Active from 1986 to 1994 and occasionally thereafter, they were the third rap group in recording history to receive platinum certification, after Run-DMC and the Beastie Boys.

"Parents Just Don't Understand", the lead-off single, made them MTV household names and also gained the honor of the first Grammy for a hip hop/rap song, which was met with criticism.

The video showed Prince's misadventures of trying to get around his parents' strict rules in a very comical way, much like their first single "Girls Ain't Nothing but Trouble".

The record's release coincided with A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, which caused legal threats from the movie's distributor New Line Cinema.

In response, the corresponding music video was pulled from release and a legal disclaimer was included on later pressings of He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper denying affiliation with the film.

The song was well received by many hip hop fans due to its funk sound, lyrical spins, and the fact that it showed off more of the skills of Jazzy Jeff.

The video was shot in black and white, showed live performance clips from a concert and featured 2 Damn Hype Dancing.

The album was a commercial success, selling over half a million copies and reaching Gold certification by the RIAA, although at this point the duo had decreased in popularity.

The crossover style of the group was causing their fanbase to decline, as their initial audience felt they had become too accessible; non-crossover rap acts like Big Daddy Kane and Boogie Down Productions had bigger street followings; meanwhile, pop radio had latched on to new faces like Tone Loc and Young MC, while non-radio followers were more attracted to hardcore acts such as Ice-T and 2 Live Crew.

The track narrates the Fresh Prince claiming he could beat Mike Tyson in a boxing match, and after training, is beaten in the first round.

Due to a self-admitted spendthrift attitude,[7] Smith felt he had nothing to lose when a producer from NBC and Quincy Jones approached him with an idea for a sitcom, with Townes appearing as a recurring character, named "Jazz".

Another trademark on the show involved Jazz and Will greeting each other by slapping each other's hand, then swinging back in opposite directions while saying "Pssh!"

[9] Still having a bit of extra money from starring in the successful sitcom, the duo decided to stage a comeback album in 1991, Homebase.

Homebase featured the lead-off single "Summertime", which added rap lyrics to the music of the Kool & the Gang instrumental "Summer Madness" and has become one of their most enduring hits.

The final single for the release was "You Saw My Blinker", a song about an old lady that crashed into Prince's new car and his anger at the events that happened thereafter.

On November 8, 2023, DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince performed at the YouTube Theater in Inglewood California for “ A Grammy salute to 50 Years of Hip-Hop”