Summertime (DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince song)

Last updated
"Summertime"
Summertime single.jpg
Single by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
from the album Homebase
ReleasedMay 20, 1991
Recorded1990
Genre Hip hop
Length
  • 4:30 (album version)
  • 3:57 (single edit)
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • K. Fingers (Craig Simpkins)
  • Hula (Lamar Hula Mahone)
  • Roland Edison
DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince singles chronology
"Yo Home To Bel Air"
(1991)		"Summertime"
(1991)		"Ring My Bell"
(1991)
Music video
"Summertime" on YouTube

"Summertime" is a song by American hip-hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, released in May 1991 by Jive and RCA as the lead single from their fourth studio album, Homebase (1991). The song was produced by Chicago-based producers Hula and K. Fingers, and it won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the 1992 Grammy Awards. It spent a week at number #1 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart, [1] as well as reaching #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 (their highest charting single on the latter). It also became the duo's first single to enter the top ten of the UK Singles Chart, peaking at #8.

Contents

Background and composition

After Will Smith completed recording for the tracks produced by Hula & Fingers in Chicago for the Homebase album and was headed back to Philadelphia, the producers handed Smith the tape that would become "Summertime". Due to a delay in his flight back home, Smith wrote the entire song in one sitting and decided to record it in Chicago. Due to his voice being worn out from a previous night out, he recorded his song in a lower tone than his usual, unknowingly bringing out a style similar to rapper Rakim, whom Smith admired as one of his favorite rappers at the time. [2] The song's instrumentation samples "Summer Madness" by Kool & the Gang, particularly the rising F# octaves played on an ARP 2600 synthesizer.

Critical reception

Larry Flick from Billboard magazine wrote, "Pop/rap duo returns with this steamy hip-hop jam that is sure to quickly heat up radio airwaves thanks to its catchy chorus and clever wordplay." [3] James Bernard from Entertainment Weekly described the song as "absolutely uplifting". [4] Dennis Hunt from Los Angeles Times viewed it as a "strange cut", saying it's "just a laundry list of summer-is-fun cliches." [5] David Quantick from NME wrote that the duo "have created a song that is the epitome of pleasantness and, unlike The Fresh Prince of Bel Air , doesn't have any icky 'token children' in it." [6] Another NME editor, Stephen Dalton, named it one of the best songs of the album, declaring it as "smoochy" and "a straight steal from Kool and the Gang". [7] A reviewer from People magazine noted that "the musical backing is more sophisticated", viewing it as "a smooth Gershwin via Kool & the Gang version". [8] Tony Cross from Smash Hits gave it four out of five, writing, "A chorus that sweetly tells you it's time to sit back and unwind while the Prince raps attitude, is a perfect mix." [9]

Retrospective response

Steve Huey from AllMusic said that "Summertime" was "a warm, breezy reminiscence about growing up in Philadelphia and attending barbecues where the whole community showed up to see and be seen." He added, "It had all the good vibes of a typical Fresh Prince number, but it was clearly a more mature effort, and that's Homebase in a nutshell." [10] Rolling Stone magazine ranked it number nine in its 2013 "Best Summer Songs of All Time", saying, "Over a funky laid back beat, a young Will Smith does a fantastic Rakim impression over a sample of Kool & the Gang's "Summer Madness" and drops a sweet ode to hanging out and driving around his native Philly: "Honking at the honey in front of you with the light eyes/ She turn around to see what you beeping at/ It's like the summer's a natural aphrodisiac." It's still hip-hop's finest summer celebration." [11]

Track listing

Charts

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [38] Platinum600,000‡
United States (RIAA) [39] Platinum1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Film adaptation

On September 22, 2021, Smith's production company Westbrook Studios and Davis Entertainment will co-produce the film adaptation with Peter Saji directing from his screenplay for Screen Gems. [40]

See also

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References

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  2. ↑ BrotherlyLo❤️eSessions with Charlie Mack ft Snoop Dogg discussing Will Smith & DJ Jazzy Jeff , retrieved 2022-04-06
  3. ↑ Flick, Larry (May 25, 1991). "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard . p. 67. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  4. ↑ Bernard, James (July 26, 1991). "Homebase". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  5. ↑ Dennis Hunt (1991). "DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince – Homebase". Los Angeles Times – via Milwaukee Journal . (August 11, 1991).
  6. ↑ Quantick, David (June 29, 1991). "Singles". NME . p. 18. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  7. ↑ Dalton, Stephen (September 21, 1991). "Long Play". NME . p. 36. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  8. ↑ "Picks and Pans Review: Homebase". People . September 2, 1991. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  9. ↑ Cross, Tony (July 20, 1994). "New Singles". Smash Hits . p. 57. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
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  31. ↑ "The RM Club Chart" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). July 23, 1994. p. 6. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  32. 1 2 "Official Charts > Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince". The Official UK Charts Company . Retrieved August 5, 2017.
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  37. ↑ Nielsen Business Media, Inc (December 21, 1991). "1991 The Year in Music & Video: Top Pop Singles". Billboard. Vol. 103, no. 51. p. YE-14.{{cite magazine}}: |last1= has generic name (help)
  38. ↑ "British single certifications – DJ Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince – Summertime". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved April 25, 2022.
  39. ↑ "American single certifications – DJ Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince – Summertime". Recording Industry Association of America.
  40. ↑ Grobar, Matt (September 22, 2021). "'Summertime': Will Smith Song In Works As Screen Gems Musical Feature From Westbrook Studios & Davis Entertainment". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved February 22, 2022.
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