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| The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Quincy Jones Andy Borowitz Susan Borowitz |
| Starring | Will Smith James Avery Janet Hubert-Whitten Alfonso Ribeiro Karyn Parsons Tatyana M. Ali Joseph Marcell Daphne Maxwell Reid Ross Bagley |
| Theme music composer | The Fresh Prince in association with A Touch of Jazz, Inc. |
| Opening theme | 'Yo Home to Bel Air' performed by The Fresh Prince |
| Ending theme | 'Yo Home to Bel Air” (instrumental) |
| Composer(s) | Quincy Jones |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 6 |
| No. of episodes | 148 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Quincy Jones Andy Borowitz Susan Borowitz Kevin Wendle (season 1) Winifred Hervey(seasons 2–3) Gary H. Miller (season 4, episode 1–season 5, episode 15) Cheryl Gard (season 5, episodes 16–25) Jeff Pollack Will Smith (season 6) Benny Medina |
| Producer(s) | Werner Walian Lisa Rosenthal Joel Madison Leilani Downer Joanne Curley-Kerner Joel Markowitz |
| Production location(s) | Hollywood Center Studios, Hollywood(1990–1991) Sunset Gower Studios, Hollywood(1991–1993) NBC Studios, Burbank(1993–1996) |
| Camera setup | Videotape; Multi-camera |
| Running time | 23 minutes |
| Production company(s) | The Stuffed Dog Company Quincy Jones Productions (1990–1993, seasons 1–4) Quincy Jones/David Salzman Entertainment (1993–1996, seasons 4–6) NBC Productions |
| Distributor | Warner Bros. Television Distribution |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Picture format | 480i |
| Original release | September 10, 1990 – May 20, 1996 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is an American sitcom that originally aired on NBC from September 10, 1990 to May 20, 1996. The show stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart teenager from West Philadelphia who is sent to move in with his wealthy uncle and aunt in their Bel Air mansion after getting into a fight in his hometown. In the series, his lifestyle often clashes with the lifestyle of his relatives in Bel Air. The series ran for six seasons and aired 148 episodes.[1][2]
- 2Cast and characters
Summary[edit]
The theme song and opening sequence set the premise of the show. Will Smith is a street-smart teenager, West Philadelphia 'born and raised'. While playing street basketball, Will misses a shot and the ball hits a group of people, causing a confrontation that frightens his mother, who sends him to live with his wealthy aunt and uncle in the opulent neighborhood of Bel Air, Los Angeles.
Belair Font
Will's working class background ends up clashing in various humorous ways with the upper class world of the Banks family – Will's uncle Phil and aunt Vivian and their children, Will's cousins: Hilary, Carlton, and Ashley.
The premise is loosely based on the real-life story of the show's producer Benny Medina.[3]
Cast and characters[edit]
Main[edit]
| Actor/actress | Character | Seasons | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |||||||
| Will Smith | Will Smith | Main | ||||||||||
| James Avery | Philip Banks | Main | ||||||||||
| Janet Hubert-Whitten | Vivian Banks | Main | ||||||||||
| Daphne Maxwell Reid | Main | |||||||||||
| Alfonso Ribeiro | Carlton Banks | Main | ||||||||||
| Karyn Parsons | Hilary Banks | Main | ||||||||||
| Tatyana M. Ali | Ashley Banks | Main | ||||||||||
| Joseph Marcell | Geoffrey Butler | Main | ||||||||||
| Ross Bagley | Nicky Banks | Main | ||||||||||
Recurring[edit]
| Actor/actress | Character | Seasons | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |||||||
| DJ Jazzy Jeff | Jazz | Recurring | ||||||||||
| Vernee Watson-Johnson | Viola 'Vy' Smith | Recurring | ||||||||||
| Michael Weiner | Kellogg 'Cornflake' Lieberbaum | Recurring | ||||||||||
| Lisa Fuller | Toni | Recurring | ||||||||||
| Jenifer Lewis | Helen Smith | Recurring | ||||||||||
| Charlayne Woodard | Janice Smith | Recurring | ||||||||||
| Perry Moore | Tyriq 'Ty' Johnson | Recurring | ||||||||||
