This was the first solo album from Will Smith after he decided to go in persuit of a career without Jazzy Jeff as an immediate association to him. This doesn't mean that he beefed with Jeff, it was a mutaul decision between the pair. He even produces some of the material for the album, showing that they are still willing t work together.
This album produced four singles, of which one was a #1 in this country. Also wo Grammy Award were won from the singles in the LP. It managed to sell well and peaked at #8 in the Billboard Charts, along with 20 million world-wide sales.
"Intro"
"Y'All Know"
**Four Stars**
After the intro this seems like just another one, its only building us up for the LP. This is Will's first solo album and so this build-up is showing that he is speading his wings and showing us he can be just as successful alone.
This seems to show his independance as this track doesn't have any aid in the form of DJ Jazzy Jeff. I feel that it was important to display this early on before we got into the album, becasue otherwise it would just be like the old Fresh Prince days of his Hip Hop career.
"Gettin' Jiggy Wit It"
**Five Stars**
This bares many similarities to "Freakin' It" from the next album he released. i feel this way because it is obviously a pop rap track with a lot of appeal to many different audiences. It one which anybody can dance to and most will enjoy it.
This one managed to reach #1 in America and it stayed in this position
for 3 weeks. I also topped the rap charts, something impossible now because that is dominated by gangst-orientated activity, unlike Will Smith's style.
"Candy" (feat. Larry Blackmon and Cameo)
**Four Stars**
This is one of many covers of this track, which was originally done by Cameo. Its a very funky track and as it features vocals from the original group who performeed it, it hasn't been altered to a point in which it can deemed too far from what it was the first time around.
This track is a metphorical one, placing a woman in the place of candy, making them feel good, and satisfying him. This sin't a complete copy of the first song as the lyrics differ heavily in the verses.
This track is very sombre as it starts to a piano before breaking dow, its quite soft on the listener though. I found this to be very nice and it feels as though he was trying to be gentle, this is understandable when you consider the lyrics.
"Chasing Forever" is all about Will's attempts to stay with his partner eternally. This shows his love for her, devoting the song to her saying that he wants nothing more than to continue doing everything with her. This can be compared to "Just The Two Of Us" later on.
"Keith B-Real I (Interlude)"
"Don't Say Nothin'"
**Two Stars**
This one is based on the phrase "If you don't want to say something nice...". The track is a quite typical of Will Smith's work as he spits his lyrics on fast tempoed beat.
I'd say that there isn't much going for this one because of how basic it is in terms of his other work. The beat is OK, but could not be rated any higher than this really.
"Miami" (feat. Nate Dogg)
**Five Stars**
Its obvious what this is about, Miami. It's a big party track and encorporates many styles which the Florida city is known for. This includes salsa, which comes about in the breakdown.
Nate Dogg comes for the chorus of this tune, he suits this very well as his style is very smooth. Here he goes away from the more street version if rap to accompany Will Smith.
"Yes Yes Y'All" (feat. Camp Lo)
**Three Stars**
Camp Lo, who feature in this track, are a Bronx Hip Hop group who consist of Sonny Cheeba and Geechi Suede. I couldn't claim to have heard of them previous to listening to this album, so I didn't have any feelings on them being on this song before I listened to it. I can say that in the opening ten seconds they excited me though, they did this by bringing a hype up before the track really got started.
This track is quite up-lifting, not that we need it after "Miami". The track isn't that fast, but it certaily awakens you as you listen to it. The beat is very delicate, however the sound that it brings is different to this. The only input by Camp Lo were a couple of lines which they repeated throughout the track.
"I Loved You"
**Three Stars**
The beat for this track is very is similar to "Don't Say Nothin'", this means that the tempo is just as close a resemblance as this.
The content of this track is to show that he is over an old love, the hook does this very well, because it isn't slow, being dragged down by the emotion of love. It sounds like he is displaying himself moving on from this. He is also able to let off steam and all his bitterness is let off.
"Keith B-Real II (Interlude)"
"It's All Good"
**Five Stars**
This track is a very funky one, it wreeks of Hip Hop. There's a lot to like abou this one because it is samples Chic's "Good Times", which we all know later morphed into The Sugarhill Gang's "Rappers' Delight".
I'd say that this one stands well out in the album because of the samle, anything which has come from that basic beat has been successful. the basis of this track allows it to be easily defined as a reference to him going back on Hip Hop classics to remember where the genre came from, in order not to go too far from this.
"Just the Two of Us"
**Five Stars**
This is not a cover of the orginal Bill Withers song. It was simply inspired by it, so only the chorus is what makes the tracks so similar. Will first came out with this track after writing out the lyrics for a children's book, later he translated this into a rap track jst by adding the beat.
This track is an emotive one a Will tells us the story of what happened after the birth of his son, Trey, he is the lesser known son of the artist as he was born to a mother who is no longer assciated with Will. He goes into detail about his hopes and aspirations for his son, and says he will always be there for him.
"Keith B-Real III (Interlude)"
"Big Willie Style" (feat. Left Eye)
**Four Stars**
The featured artist is Lia "Left Eye" Lopez, former TLC member who died to a fatal car crash in 2002. She was the rapper of the R&B group who recently released a 'greatest hits' album.
This track is a big one, it is full of energy and it is very funky. I liked it a lot. The beat is the most enjoyable thing about it, its an original one with a lot of hard hits. It fits well into the album.
Most will know this track as it is one of his most famous tracks. This came from the soundtrack to one of his most famous roles as J in Men In Black.
This track can be likened to "Wild Wild West" in the follwing album as it is a song which shares a title from a movie he stars in. The idea for the song was shunned initially however to turned out to be a success with the video as it gained a Grammy award in 1997.
This album is a very typical example of Will Smith's work, it displays that Will was finally capable of working without Jeff on his right-hand side, evnthough he wasn't to far from him. This LP is something that anyone could enjoy, the elements of Hip Hop arn't over-bearing and the pop influence prevails greatly.
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Fab review, well written & easy to understand, Pen xxxx
IzzyS 30.09.2007 14:42
Good review, ive always been keen on this album since I got it about 10 years ago! there are alot of good, fun tracks on this album and also on his subsequent albums too. Lost & Found is another great album of his, in my opinion.
lobourse 10.09.2007 10:56
Very comprehensive review, but not my cup of tea. Adam
Is Will Smith an important rapper? The kind that deserves the awards, the honors, the ... more
accolades that the music industry foists upon him? Well, no. The wordscornyandsafemight be applicable when describing the artist formerly known as the Fresh Prince. B...
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Is Will Smith an important rapper? The kind that deserves the awards, the honors, the ... more
accolades that the music industry foists upon him? Well, no. The words corny and safe might be applicable when describing the artist formerly known as the Fresh Princ...
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Y'all know Gettin' jiggy with it Candy Chasing forever Keith B real 1 Don't say nothin' ... more
Miami Yes yes y'all I loved you Keith B real 2 It's all good Just the two of us Keith B real 3 Big Willie style Men in black Just cruisin' Just cruisin' (remix)
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Sep 9th, 2007
(Aug 31st, 2007)
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