BLCK SOCIAL HISTORY : AFRICAN AMERICAN " DEF JEF " ONE EARLY OF THE BETTER SOCIO-POLITICAL RAPPERS OF THE LATE 80's AND EARL 90's : GOES INTO THE " HALL OF BLACK GENIUS "

                         BLACK               SOCIAL                HISTORY                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           One of the better socio political rappers of the late '80's and early '90s, Def Jef (born Jeffrey Forston) released an excellent debut (1989's Just a Poet With Soul) and a mildly disappointing follow-up (1991's Soul Food) before going into production. When he left the MC spotlight, he worked on records by a number of artists -- as a producer and remixer -- including Nas, 2Pac, Snoop Dogg, Nadanuf, Boss, Bone, and Shaquille O'Neal. He made short appearances in the films Down town (1990) and Deep Cover (1992), and he also remained active as the music supervisor for MTV's Lyricist Lounge program. In 2002, he and his control Freaks production unit put together control Ya'self, a piece of audio software with beats, samples, and tracks.

Def Jef is the stage name of Jeffrey Fortson  born 27 September 1966, an American alternative hip hop musician and rapper of the late 1980's and early 1990's. He was born in Harlem, New York City, New York, USA.

His debut album was 1989's Just a Poet With a Soul, which won critical acclaim for socio political lyrics and original beats. Additionally, he was a member of the West Coast Rap All-Stars, a collaboration of West Coast-based hip hop artists who released the anti-violence single "We're All in the Same Gang" in 1990. He performed on the television variety show In Living Color in 1990.

After his second album, Soul Food, was released, Def Jef moved into production full-time. Since the 1990's, he has produced, written, arranged and remixed artists including Nas, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Kimberley Locke, Maxwell, Avant, Tupac Shakur, and Shaquille O'Neal. He has worked with Krayzie Bone and Thug line Records.

He produced the theme songs for the Disney sitcom That's So Raven and The Game.

Def Jef also appeared in the feature film Deep Cover in 1992.