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Willennium
''Willennium'' is the second studio album by American rapper Will Smith. Recorded with a range of producers, including Poke & Tone and frequent collaborator DJ Jazzy Jeff, it was released on November 16, 1999, by Columbia Records. The album reached number 5 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and was certified multi-platinum by the RIAA, making this Smith's second top ten album and second multi-platinum album following ''Big Willie Style'' in 1997. The album also reached the top ten on the UK Albums Chart, and was certified multi-platinum in that region and in other regions. "Wild Wild West", "Will 2K" and "Freakin' It" were released as singles. Recording and production Much of the recording for ''Willennium'' took place at producer DJ Jazzy Jeff's A Touch of Jazz Studios in Smith's hometown of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where nine songs ("La Fiesta", "So Fresh", "Pump Me Up", "Can You Feel Me?", "Potnas", "Interlude", "No More", "Uuhhh" and "The Rain") were tracked. Additional recording ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Will Smith
Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his Will Smith filmography, acting career starring as Will Smith (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), a fictionalized version of himself on the NBC sitcom ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' (1990–1996). Smith has received List of awards and nominations received by Will Smith, multiple accolades, including an Academy Award and four Grammy Awards. As of , his films have grossed over $9.3 billion globally, making him one of Hollywood's most bankable stars. Smith first gained recognition as part of a hip hop music, hip hop DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, duo with DJ Jazzy Jeff, with whom he released five studio albums and the US Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 top 20 singles "Parents Just Don't Understand", "A Nightmare on My Street", "Summertime (DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince song), Summertime", "Ring My Bell (DJ Jazzy Jeff & ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Born To Reign
''Born to Reign'' is the third studio album released by American actor and rapper Will Smith. The album was released on Columbia Records in the United States on June 25, 2002 and was considered a drop from his previous level of success, having only reached Gold status by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), whereas ''Big Willie Style'' and '' Willennium'' both reached multi-platinum status. This album includes "Black Suits Comin, which was also the lead single from the original motion picture soundtrack of ''Men in Black II''. The album also spawned the European hit single "1000 Kisses", which features vocals from Smith's wife Jada Pinkett Smith. Reception Critical AllMusic gave the album a four-star rating, claiming: "It'd be inaccurate to call Will Smith's third album the musical equivalent of Ali -- a bid for artistic credibility from an artist so assured and smooth, it's been easy to pigeonhole him as merely a pop artist -- but given the range and harder edg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Will 2K
"Will 2K" is the second single taken from American rapper Will Smith's second studio album, ''Willennium'' (1999). The single was released on November 8, 1999. Sampling instruments and lyrics from the chorus of the Clash's "Rock the Casbah," as well as bits from "Superrappin'" by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, the song was co-written by Smith and produced by Trackmasters. The song features vocals from Cedric "K-Ci" Hailey of Jodeci and K-Ci & JoJo. "Will 2K" peaked at number two in the United Kingdom and pays homage to the new millennium. Music video The music video for "Will 2K" premiered in September 1999, at a total length of five minutes and two seconds. The video features Smith performing the song in a variety of settings, appearing in a series of musical eras and wearing costumes that reflect each epoch. DJ Jazzy Jeff, Eve, Tisha Campbell-Martin and then-husband Duane Martin, among others, make cameos in the video. Track listings * US 7-inch single :A. "Will ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wild Wild West (Will Smith Song)
"Wild Wild West" is a song by American rapper and actor Will Smith from the 1999 film of the same name, in which he also starred. The song plays during the film's closing credits. The single samples Stevie Wonder's 1976 hit song "I Wish" and includes parts of the chorus from Kool Moe Dee's song of the same name. Kool Moe Dee re-performed the chorus for the song, and additional guest vocals are provided by Dru Hill. The album version of the song is introduced by a brief spoken-word interlude where Smith asks his infant son Jaden what song he should play next, interpreting Jaden's repeated non-verbal response as "Wild Wild West". "Wild Wild West" was released on May 11, 1999, as a single from the film's soundtrack and as the lead single from Smith's second studio album, ''Willennium'' (1999). The song became a number-one hit on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and its extended music video, directed by Paul Hunter, features Wonder and several other celebrities as guest stars. The s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
DJ Jazzy Jeff
Jeffrey Allen Townes (born January 22, 1965), known professionally as DJ Jazzy Jeff (or simply Jazz), is an American disc jockey (DJ) and music producer. He was a member of DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince with Will Smith. He is credited, along with DJs Spinbad and Cash Money, with making the transformer scratch famous. Early life and initial career Townes was born on January 22, 1965, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Early on, he developed a reputation and a following as a school and block party DJ. He was ten years old when he first became interested in being a DJ. He told author Paul Stenning, "At summer time block parties I wouldn't be the one dancing, I sat where the DJ was set up, watching him. Even when I would go to other block parties in other neighborhoods I was still infatuated with the DJ. He was the guy that played music that everyone in the neighborhood loved. You might not have known his face, you might not have known his name but he was the guy that made ev ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Big Willie Style