| Brian Stokes Mitchell | Trevor Collins-Newsworthy | Recurring | ||||||||||
| Tyra Banks | Jacqueline 'Jackie' Ames | Recurring | ||||||||||
| Nia Long | Beullah 'Lisa' Wilkes | Recurring | ||||||||||
Episodes[edit]
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | Nielsen ratings[4] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | Rank | Rating | ||||
| 1 | 25 | September 10, 1990 | May 6, 1991 | 19 | 17 | ||
| 2 | 24 | September 9, 1991 | May 4, 1992 | 22 | 14.3[A] | ||
| 3 | 24 | September 14, 1992 | May 10, 1993 | 16 | 14.6[B] | ||
| 4 | 26 | September 20, 1993 | May 23, 1994 | 21 | 13.7[C] | ||
| 5 | 25 | September 19, 1994 | May 15, 1995 | N/A | N/A | ||
| 6 | 24 | September 18, 1995 | May 20, 1996 | N/A | N/A | ||
Development[edit]
In 1990, music manager Benny Medina, along with his business partner, real estate mogul Jeff Pollack, decided to market a TV story based on Medina's life. Medina had grown up poor in East Los Angeles but his life changed when he befriended a rich white teenager, whose family lived in Beverly Hills and allowed Medina to live with them. Medina decided to use this part of his life as the main focus of the show. However, given that by then a black character living with a white family was a concept that had been done multiple times on TV, Medina decided to change the rich white family to a rich black family. 'That way we could explore black-on-black prejudice as well as black class differences', Medina said in an interview for Ebony magazine.[5]
Medina pitched the idea to Quincy Jones, who had just signed a TV deal with Time-Warner. Jones was impressed by the idea and arranged a meeting with NBC chief Brandon Tartikoff. Will Smith was well known by then as his music career as The Fresh Prince had put him on the mainstream radar, but he had come into debt after failing to pay taxes. At the suggestion of his then-girlfriend, Smith went to a taping of The Arsenio Hall Show where he met Medina by chance. Medina pitched the idea to Smith, but Smith was reluctant, having never acted before. Medina invited Smith to meet Jones at a party that Jones was throwing at his house in December of 1989. There, Jones handed Smith a script for a failed Morris Day pilot that he had produced and challenged Smith to audition for Tartikoff on the spot. Smith did so, and the first contract for the show was drawn up that night in a limo outside. Three months later, the pilot was shot.[6]
The pilot episode began taping on May 1, 1990.[7] Season 1 first aired in September 1990, and ended in May 1991. The series finale was taped on Thursday, March 21, 1996,[8][9] and aired on May 20, 1996.
The theme song 'Yo Home to Bel Air' was written and performed by Smith under his stage name, The Fresh Prince. The music was composed by Quincy Jones, who is credited with Smith at the end of each episode. The music often used to bridge scenes together during the show is based on a similar chord structure.
What Font Is The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air Logo
Crossovers and other appearances[edit]
During the fall 1991–1992 season, NBC gained two hit television shows to anchor their Monday night lineup (Blossom aired immediately after The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air). To gain popularity between the two shows, Will Smith appeared in the Blossom episode 'I'm with the Band' as himself under his rap stage name, The Fresh Prince. That same season, Karyn Parsons appeared in the Blossom episode 'Wake Up Little Suzy' as Hilary Banks. Parsons also appeared in the Patti LaBelle sitcom Out All Night as Hilary.
In the House and Fresh Prince were both executive-produced by Winifred Hervey, David Salzman and Quincy Jones. During the second season's first episode, Alfonso Ribeiro and Tatyana Ali appeared as their Fresh Prince characters (Carlton and Ashley Banks) in the crossover episode 'Dog Catchers'. Later that season, James Avery (Phillip Banks) appeared as a mediator in the episode 'Love on a One-Way Street'.
