzy Jeff used a Brady Bunch alias when navigating a career transition.
Jeff, whose real name is Jeffrey Allen Townes, opened up on the June 30 episode of World Cafe from NPR about how he ended up using an alias for his production work.
The 61-year-old musician originally found fame for his work as one half of DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, a duo he formed with Will Smith. They won two Grammys, for “Parents Just Don't Understand” and “Summertime.” When Smith, 57, was cast on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in 1990, Jeff also joined the cast as his best friend Jazz, who caused chaos in the Banks household.
DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince broke up in 1994 (though the pair has reunited multiple times and remain close). Jeff told NPR that he realized during his work with Smith that he wanted to produce records. “I wanted to make not just hip-hop music. I wanted to make the music that I felt,” he said.
Will Smith (left) and DJ Jazzy Jeff in 1990Credit: CBS via Getty
He started the A Touch of Jazz production company in his native Philadelphia, but he knew that audiences would be biased toward someone with a hip-hop background.
“At that point in time, no one was going to accept someone in hip-hop trying to make a soul album or an R&B album,” he said. “We weren't mature enough to believe people can do more than one thing. I created A Touch of Jazz to hide behind a production company to allow me to make these records that might not have been accepted by DJ Jazzy Jeff.” He found “like-minded producers” and started “cultivating our sound.”
“I knew I wasn't going to be as easily accepted if I went through the front door,” he said.
Check out PEOPLE's weekly giveaway: Win a $100 gift card from Stork Exchange only on the PEOPLE app!
Advertisement
Jeff pointed to Jill Scott's debut album, 2000's Who Is Jill Scott?: Words and Sounds Vol. 1. “I mixed Jill Scott's album under an alias,” he said. On the label, it said, “Mixed by George Glass.”
And who was George Glass? He was the “imaginary friend” of Jan Brady on The Brady Bunch. George Glass was referenced in the 1970 episode of the sitcom titled “The Not-So-Ugly Duckling,” in which Eve Plumb's Jan makes up George after she's rejected by a boy in her class. George Glass made an on-screen appearance in 1996's A Very Brady Sequel, a satirical send-up of the original series.
DJ Jazzy Jeff on June 19Credit: Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC Images
“Only the owner of the label and myself knew that,” he said of the alias and its origin.
The songs sounded great, but he didn't want “people to look at the name and say, ‘Oh I can't listen to this because this is DJ Jazzy Jeff and this is a soulful, singer-poet from Philadelphia.' So we created an alias and actually won awards with the alias, that I accepted on George Glass.”
He said that ultimately, he wanted to put the music first and not worry about his ego.
Scott's album was a success; it peaked at No. 17 on the Billboard 200 and No. 2 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. It was nominated for the Grammy for Best R&B Album in 2001, and three songs from the album were nominated for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.
Other artists Jeff helped develop as a producer included Musiq Soulchild, Eminem, the Roots, Darius Rucker, Talib Kweli and Floetry.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
