• Delaware resident DJ Jazzy Jeff is an official music ambassador for the FIFA World Cup 2026.
• The music is part of a FIFA initiative to connect the tournament to the culture of each host city.
• DJ Jazzy Jeff is a hip-hop legend and Grammy winner.

Delaware resident DJ Jazzy Jeff, the same Grammy winner who played Will Smith’s bestie on “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” sitcom, will bring the First State to Philadelphia for the FIFA World Cup 2026 this summer. 

The West Philly native – best known for teaming up with Will Smith and forming the 1980s dynamic duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince – is an official FIFA music ambassador for the World Cup.  

DJ Jazzy Jeff (Jeffrey Allen Townes) lives in Bear, and he produced a Social ID (or branded music) that soccer fans will hear when FIFA games are broadcast from Philly at Lincoln Financial Field (home of the Philadelphia Eagles) from June 14 to July 4. (The entire FIFA World Cup tournament runs from June 11 to July 19.).

DJ Jazzy Jeff talks FIFA World Cup 2026 music: ‘It’s an honor’

FIFA teamed up with influential producers from well over a dozen host cities in the U.S., Mexico and Canada to tie the soccer tournament to each city’s culture, giving World Cup fans and visitors a preview with a taste of audio flavor for each place they’ll experience before these games. 

Philly is one of the World Cup host cities across the U.S., and Jazzy Jeff collaborated with Philadelphia Soccer 2026, the nonprofit organization that is the operational host committee tasked with planning and delivering the World Cup to Philly this summer. 

Fans will be able to download the Social IDs on Apple, Spotify, and other platforms, according to FIFA.

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“Music has the power to bring people together and transport them to a specific time and place. My hope is that this Sonic ID is representative of the experience of Philadelphia, inside a stadium packed to the brim with passionate fans,” the Firefly Music Festival alum said in a 2025 statement. “It’s an honor to be part of the FIFA World Cup 26™ journey and I can’t wait for the world to feel the energy of Philly in 2026!” 

Music from the Social ID Jazzy Jeff and other artists delivered will be played in stadiums, during broadcasts, across digital platforms throughout the tournament, and at FIFA Fan Festivals, which are entertainment hubs for watch parties and performances.  

Former House Rep. John Viola passed away, according to a social media post from his daughter and a statement from Delaware House Democrats.

Viola represented parts of Newark and Bear from 1998 until the time he left office in 2020. He was 75 years old.

His daughter Andria Bennett, who is also a former state representative, posted about Viola’s death on Facebook on Feb. 15, saying, “my best friends, my favorite person, my safe place, my ride or die, MY JV left us and my heath is absolutely shattered.”

House Democratic leadership released a statement on Sunday afternoon remembering Viola as a “dedicated public servant in every sense of the word.” The statement referenced his time in Dover, in the Air Force and as a volunteer firefighter.

“Whether in Legislative Hall or in everyday life, John showed up every day with the same purpose: to help people and make life a little better for others,” the statement by Speaker Melissa Minor-Brown, Majority Leader Kerri Evelyn Harris, and Majority Whip Ed Osienski said.

Viola himself served as House Majority Whip from 2013 to 2017. He lost a primary election in 2020 to current Rep. Madinah Wilson-Anton by 43 votes.

He and his daughter, Bennett, were the first father and daughter to serve in the state House of Representatives at the same time.