In the Season 4 episode 'My Pest Friend's Wedding', James Avery and Daphne Maxwell Reid (the second Vivian Banks) guest starred as Dr. Maxwell Stanton's parents (Stanton was played by Ribeiro). Both Avery and Reid portrayed the parents of Ribeiro's Fresh Prince character. Joseph Marcell, who played the wisecracking Geoffrey Butler on Fresh Prince, appeared as an officiating minister in the same episode.
Celebrity guests[edit]
The show is notable for having a heavy celebrity guest presence with more than 40 celebrities guest starring throughout the series. Seasons 1 and 4 had the highest celebrity participation with 10 guest stars each.[10]
| Celebrity | Episode | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Rev. Jesse Jackson | Season 1, Episode 2 | Himself.[10] |
| Richard Roundtree | Season 1, Episode 3 | Dr Mumford, father of Will's love interest. Also played Rev. Sims in Season 6.[10][11] |
| Don Cheadle | Season 1, Episode 5 | Ice Tray, Will's best friend from Philly.[10] |
| Bo Jackson | Season 1, Episode 8 | Himself.[10] |
| Heavy D | Season 1, Episode 9 | Himself.[10] |
| Quincy Jones | Season 1, Episode 9 | Himself. |
| Al B. Sure | Season 1, Episode 9 | Himself.[10] |
| Naomi Campbell | Season 1, Episode 10 | Helen, Geoffrey's date on his birthday. |
| Isiah Thomas | Season 1, Episode 11 | Himself.[10] |
| Evander Holyfield | Season 1, Episode 15 | Himself.[10] |
| Jasmine Guy | Season 1, Episode 21 | Kayla Samuels, Will's girlfriend.[10] |
| Queen Latifah | Season 1, Episode 25 | Marissa Redman, Hilary's Boss. Also played 'Dee Dee' in season 2.[10][12] |
| Zsa Zsa Gabor | Season 2, Episode 10 | Sonya Lamor, Uncle Phill's celebrity client.[10] |
| Bell Biv Devoe | Season 2, Episode 11 | Themselves.[10] |
| Brandon Quintin | Season 2, Episode 12 | Bryan, Ashley's friend. He returns as Bryan in season 4.[13][14] |
| Milton Berle | Season 2, Episode 18 | Max Lakey, Will's hospital roommate.[10] |
| Riddick Bowe | Season 3, Episode 3 | Himself.[10] |
| Sherman Hemsley | Season 3, Episode 6 | Judge Carl, Uncle Phill's rival.[10] |
| Oprah Winfrey | Season 3, Episode 9 | Herself.[10] |
| Vanessa Williams | Season 3, Episode 11 | Danny Mitchell, Will's idol.[10] |
| Kim Fields | Season 3, Episode 17 | Monique, Will's girlfriend.[10] |
| Tom Jones | Season 3, Episode 18 | Himself.[10] |
| DL Hughley | Season 3, Episode 22 | Keith Campbell, Will's comedian friend from Philly.[10] |
| Tyra Banks | Season 4, Episodes 1-2 | Jacqueline/Jackie. |
| Hugh Hefner | Season 4, Episode 9 | Himself.[10] |
| Robin Quivers | Season 4, Episode 12 | Judith, one of the ghosts playing cards.[10] |
| Boyz II Men | Season 4, Episode 13 | Themselves.[10] |
| Branford Marsalis | Season 4, Episode 14 | Himself. Also plays 'Duane' a repair man in the same season.[10][15] |
| Stacey Dash | Season 4, Episode 17 | Michelle Michaels . |
| Robert Guillaume | Season 4, Episode 19 | Pete Fletcher, Will's boss.[10] |
| Ben Vereen | Season 4, Episode 24 | Lou Smith, Will's father.[10] |
| Donald Trump | Season 4, Episode 25 | Himself.[10] |
| Marla Maples | Season 4, Episode 25 | Herself.[10] |
| Dick Clark | Season 4, Episode 26 | Himself.[10] |
| Quincy Jones | Season 5, Episode 1 | Himself.[10] |
| Kareem Abdul Jabbar | Season 5, Episode 6 | Himself.[10] |
| Don Cornelius | Season 5, Episode 8 | Himself.[10] |
| Ken Griffey Jr. | Season 5, Episode 9 | Himself.[10] |
| Jay Leno | Season 5, Episode 10 | Himself.[10] |
| Isaac Hayes | Season 5, Episode 18 | The Minister, who happens to be an Issac Hayes impersonator, assigned to officiate Will's express wedding.[10] |
| Robin Givens | Season 5, Episode 23 | Denise, Will's love interest.[10] |
