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Back in the '80s, a pair of Philadelphia friends got together and made some wholesome, party-ready hip-hop records. The rapper was some guy named the Fresh Prince. The DJ was Jazzy Jeff.

REX C. CURRY/Special Contributor

Turntable pioneer DJ Jazzy Jeff displayed a deft grasp of '80s pop at Ghostbar early Wednesday.

The fresh one, Will Smith, is now king of the Hollywood box office. The jazzy one, Jeffrey A. Townes, still produces, spins and fires up crowds like the one at Ghostbar early Wednesday morning. Assisted by hype man Skillz, Jeff entered the booth at the stroke of midnight and churned through two hours of party jams that ran the gamut from Cheryl Lynn and Queen to Jay-Z and Lupe Fiasco.

He's a turntable pioneer of sorts, an early innovator on the crossfader and a storied scratch master. He managed to get some mean cutting in at Ghostbar, but this show was more about juggling the right beats, isolating bass lines at precisely the right moment and, most important, keeping the crowd moving. (Among the appreciative was Mavericks center Erick Dampier, who stood near the back and nodded to the beat as he enjoyed a 7-footer's perspective on the scene.)

Times have changed since Jeff's early days, when the now-ubiquitous DJ laptop was still a thing of the future. But some of the show's top moments displayed his deft grasp of '80s pop, including a Michael Jackson medley that peaked with a drums-and-bass breakdown of "Billie Jean." "We're going back to when Michael was black," shouted Skillz, and the dancing throng was happy to groove along with the ride.

Ghostbar draws a diverse lot to these DJ gigs. Some patrons go so they can say, "Yeah, I got bottle service at Ghostbar the other night" ($300 minimum). Some ride on every record transition and beat. But most just want to dance the night away. An assortment of scantily clad women swayed and smiled behind the DJ booth, reveling in their high-exposure position as the Dallas skyline shimmered in the background.

In other words, at Ghostbar, some come to see the show. Others are more concerned with being part of the show.

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