Between 1987 and 1993, DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince released five albums, most notably 1988’s He’s the DJ, I’m the Rapper. None of the records are classics, though each has their moments, but there’s something about them that makes Will Smith so damn…likable — a far cry from the shell of a human he is now.
“Likable” is not usually a word associated with hip hop, but it was Will Smith and Jeff Townes’s goal: they wanted to make music for ABC’s TGIF crowd, which resulted in songs with names like “Parents Just Don’t Understand” (which won the first Grammy for Best Rap Performance) and “The Girlie Had a Mustache.”
In 1997, after becoming a Big Time Movie Star, Smith released his first solo album, Big Willie Style, which has since sold over 14 million copies. The former-Fresh Prince had hardened his style slightly, and would continue to do with every subsequent release (1999’s Willennium, 2002’s Born to Reign, and 2005’s Lost and Found), but he was still the endearingly goofy kid with the big ears who once wrote “Twinkle Twinkle (I’m Not a Star).”
This is a list of Will Smith’s 15 corniest raps, and remember: don’t see Men in Black 3.
(Pic via)
“Wild Wild West” from Willennium
To any outlaw tryin’ to draw, thinkin’ you’re bad
Any drawin’ on West, best with a pen and a pad
“Twinkle Twinkle (I’m Not A Star)” from Code Red
I’m not a
Twinkle twinkle little star
Come on y’all, I ain’t no
Yes you are
Up above the clouds so high
No, not me, I’m just a regular guy
“Let’s Get Busy, Baby” from He’s the DJ, I’m the Rapper
I can’t help but dream about the ultimate life
Two kids, a dog, a goldfish, and you as my wife
We’d have a rosebush with a white picket fence
And all the neighborhood kids would call me Mr. Prince
“Block Party” from Born to Reign
Call up Ishkabibble’s, Jim’s, and Pat’s
And tell ’em we need cheesesteaks for like 300 cats
“Nightmare on My Street” from He’s the DJ, I’m the Rapper
It was burnin’ in my room like an oven
My bed soaked with sweat, and man, I was buggin’
I checked the clock and it stopped at 12:30
It had melted it was so darn hot, and I was thirsty
I went downstairs to grab some juice or a Coke
Flipped the TV off, and then I almost choked
“You Saw My Blinker” from Homebase
Put the top down said my girlfriend
Then my damn hat blew off in the wind
I got kinda mad cause it’s the hat I just bought
I shoulda put her out, it was all her fault
…and…
That day I dressed all in white
Takin’ my girl to Palm Springs for the night
I was hoping I could find a short cut
I was tired plus I had a rash on my butt
“Y’All Know” from Big Willie Style
Bright glance and the tight pants
For the slight chance, “Big Willie, can we get one dance?”
Why yes you may an’, I’m just sayin’
That dress you playin’, is A-ok an’
This is your chance for, at least it could be
For you and you girlfriend on the dance-floor, ménage à boogie
“Parents Just Don’t Understand” from I’m the DJ, He’s the Rapper
The next half hour was the same old thing
My mother buying me clothes from 1963
And then she lost her mind and did the ultimate
I asked her for Adidas and she bought me Zips!
“Just the Two of Us” from Big Willie Style
It’s a full-time job to be a good dad
You got so much more stuff than I had
I gotta study just to keep with the changin’ times
101 Dalmatians on your CD-ROM
“Uuhhh” from Willennium
I’m like a Porsche, you a Pinto
You like a tiny figurine, I’m monumental
You’re like a small get together
On your neighbor’s back porch
You know just a couple of y’all
I’m a million man march
“Girls Ain’t Nothing but Trouble” from Rock the House
All of a sudden she jumped out her seat
Snatched me up by my wrist and took me out to the street
She started grabbin’ all over me kissing and hugging
So I shoved her away I said you better stop buggin’
She got mad looked me dead in my face
Threw her hands in the air and yelled out rape
“Ain’t No Place Like Home” from Code Red
I walked in the house I felt the love
And my grandma saw me and screamed
Now here come all the hugging
I got such a feeling of emotion and love
Because can’t nobody can hug you the way your grandma does
“Don’t Say Nothin'” from Big Willie Style
I’m about to show you how a man like me works
My shorty get ice, five carats, and nothing cheaper
Four-five chromed out former two-seater
Fifty-inch Sony to watch Siskel and Ebert
“The Girlie Had a Mustache” from And in This Corner…
Anyway from behind she was fine
But when she turned around, her mustache was bigger than mine
At first I laughed, cause yo, to me that was funny
But the laughter ceased when she said: “Hey honey!”
At first I was confused, I was somewhat spell-bound
My mouth wide open and my chin on the ground
And then it hit me, like a bolt from the sky
I thought: hold up, wait, this girl is a guy?!
“Candy” from Big Willie Style
I know the deal, I talked to Mary Jane and she said
Your ex-boyfriends Mike and Ike are both Lemonheads
I ain’t tryin’ to plaa hate girl I know
That you go with Bazooka Joe
Now you know he don’t love you like that
He tryin’ ta get a Reese’s piece of the Kit-Kat
Really hon, what he need is a Jawbreaker
Cause I’m the one that’ll love you baby, Now and Later
Be my Peppermint Paddy with a hundred wishes
And I’ll be your Hershey daddy with a hundred kisses