| Chris Rock | Season 6, Episode 2 | Maurice, a famous actor. Also plays Maurice's sister in the same episode.[10] |
| B. B. King | Season 6, Episode 4 | Pappy, the bar's blues player.[10] |
| Jaleel White | Season 6, Episode 7 | Derek, Ashley's boyfriend.[10] |
| Wayne Newton | Season 6, Episode 8 | Himself.[10] |
| Regis Philbin | Season 6, Episode 21 | Himself.[10] |
| William Shatner | Season 6, Episode 22 | Himself. |
| Conrad Bain | Season 6, Episode 24 | Phillip Drummond (Diff'rent Strokes) |
| Gary Coleman | Season 6, Episode 24 | Arnold Jackson-Drummond (Diff'rent Strokes) |
| Marla Gibbs | Season 6, Episode 24 | Florence Johnston (The Jeffersons) |
| Sherman Hemsley | Season 6, Episode 24 | George Jefferson (The Jeffersons) |
| Isabel Sanford | Season 6, Episode 24 | Louise Jefferson (The Jeffersons) |
Syndication[edit]
The series was produced by NBC Productions in association with the Stuffed Dog Company and Quincy Jones Entertainment (later Quincy Jones-David Salzman Entertainment in 1993). After the show was released to syndication in 1994, the series was distributed by Warner Bros. Television, which continues to distribute the show worldwide (although NBCUniversal does own the series' copyright).
The series aired reruns on WGN America, TBS, Nick at Nite, Disney XD, ABC Family, BET, Centric, MTV, VH1 and CMT.
The series developed significant popularity in the United Kingdom, where it aired on BBC Two between 1991 and 1997 with reruns airing on the network between 1997 and 2004, and was shown alongside The Simpsons and was later repeated on Viva, 5Star and currently Comedy Central and Comedy Central Extra
Home media[edit]
Warner Home Video has released the complete series, seasons 1 to 6, on DVD in Region 1.[16] Seasons 1 to 4 have been released in Regions 2 and 4. Seasons 5 to 6 have been released in Region 2 in Germany, and in the complete series boxset in the United Kingdom.
| DVD name | Ep # | Release dates | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | ||
| The Complete First Season | 25 | February 8, 2005[17] | February 21, 2005[18] | April 13, 2005[19] |
| The Complete Second Season | 24 | October 11, 2005[20] | November 21, 2005[21] | March 1, 2006[22] |
| The Complete Third Season | 24 | February 14, 2006[23] | June 26, 2006[24] | August 9, 2006[25] |
| The Complete Fourth Season | 26 | August 8, 2006[26] | January 22, 2007[27] | December 6, 2006[28] |
| The Complete Fifth Season | 25 | May 11, 2010[29] | June 18, 2010 | 2018 |
| The Complete Sixth & Final Season | 24 | April 19, 2011 | May 6, 2011 | 2018 |
| The Complete Series | 148 | April 12, 2011 | ||
Awards and nominations[edit]
| Awards | Outcome | Recipient(s) | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards: | |||
| Top TV | Won | Quincy Jones Will Smith DJ Jazzy Jeff | 1994 |
| Emmy Awards: | |||
| Outstanding Individual Achievement in Lighting Direction for a Comedy Series | Nominated | Art Busch | 1996 |
| Golden Globe Awards: | |||
| Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series – Comedy/Musical | Nominated | Will Smith | 1994 |
| Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series – Comedy/Musical | Nominated[30] | Will Smith | 1993 |
| Image Award: | |||
| Outstanding Comedy Series | Nominated | 1997 | |
| Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series | Won | Alfonso Ribeiro | 1996 |
| Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series | Nominated | Will Smith | 1997 |
| Outstanding Youth Actor/Actress | Won | Tatyana M. Ali | 1997 |
| Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series | Nominated | Janet Hubert-Whitten | 1991 |
| Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series | Nominated | Nia Long | 1996 |
| Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series | Nominated | Daphne Maxwell Reid | 1996 |
