"Wild Wild West" is a song by American rapper and actor

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 acting career starring as a fictionalized version of himself on the NBC sitcom '' The Fresh ...

from the 1999 film of the same name, in which he also starred. The song plays during the film's

closing credits Closing credits or end credits are a list of the cast and crew of a particular motion picture, television program, or video game. Where opening credits appear at the beginning of a work, closing credits appear close to, or at the very end of a ...

. The single samples Stevie Wonder's 1976 hit song " I Wish" and includes parts of the chorus from

Kool Moe Dee Mohandas Dewese (born August 8, 1962), better known by his stage name Kool Moe Dee, is an American rapper, writer and actor. Considered one of the forerunners of the new jack swing sound in hip hop, he gained fame in the 1980s as a member of one ...

'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 Dru Hill is an American R&B group, whose repertoire included soul, hip hop soul and gospel music. The group was founded in Baltimore in 1992 and is still active. Dru Hill recorded seven Top 40 hits, and is best known for the R&B number-one hits ...

. 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 A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack ...

and as the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

from Smith's second studio album, ''

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 reache ...

'' (1999). The song became a number-one hit on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and its extended

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

, directed by

Paul Hunter Paul Alan Hunter (14 October 1978 – 9 October 2006) was an English professional snooker player. He was a three-time Masters champion, winning the event in 2001, 2002, and 2004, recovering from a deficit in the final to win 10–9 on a ...

, features Wonder and several other celebrities as guest stars. The song was nominated for a

Blockbuster Entertainment Award The Blockbuster Entertainment Awards was a film awards ceremony, founded by Blockbuster Entertainment, Inc., that ran from 1995 until 2001. They were produced each year by Ken Ehrlich. Formation and first awards The awards were first held on J ...

for Favorite Song from a Movie and was the recipient of the 1999

Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Original Song The Razzie Award for Worst Original Song was an award presented at the annual Golden Raspberry Awards for the worst song written for a film in the previous year. The following is a list of recipients and nominees of that award, along with the film ...

Music video

Directed by

, the

includes several dialog sequences featuring Smith,

, and a guest appearance by Stevie Wonder, intercut with clips from the film, featuring the film's characters.

Salma Hayek Salma Hayek Pinault ( , ; born Salma Valgarma Hayek Jiménez; September 2, 1966) is a Mexican and American actress and film producer. She began her career in Mexico with starring roles in the telenovela ''Teresa'' (1989–1991) as well as the ...

also appears as her character Rita Escobar in the video's dialog sequences, as does an actor resembling

Kenneth Branagh Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh (; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Branagh trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and has served as its president since 2015. He has won an Academy Award, four BAFTAs (plus ...

and his character of Dr. Loveless. Latin pop star Enrique Iglesias also appeared in the video playing a Prince. ''

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' is an American television sitcom created by Andy and Susan Borowitz for NBC. It aired from September 10, 1990, to May 20, 1996. The series stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart ...

'' co-star and tap dancer

Alfonso Ribeiro Alfonso Lincoln Ribeiro (born September 21, 1971) is an American actor, comedian and television host. He is best known for his roles as Alfonso Spears on the sitcom ''Silver Spoons'', Carlton Banks on the NBC sitcom ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ...

appeared in the music video as one of the dancers. Other cameos include actor

Larenz Tate Larenz Tate (born September 8, 1975) is an American film and television actor. He is best known for his roles as O-Dog in ''Menace II Society'' and as Councilman Rashad Tate in ''Power''. Tate's other films and television series include the fil ...

Shari Headley Shari Headley (born July 15, 1964) is an American actress and former model. She is best known for her role as Lisa McDowell in the 1988 box-office hit romantic comedy film ''Coming to America'' and its sequel '' Coming 2 America'' (2021). Headley ...

, singer/writer/producer

Babyface Babyface or Baby Face can refer to: Nicknames * Lester Joseph Gillis a.k.a. Baby Face Nelson, an infamous 1930s bank robber * Roosevelt "Baby Face" Willette (1933–1971), an American hard bop and soul-jazz musician * "Baby Face", Jimmy McLarnin ...

and female rapper

MC Lyte Lana Michele Moorer (born October 11, 1970), better known by her stage name MC Lyte, is an American rap music, rapper, Disc jockey, DJ, actress and entrepreneur. Considered one of the pioneers of female rap, Lyte first gained fame in the late 19 ...

Track listings

US CD and cassette single # "Wild Wild West" – 4:05 # "Y'all Know" – 3:57 Australian and Japanese CD single # "Wild Wild West" – 4:05 # "Wild Wild West" (radio version) – 3:29 # "Wild Wild West" (a cappella) – 4:05 # "

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

" (Miami Mix) – 4:40 # "

Just the Two of Us Just or JUST may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Just (surname) * Just (given name) Arts and entertainment * ''Just'', a 1998 album by Dave Lindholm * "Just" (song), a song by Radiohead * "Just", a song from the album ''Lost and Found'' by Mudvayne ...

" ( Rodney Jerkins remix featuring

Brian McKnight Brian Kelly McKnight (born June 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, radio host and multi-instrumentalist. He is most recognized for his strong head voice, high belting range and melisma. McKnight is known for h ...

) – 4:14 European CD single # "Wild Wild West" – 4:08 # "Wild Wild West" (instrumental) – 4:08 UK CD1 # "Wild Wild West" – 4:05 # " Gettin' Jiggy wit It" – 3:48 # "Big Willie Style" (featuring

Left Eye Lisa Nicole Lopes (May 27, 1971 – April 25, 2002), better known by her stage name Left Eye, was an American rapper and singer. She was a member of the R&B girl group TLC, alongside Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins and Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas. Besid ...

) – 3:35 UK CD2 # "Wild Wild West" – 4:05 # "Miami" (

Jason Nevins Jason Nevins (born December 15, 1972) is an American songwriter, record producer and remixer, who is most widely known for his pop and dance productions, including his multi-platinum, multi-million selling production of " It's Like That" by Ameri ...

' Live on South Beach dub) – 5:10 # "Chasing Forever" – 4:16 UK cassette single # "Wild Wild West" – 4:05 # "Big Willie Style" (featuring Left Eye) – 3:35

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

In popular culture

* The song is featured as a playable song in

Just Dance 4 ''Just Dance 4'' is a 2012 music rhythm game developed and published by Ubisoft as the fourth main installment of the ''Just Dance'' series. Announced at E3 2012 by Flo Rida and Aisha Tyler, it was released on the Wii, the Wii U, the PlayStatio ...

. If the song is completed on the Extreme Version with 5 stars players receive the "New Sheriff in Town" achievement. *

OutsideXbox OutsideXbox, or Oxbox, is a British YouTube channel and group consisting of Jane Douglas, Andy Farrant, and Mike Channell. The group also has a sister channel, Outside Xtra, or Oxtra, consisting of Luke Westaway and Ellen Rose. The group is bes ...

's Andy Farrant is known for having memorized the song and rapping portions of it during the Oxventure Dungeon & Dragon's campaign quest Wild Wild Woods.

References

{{Authority control Film theme songs 1998 songs 1999 singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Columbia Records singles European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles Music videos directed by Paul Hunter (director) Songs written by Rob Fusari Songs written by Stevie Wonder Songs written by Will Smith Songs written for films Will Smith songs