Which hip hop duo won the first Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance in 1989?

DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince won the first Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance in 1989.

The duo received the award for “Parents Just Don’t Understand,” a humorous single from their second studio album, He’s the DJ, I’m the Rapper. The ceremony marked an important moment because rap had only recently received its own Grammy category.

DJ Jazzy Jeff was the duo’s innovative turntablist and producer, while the Fresh Prince was the performing name of Will Smith. Their accessible, comic style helped bring hip hop to a broad pop audience during the late 1980s.

The award is sometimes confused with the first Grammy ever presented to a hip hop artist. The 1989 ceremony was the first to include Best Rap Performance, and the category was won by this duo. Their victory came before Smith’s later film career and before the pair became known primarily through television’s The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.