| Kids' Choice Awards: | |||
| Favorite Television Actor | Nominated | Will Smith | 1996 |
| Favorite Television Show | Nominated | 1996 | |
| Favorite TV Actress | Nominated | Tatyana M. Ali | 1996 |
| NCLR Bravo Awards: | |||
| Outstanding Television Series Actor in a Crossover Role | Nominated | Alfonso Ribeiro | 1996 |
| TP de Oro: | |||
| Best Foreign Series (Mejor Serie Extranjera) | Nominated | 1996 | |
| Best Foreign Series (Mejor Serie Extranjera) | Won | 1994 | |
| Teen Choice Awards: | |||
| Choice TV Show: Throwback | Nominated | 2017 | |
| Choice TV Show: Throwback | Nominated | 2018 | |
| Choice TV Show: Throwback | Nominated | 2019 | |
| TV Land Awards: | |||
| Best Broadcast Butler | Nominated | Joseph Marcell | 2004 |
| Favorite 'Fish Out of Water' | Nominated | Will Smith | 2004 |
| Young Artist Awards: | |||
| Best Performance by an Actor Under Ten – Television | Won | Ross Bagley | 1996 |
| Best Performance by an Actor Under Ten in a TV Series | Won | Ross Bagley | 1995 |
| Best Youth Comedienne | Nominated | Tatyana M. Ali | 1994 |
| Best Young Actor Guest Starring in a Television Series | Nominated | Larenz Tate | 1993 |
| Best Young Actor Guest Starring or Recurring Role in a TV Series | Nominated | Tevin Campbell | 1992 |
| Best New Family Television Comedy Series | Won | 1991 | |
| YoungStar Award: | |||
| Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Comedy TV Series | Won | Tatyana M. Ali | 1997 |
Possible reboot[edit]
On August 13, 2015, it was reported that a reboot of the show was in development by Overbrook Entertainment, with Will Smith serving as a producer.[31][32] In August 2016, during a promotional interview with the E! television network, for his then upcoming film Suicide Squad, Smith denied that a reboot was in development, saying that it would happen '...pretty close to when Hell freezes over.'[33]
In 2019 a mock trailer titled Bel-Air was uploaded on YouTube, written and directed by Morgan Cooper, for a darker, more dramatic re-imagining of the sitcom.[34][35]
Fresh Prince Graffiti Font
Notes[edit]
Fresh Prince Of Bel Air Font Generator
- ^Tied with Empty Nest
- ^Tied with Hangin' with Mr. Cooper and The Jackie Thomas Show
- ^Tied with Dave's World
References[edit]
The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air Font 2017
- ^'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'. TV.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
- ^Coker, Cheo Hodari (May 20, 1996). 'Good Night, 'Prince''. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
- ^'Archived copy'. Archived from the original on October 25, 2007. Retrieved October 23, 2007.CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link)
- ^Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle (2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present (Ninth Edition). Ballantine Books. p. 1693. ISBN978-0-345-49773-4.
- ^Ebony Magazine. April 1991. pp. 34, 38.
- ^'Will Smith Says He Became The Fresh Prince of Bel Air After Getting in Trouble with the IRS'. people.com. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
- ^Wolf, Matt (February 11, 1991). ''Fresh Prince' makes Marcell changed man'. Kentucky New Era. Associated Press. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
- ^Cerone, Daniel. 'Rap's Prince Soon to Be TV Royalty?'. Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 20, 2014.
- ^'The Hollywood Minute'. CNN. Cable News Network Inc. Retrieved September 20, 2014.
- ^ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzaaabacadaeafagahaiajakalamanaoap'The Complete History of Guest Stars on 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air''. COMPLEX. September 10, 2012.