''Big Willie Style'' is the debut solo album by American rapper and actor Will Smith. It was released on November 25, 1997, by Columbia Records. The album was primarily produced by Poke & Tone, with other contributors including L.E.S. and Smith's former collaborator DJ Jazzy Jeff. The album was the first to be released by Smith since 1993's '' Code Red'', the last by the duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince. Five singles were released, including Smith's first US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 number one, "Gettin' Jiggy wit It". After releasing five albums with DJ Jazzy Jeff, Smith turned his focus to acting and appeared in such films as '' Bad Boys'' and ''Independence Day'' before returning to the studio in 1996. The following year he starred in ''Men in Black'', for which he recorded the song of the same name and topped the singles charts in several countries. ''Big Willie Style'' was released later in the year, reaching the top ten of the US ''Billboard'' 200, the UK Albums Chart a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Freakin' It
"Freakin' It" is a song by American rapper Will Smith. It was released as the third and final single from his second studio album, ''Willennium.'' The single was released on March 22, 2000. The song was written and composed by Smith with a selection of other songwriters, including those of the Diana Ross chart single "Love Hangover," whose fast-paced bassline it samples, and was produced by two of those others, "Trackmasters" Samuel Barnes and Lennie Bennett. The single peaked at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart. Music video The music video for "Freakin' It" premiered in February 2000, at a total length of four minutes and thirteen seconds. The video was later added to Smith's official Vevo account on March 24, 2011. The video features Smith performing the selection on a series of streets in Philadelphia in wintry conditions, as he paid homage to his hometown. (Smith is a native of the West Philadelphia neighborhood of Overbrook, after which he has named his production company. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rob Fusari
Rob Fusari, also known as 8Bit, is an American record producer and songwriter. He has worked with Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, Will Smith, Whitney Houston and Lady Gaga. Early life Rob Fusari was born between 1967 and 1968. And raised in Livingston, New Jersey. A child prodigy, Fusari won numerous piano competitions at Radio City Music Hall at 8 years old. Career Fusari began writing songs while a student at William Paterson University. He started recording demos, and subsequently met hit songwriter Irwin Levine, who was known for writing "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" and several other hits for Tony Orlando & Dawn. In the late 1990s, Fusari became producing partners with Vincent Herbert. It was at this time that he wrote his first #1 hit single, " No, No, No", which launched Destiny Child's career. In 2001, Fusari produced "Bootylicious" for the group's third studio album '' Survivor''. The song also peaked at number 1 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In 1999, Fus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Falonte Moore
Falonte Moore, also known as "Fonz", is an American singer, songwriter, and producer, best known for co-writing Destiny's Child's "Bootylicious". Moore began his career as one part of R&B/Neo-Soul duo Koffee Brown, releasing 2001 project ''Mars/Venus'' signed to Arista Records. The group quickly disbanded after the release of their album, and Moore moved into songwriting and production for other artists, frequently working alongside producer Rob Fusari. Songwriting and production credits Credits are courtesy of Discogs, Genius, Apple Music, and AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa .... Awards and nominations References Living people African-American songwriters American hip hop record producers African-American record producers Year of birth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eric Roberson
Eric Roberson (born September 27, 1976) is an American singer, songwriter, former rapper and music producer. He is sometimes referred to simply as Erro, the name which he later used as part of his label Blue Erro Soul. His first single, "Represent", was released through Warner Bros. Records in 1994 and he recorded an album for that label which remains unreleased. Career Raised in Rahway, New Jersey, Roberson attended Rahway High School. He subsequently returned to Howard University to complete his studies in Musical Theatre. After performing in a number of musicals and plays, he landed a songwriting deal through the EMI label, and went on to collaborate with Philadelphia-based artists such as Jill Scott, Musiq Soulchild, and most extensively, DJ Jazzy Jeff. As a member of Jeff's ''A Touch of Jazz'' production company, Roberson made contributions to Jeff's debut album, '' The Magnificent'' in 2002. He continued songwriting work as well as releasing his own material through hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Billboard 200
The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists. Often, a recording act will be remembered by its " number ones", those of their albums that outperformed all others during at least one week. The chart grew from a weekly top 10 list in 1956 to become a top 200 list in May 1967, and acquired its current name in March 1992. Its previous names include the ''Billboard'' Top LPs (1961–1972), ''Billboard'' Top LPs & Tape (1972–1984), ''Billboard'' Top 200 Albums (1984–1985) and ''Billboard'' Top Pop Albums (1985–1992). The chart is based mostly on sales – both at retail and digital – of albums in the United States. The weekly sales period was originally Monday to Sunday when Nielsen started tracking sales in 1991, but since July 2015, tracking week begins on Friday (to coinc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Poke & Tone
The Trackmasters are an American hip hop production duo composed of music producers Poke (Jean-Claude Olivier) and Tone (Samuel Barnes), best known for their commercial hit records in the mid-late 1990s and early 2000s. Frank "Nitty" Pimentel joined forces with the duo to complete the success of "Trackmasters". Throughout their career, they have worked with various hip-hop and R&B artists including Destiny's Child, Nas, R. Kelly, LL Cool J, Mary J. Blige, Will Smith, Jay-Z, Cam'ron, Jennifer Lopez, Mariah Carey, The Notorious B.I.G. and 50 Cent. Known for their commercially successful singles and many remixes, they have collectively earned over seven gold and twenty platinum plaques throughout their career. They were ranked 6th in ''Vibe'' magazine's "Greatest Hip-Hop Producers of All Time" in the 'Mass Appeal' category. Career 1989−1995: Early career and Trackmasters Entertainment In 1989, Poke connected with childhood friend Frank "Nitty" Pimentel at his recording studio in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
