Will Smith recently resurfaced a clip of him talking to the legendary Rakim about DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince's smash hit “Summertime.”
Last year, behind the scenes at CBS' Grammy salute to 50 years of hip hop, Smith admitted to Rakim that he was trying to sound like him on the record. “I was totally trying to look like you on 'Summertime,'” she confessed to the rap legend. “Because I was screaming all night and I couldn't get my high voice. And then Hula just said, 'Yeah, just give Rakim p.'”
In the clip, Will also told the story of how the song came about. It was 1991 and he and Jeff were already putting the finishing touches on their fourth studio album Seat when producers Hula and Fingers gave him a CD with a beat sampling of the classic Kool & the Gang song “Summer madness” as he was about to head to the airport. He liked the beat so much that he decided to go back to the studio to record the song after his flight was delayed and the rest is history. “Summertime” climbed the charts, reaching No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1991. I helped Seat does it go platinum? and brought DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince their second Grammy, for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. The song is still heard 33 years later, wherever there is summer.
It has long been assumed that the Paid in full The rapper ghost-wrote the song because of Smith's beat. However, Rakim dispelled these rumors in 2016, saying HipHopDX, “When it came out, a lot of people thought it was me because of the style he was using. But it was one of those things that it was. I didn't write it. That was Will and Jeff.”
Rakim commented on the post saying he was ready to record a sequel, saying: “Peace will !! Keep rockin bro, time for SUMMERTIME PT 2 to wake me up!!!! hahaha.”
Hopefully this means we'll get another video like the classic below.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/rakim-will-smith-summertime-dj-jazzy-jeff-fresh-prince-1235739263/