- ^'The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air 'Hare Today...''. imdb.com.
- ^'The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air 'She Ain't That Heavy''. imdb.com.
- ^'The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air 'Something For Nothing''. imdb.com.
- ^'The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air 'Stop Will! In The Name Of Love''. imdb.com.
- ^'The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air 'Sleepless In Bel-Air''. imdb.com.
- ^'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air DVD news: Announcement for The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air - The Complete 6th Season'. TVShowsOnDVD.com. May 25, 2007. Archived from the original on January 15, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
- ^'Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, The: The Complete First Season DVD @ DVD Empire'. Dvdempire.com. February 8, 2005. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
- ^'The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air - The Complete First Series DVD: Amazon.co.uk: Will Smith, James Avery, Janet Hubert-Whitten, Alfonso Ribeiro, Karyn Parsons, Tatyana M. Ali, Joseph Marcell: DVD'. Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
- ^'Buy Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, The - The Complete 1st Season (5 Disc Set) @ EzyDVD'. Ezydvd.com.au. April 27, 2005. Archived from the original on April 13, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
- ^'Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, The: The Complete Second Season DVD @ DVD Empire'. Dvdempire.com. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
- ^'The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air - The Complete Second Series DVD: Amazon.co.uk: Will Smith, James Avery, Janet Hubert-Whitten, Alfonso Ribeiro, Karyn Parsons, Tatyana M. Ali, Joseph Marcell, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Ellen Falcon: DVD'. Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
- ^'Buy Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, The - The Complete 2nd Season (4 Disc Set) @ EzyDVD'. Ezydvd.com.au. Archived from the original on April 13, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
- ^'Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, The: The Complete Third Season DVD @ DVD Empire'. Dvdempire.com. February 14, 2006. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
- ^'The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air - The Complete Third Season DVD: Amazon.co.uk: Will Smith, James Avery, Karyn Parsons, Alfonso Ribeiro, Tatyana M. Ali, Joseph Marcell: DVD'. Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
- ^'Buy Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, The - The Complete 3rd Season (4 Disc Set) @ EzyDVD'. Ezydvd.com.au. August 9, 2006. Archived from the original on February 14, 2010. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
- ^'Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, The: The Complete Fourth Season DVD @ DVD Empire'. Dvdempire.com. August 8, 2006. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
- ^'The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air - Series 4 [DVD]: Amazon.co.uk: Will Smith: DVD'. Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
- ^'Buy Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, The - The Complete 4th Season (4 Disc Set) @ EzyDVD'. Ezydvd.com.au. December 6, 2006. Archived from the original on February 14, 2010. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
- ^'Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, The: The Complete Fifth Season DVD @ DVD Empire'. Dvdempire.com. November 5, 2010. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
- ^'Awards for The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'. Imdb.com. Retrieved August 7, 2008.
- ^Lovett, Jamie (August 13, 2015). 'Will Smith Producing A Fresh Prince Of Bel Air Reboot'. Comicbook.com. Retrieved August 13, 2015.
- ^''Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' Reboot in the Works - thenewbenjamin'. thenewbenjamin. Archived from the original on August 14, 2015.
- ^Loughrey, Clarisse (August 2, 2016). 'Will Smith says Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reboot will happen when 'hell freezes over''. The Independent. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
- ^Greene, Andy (March 13, 2019). 'Hilarious 'Bel Air' Trailer Reimagines 'The Fresh Prince' as a Dramatic Movie'. Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
- ^Kirkland, Justin (March 14, 2019). 'The Fresh Prince Gets a Dramatic Reimagining in the Trailer for Bel-Air'. Esquire. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
External links[edit]
Quotations related to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air at Wikiquote Media related to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air at Wikimedia Commons
- The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air at epguides.com
- The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air on IMDb
- The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air at TV.com
“Innn West Philadelphia, born and raised …”
If you’re between the ages of 18 and 40, you can probably recite the lyrics to the theme song of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air without consulting its page on this site. During its six-season run (1990-1996), The Fresh Prince was one of network TV’s highest-rated shows, attracting millions of viewers on NBC and in syndication, and making generations of fans in the process.
