Big Willie Style/Willennium - Will Smith

...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**
...
.../> 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.

"Men In Black"

**Five Stars**

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.
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This is an Urban Classics album presenting Will Smith. They bring the first and final albums of an artist an bring them together for a double album in order to see where the have come from and what they have come to in their career. This one hasn't got much of a difference like the other Urban Classics releases as these solo albums by Will SMith were following on from eachother. There was ao year gap, this am allow there to be a few changes in the style of the artist.

Disc 1: "Big Willie Style"

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.

"Chasing Forever"

**Three Stars**

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.

"Men In Black"

**Five Stars**

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.

Disc 2: "Willenium"

This is Will Smith's second solo album, without DJ Jazzy Jeff (although he does produce a lot of the material). It was released one month before the big night in whcih 1999 changed to 2000, giving it this name. This was a very nice pop rap track as it gives us a lot to celebrate as we went into the 21st Century.

This album manged to get to double platinum one week before Christmas, two weeks prior to New Years Day, so it was a huge success for him. The artists who work with Will on this include Eve, Lil' Kim an the actress-turned-singer, Tatyana Ali, who played Ashley Banks in "The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air".

1. "I'm Comin'" (featuring Tra-Knox)

**Four Stars**

This gets us into the right mood for Will as it is a pretty regular track for him. Here is a full-length intro to say that Will is on the up, and he can't be stopped. I'd say that this was the last decent album he did because the one after this only brought the second "Men In Black" theme and the LP after that had "Switch" i it and we can't be having that.

2. "Will 2K" (Ft. K-Ci)

**Five Stars**

This was a great song for the Mill- Yo excuse me, Willennium. It was a track which went back in time to each decade to celebrate when we get to the changover to 2000. K-Ci helped Will in his efforts for this which was the first and biggest party of the century or possibly Millenium.

This is a big party anthem and should be used everytime people go back to this time when everyone was excited all the time to see what was in store for us.

3. "Freakin' It"

**Five Stars**

This is what Big Willy was all about at the time. He brought us with straight Hip Hop, it was perfect to dance and so it had appeal for everyone. He brought dance moves along with it so it helped it even more.

This followed on very well from the last track as it is a great one for the clubs as the preceeding tune.

4. "Da Butta" (feat. Lil' Kim)

**Three Stars**

This seems quite similar to Naughty By Nature's "Holiday", that was extremly funky and suited the summer scene a lot. Lil' Kim is in this one as well and she brings us some gangsta flava for the track because Will wasn't going to gives us any of that.

Kim's rap doesn't last too long so if you are a fan don't get too exicited by this one. This one isn't as good as the tune I previously mentioned, but its not bad.

5. "La Fiesta"

**Three Stars**

Obviously this has a strong Latin influence on it. Will raps to a very fast tempo keeping with the hook which a constant sharp beat. I enjoyed how this one shows off the artsist diversity by using different styles.

I quite enjoyed seeing him go into unknown territories, as he pulled this one off fairly decently. This is a great party track which most will like.

6. "Who Am I" (feat. Tatyana Ali & MC Lyte)

**Four Stars**

Tatyana Ali was the actreess who played Ashley Banks, as previously mentioned. MC Lyte is a female rap artist from Brooklyn, who I know little about, however hardcore Hip Hop fans are highly likely to kow here as she has been active for at least twenty years.

I enjoyed this one a lot becuse of the simple hook throughout, it sets a firm base for the artist to work on, something I think Will carried out. The breakdown half-way through was another thing I enjoyed from the producer, and I feel that this completes the tune.

7. "Afro Angel"

**Two Stars**

This begins with a thirty-second build-up before breaking down into a sombre tune. Its not common that I enjoy Hip Hop tracks which are done in such a way, so its hardly a surprise that this is one which I diidn't rate too highly.

I feel tha this track is too mature for me as much of the content is an entended metaphor for the world. You cannot interpret this metaphor just by listening to it, it has to be read (for me anyway) because it is far too complicated.

8. "So Fresh" (feat. Biz Markie & Slick Rick)

**Two Stars**

This is a slow and relaxed track alongside some Hip Hop icons from back in th day. The contrast between this and the lyrics is quite odd because The Fresh Prince is getting in yor face the backing by Jazzy Jeff isn't saying the same thing.

I feel that it was a mistake to go for two seperate approaches at once because f they kept with what Willl and the other two MCs were doing, it would have been a great track.

9. "Pump Me Up"

**Five Stars**

Many say that Will Smith only does pop rap, but this is an example of DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince coming back together for a cover of a Hip Hop classic. The original was done by Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five and it shows that Will does pay attention to the roots of Hip Hop.

This is a great display of Jazzy Jeff DJing ability as he freestyles his scratches on this classic record, Will also provides what sounds as if to be a freestyle however it probably isn't.

10. "Can You Feel Me?" (feat. Eve)

**Four Stars**

This track definately has some Latin influence, however is it much less than what was found in "La Fiesta". The beat is very fast and has somewhat of a jiggling beat with it, Will continues this by spiitting to the same tempo.

Eve's verse works in well with the ongoing theme of a fast-paced tune. I liked this quite a lot , which surprised me as not much of Eve's tracks do to well in my books.

11. "Potnas"

**Three Stars**

I didn't know what he was trying to say with this by the title, however when listening to it its just a phoetical way of saying 'partners' in his regional accent.

This one is a nice one as Will talks about the people that he would consider to be true friends. Its something which you hear little of anymore in rap, however, its something I liked.

12. "No More" (feat. Breeze)

**Three Stars**

This one tells the tale of Will trying to get a hold of his girl becasue he has done something wrong (not given in the track). The chorus is quite catchy and I'd say that thins makes the song what it is.

It is quite mellow and is beginning to wind down the album too soon as we still have "Wild Wild West", aparty tune, to come

13. "Uuhhh" (feat. Kel Spencer)

**Three Stars**

This track is all hype from the artist as it doesn't have any meaning to it, but that wasn't what the party era of Hip Hop was all about, and this i what Wll's trying to bring back for this track.

Kel Spencer, unknown to me, brings much of what same as what Big Willy is bringing, nothing much. Therefore I beleive this was just bringing us back up from the sombre track before to the next one, so it must just be a fill-in tune.

14. "Wild Wild West" (feat. Dru Hill)

**Five Stars**

This was the soundtrack for a film which this artist starred in, in 1999, "Wild Wild West". Humourously at the beginning of this track Will is heard to ask his son Jaden, then only 18 months old, which song to put on the album next and he clearly says this one.

The track samples Stevie Wonder's "I Wish", and he actually appeared in the video for it playin the keyboard for th track. This track allowed the lead singer of Du Hill to break free, this was Sisqó. One of the members of the group actually quit on set for the vidoe, as he decided to go in purcuit of a solo caree in gospel. Sisqó took advantage of this loss and decided he should also do so, but in the world of R&B.

I can't say that I agree that the hook or vocals make me think of the Wild West, but as an entire package, it does work. I enjoyed this a lot.

15. "The Rain" (feat. Jill Scott)

**Three Stars**

"The Rain" winds us down well from the last one. I think that that was the only prupose of it because the track prior to it psyches-up the listener so much. This is a nice song, I wouldn't complain too much about it so it was something pretty good to include.

This was quite a good album for Will Smith as it had a lot of variety to it: some fast tracks, slow ones, latino and party tunes. There was an aweful lot going for it so you cannot say that he didn't put in an effort to expand his musical styles.

I'd recommend this to those who enjoys his music to this day, because this was the turnover point before he completely changed to pop rap. 

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