These days, when we laugh at Issa Rae’s comical freestyles on HBO’s Insecure or consider the rapper-as-overnight-(micro)celebrity premise of Donald Glover’s Atlanta, seeing hip-hop on the small screen doesn’t seem odd at all. But when The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air debuted back in 1990—one year before unlikely stars Ice Cube and Ice-T went Hollywood with major roles in Boyz N The Hood and New Jack City—the notion that a bona fide MC like Will Smith would star in a sitcom seemed far-fetched. Even DJ and producer “Jazzy” Jeff Townes couldn’t believe his partner was getting his own show. “I was kinda like, ‘Man, whatever,’” Townes tells Genius.
DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince were on Run-D.M.C.’s Tougher Than Leather tour when Will got the call to come in for a screen test. During an off-night, Smith flew out to Los Angeles to audition for music producer and then-burgeoning media mogul Quincy Jones (the show’s executive producer) as well as music exec and co-producer Benny Medina, whose own real-life experience provided the inspiration for the show’s rags-to-riches, fish-out-of-water premise. Medina and Jones had seen the Scott Kalvert-directed video for DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince’s hit song “Parents Just Don’t Understand” and noticed Smith’s natural charisma in the cartoonish clip—he was the obvious choice for their lead.
The Fresh Prince Logo
The Fresh Prince’s script and aesthetic embraced the era’s emerging music culture. From the graffiti-font credits to “Jazz” (Jeff’s character) and Will’s signature dap, to season one guest appearances by rappers like Queen Latifah and Heavy D, it was clear that hip-hop was ingrained in the show’s DNA. “From the beginning of the pilot process, there was never any doubt that Will would rap the opening theme,” Fresh Prince co-creator Andy Borowitz told Art Of The Title. “The song was supposed to be a hip-hop answer to classic sitcom themes that explained the premises of the shows, like Gilligan’s Island and obviously The Beverly Hillbillies.”
DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince had never made music for TV, but they already had a sturdy track record of making good, catchy rap songs. “Parents Just Don’t Understand” was certified Gold and won the first-ever Grammy for Best Rap Performance in 1989, and their albums Rock The House and In This Corner… went Gold in ‘88 and 1990, respectively. When it came time to create the show’s theme, they hit the studio to do what they did best, unaware that they were making history too.
“We looked at this [theme song] like how we looked at making [our] records,” says Townes, who kicked out a beat on his MPC3000. He sought to make an instrumental that would be palatable to a wide audience, yet still representative of their musical roots. “Not like it needed to be the most intricate beat in the world [but] I knew I could go as hip-hop as I wanted to. That was at the time that New Jack Swing was very big, so you can hear a little bit of that influence.” Jazzy Jeff whipped up the instrumental in no time and Smith wrote to it just as fast, spinning off narrative rhymes about his fictional life and times:
Started makin' trouble in my neighborhood
I got in one little fight and my mom got scared
And said you’re movin' with your auntie and uncle in Bel-Air
The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air Da Fonts
“The subject matter was [always] the hard part of making songs,” Townes says. “[This time] we already had the subject matter so [for Will] it was like, ‘I already know what it is, let me write this and I’m good.’” As a rapper, Smith excelled at comedic storytelling—songs like “Girls Ain’t Nothing But Trouble” and “Nightmare On My Street” helped make them rap stars—so with the show’s plot in mind he wrote his verses in a matter of minutes. “We might’ve done that [song] in 25 minutes,” Townes says. “I programmed the first thing that came to my mind [and] Will wrote something [to it]. I recorded it, we mixed it and I gave it to the guy from NBC and next thing you know it was on the show.”
They had created a full song with three verses, clocking in at over three minutes. When Townes submitted it to NBC he figured they’d have revision notes or might even send him and Smith back to the drawing board but, surprisingly, all they did was truncate the song to a standard opening theme length of just under two minutes, omitting a middle verse about drinking OJ from champagne flutes on a first-class flight to Cali.
The theme song was key, but only one of the show’s musical components. It still needed a score—music that would play as they transitioned in and out of scenes and some music for the closing credits, too. For this task, the show’s producers tapped Quincy Jones’ son, Quincy Delight Jones III aka QDIII. But this wasn’t a typical case of show biz nepotism. Only 21 at the time, the younger Q was already a respected music producer in his own right and part of the seminal South Los Angeles scene that spawned N.W.A, Ice Cube, WC and The Maad Circle.
“When they brought me in for the [Fresh Prince] music I remember thinking, ‘I want this to be real hip-hop and I want to scratch on the transitions,’” QDIII says. He used Will and Jazzy Jeff’s theme song as his starting point, adding scratches and a sample of James Brown’s 1974 song “Funky President (People It’s Bad)” in the closing credits—a point of friction with the suits at NBC. “I remember they were freaking out like, ‘You can’t scratch on a TV show!’” Young and defiant, Q fought to keep real elements of hip-hop production in the score. “I just added a little bit of an underground hip-hop sound,” he says. “I feel like on the music side I had a lot to do with keeping it authentic, also a lot to do with how hip-hop scores actually started. That was the first one in a lot of ways.”
The Prince Of Bel Air Theme Song
Though they had NBC fully on board and the show’s theme in the can, DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince faced resistance from an unexpected source: Jive, the record label to which they were signed. In 1990, there were no MP3s, streaming music, rappers-cum-actors or 360 deals, so the label’s execs didn’t view Smith’s turn as a TV star as an opportunity to capitalize on his increasing fame as much as a distraction from what they had signed he and Townes to do—make music.
“They make money from the income from the music,” says Townes. “Once we got the television show, [Jive] realized if these guys want to stop doing music they can, because they have another form of income. That scared people [at the label].” For all of the popularity of the show and its theme, it’s nearly impossible to find a physical copy of the song because the label only pressed it on CD and vinyl in the Netherlands under the misnomer, “Yo, Home To Bel-Air” (Smith actually says “homes” in the song). Townes attributes this musical exile to short-sightedness and spite.
“We did that [theme song] for NBC but Jive had the license to it. [They thought,] ‘We’re gonna press it up and put it out, but it’s only gonna be available in the Netherlands.’” The duo and the label couldn’t even see eye to eye when Smith and Townes explicitly used the show as a promotional vehicle for their music. “We were the first group to air a major video at the end of a TV show,” says Townes, in reference to their cookout classic “Summertime.” “It got over three million views in one shot but [according to the label] we ‘weren’t doing what we needed to do’ for the record company.'
The relationship between the duo and Jive would eventually end on a sour note. “We went through a lawsuit with [Jive] because they said our extracurricular activities were interfering with our ability to make music,” Townes says. But as we now know, it was the label’s loss—Will Smith went on to become a household name as an A-list movie star and multi-platinum solo recording artist while Jazzy Jeff became a sought-after touring DJ, producer, and remixer, incubating new talent from around the world at his PlayList Retreat.
Twenty-six years after the show’s debut, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’s theme song has achieved classic status. “Is there a hip-hop song known by more people around the world?” Borowitz asked Complex in 2015. “It’s definitely the most iconic thing about the show.” The theme song lives on in pop culture—Jimmy Fallon covered the song in 2015 when The Tonight Show returned to Los Angeles for a week—and in music—it’s sampled in Meek Mill’s 2010 track “Philadelphia Born and Raised” and Kanye West interpolates the cut on his 2012 remix of Rihanna’s “Diamonds.” Just earlier this year Ab-Soul interpolated the legendary intro in his single “Huey Knew.“ “Just listening to it, I caught a burst of inspiration,” he tells Genius.
While Jazzy Jeff was initially hesitant about embracing the Fresh Prince theme song in his DJ sets, it’s become one of his calling cards. “I fought it for a long time because I didn’t really want the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air part [of my career] to cross with the DJ part,” Townes says. He’d realize the popularity of his creation was gift not a curse—along with Smith, he made something that has stood the test of time. “[Now] I play it every set.” And when he does, we all rap along.