''And in This Corner…'' is the third studio album released by MC/DJ duo

DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince were an American hip hop duo from West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, consisting of the rapper and actor Will Smith (the Fresh Prince) and the turntablist Jeff Townes (DJ Jazzy Jeff). Active from 1986 to 1994 an ...

. The album was released in October 1989, reaching no. 39 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart. The album was not released on Compact Disc in the UK. However, it was available on this format in most of Europe. For the album, the duo took influence from

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

alongside their typical repertoire. They utilized trumpets, saxes, and flutes. Lyrical concepts are fully developed, and set between the comical and crowd concepts. Smith said later that most of the recording time was spent partying in the Bahamas rather than working, and that the record suffered for their lack of discipline. Upon its release, the album was a commercial success as it sold over half a million copies, and was certified Gold by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. However, compared to the duo's previous work, the album was considered a letdown, only selling half as many copies. Nevertheless, the album received two

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

nominations including

Best Rap Performance The Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance is an honor presented to recording artists for quality rap performances. It was first presented at the 31st Annual Grammy Awards in 1989 and again at the 32nd Annual Grammy Awards in 1990, after which p ...

for their first single " I Think I Can Beat Mike Tyson" in 1990 (which lost to

Young MC Marvin Young (born May 10, 1967), better known by his stage name Young M.C., is an American rapper, singer and actor. He is best known for his 1989 hit " Bust a Move". His debut album '' Stone Cold Rhymin found international acclaim. Young h ...

's " Bust a Move") and

Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group The Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group was awarded between 1991 and 2011, alongside the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance. Previously a single award was presented for Best Rap Performance. The award was discontinue ...

for the album itself in 1991 (which lost to

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (March 14, 1933 – November 3, 2024) was an American record producer, composer, arranger, conductor, trumpeter, and bandleader. Over the course of his seven-decade career, he received List of awards and nominations re ...

Big Daddy Kane Antonio Hardy (born September 10, 1968), better known by his stage name Big Daddy Kane, is an American Rapping, rapper, producer and actor who began his career in 1986 as a member of the Juice Crew. He is widely regarded as one of the most influe ...

Ice-T Tracy Lauren Marrow (born February 16, 1958), known professionally as Ice-T (or Ice T), is an American rapper and actor. He is active in both hip hop music, hip hop and heavy metal music, heavy metal. Ice-T began his career as an underground r ...

Kool Moe Dee Mohandas Dewese (born August 8, 1962), better known by his stage name Kool Moe Dee, is an American rapper, songwriter 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 ...

Melle Mel Melvin Glover (born May 15, 1961), better known by his stage name Grandmaster Melle Mel or simply Melle Mel (), is an American rapper who was the lead vocalist and songwriter of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Career Glover began per ...

Quincy Jones III Quincy Delight Jones III (born 23 December 1968), better known as QDIII, QD3 and Snoopy, is a Swedish-American music producer, composer and documentary film producer. Family Jones was born in Wimbledon, London, the only son of American musicia ...

's "

Back on the Block ''Back on the Block'' is a 1989 studio album by Quincy Jones. The album features musicians and singers from across three generations, including Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, Joe Zawinul, Ice-T, Big Daddy Kane, Sarah Vaughan, Dizzy Gillespie, Geo ...

").

Track listing

# "Then She Bit Me" (

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968) is an American actor, rapper, and film producer. Known for his work in both Will Smith filmography, the screen and Will Smith discography, music industries, List of awards and nominations re ...

, Jeffrey Townes, Pete Q. Harris) – 3:35 # " I Think I Can Beat Mike Tyson" (Smith, Townes, Harris) – 4:49 # "Jazzy's Groove" (Smith, Townes) – 3:43 # "Everything That Glitters (Ain't Always Gold)" (Smith, Townes, Harris) – 4:17 # "You Got It (Donut)" (Smith, Townes, Harris) – 4:56 # "The Girlie Had a Mustache" (Smith, Townes) – 4:32 # "The Reverend" (Smith, Townes) – 4:31 # "Who Stole My Car?" (Smith, Townes, Harris) – 4:57 # "The Men of Your Dreams" (Smith, Townes, Harris) – 4:52 # "Numero Uno" (Smith, Townes) – 4:08 # "Too Damn Hype" (Smith, Townes) – 5:41 # "Jeff Waz on the Beat Box" (Smith, Townes) – 5:42

Samples

Jazzy's Groove *"The Champ" by

the Mohawks William Alan Hawkshaw (27 March 1937 – 16 October 2021) was a British composer and performer, particularly of library music used as themes for films and television programs. Hawkshaw worked extensively for the KPM production music company i ...

Funky Drummer "Funky Drummer" is a song by James Brown recorded in 1969 and released as a single in 1970. Its drum break, Musical improvisation, improvised by Clyde Stubblefield, is one of the most frequently sampling (music), sampled music recordings. Recor ...

" by

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...

*"Synthetic Substitution" by Melvin Bliss *"

Nautilus A nautilus (; ) is any of the various species within the cephalopod family Nautilidae. This is the sole extant family of the superfamily Nautilaceae and the suborder Nautilina. It comprises nine living species in two genera, the type genus, ty ...

" by Bob James *"Saturday Night Style" by Mikey Dread *" Eric B. Is President" by Eric B. & Rakim *"

Bring the Noise "Bring the Noise" is a song by the American hip hop group Public Enemy. It was included on the soundtrack of the 1987 film '' Less than Zero;'' the song was also released as a single that year. It later became the first song on the group's 198 ...

" by

Public Enemy Public Enemy is an American Hip-hop, hip hop group formed in Roosevelt, New York, in 1985 by Chuck D and Flavor Flav. The group rose to prominence for their political messages including subjects such as Racism in the United States, American r ...

Jeff Waz on the Beatbox *"Put the Music Where Your Mouth Is" by the Olympic Runners *"Sing Sing" by Gaz *"You'll Like It Too" by

Funkadelic Funkadelic was an American funk rock band formed in Plainfield, New Jersey in 1968 and active until 1982. As one of the two flagship groups of George Clinton's P-Funk collective, they helped pioneer the funk music culture of the 1970s.John, ...

The Girlie Had a Mustache *"Escape-Ism" by

Think (About It) "Think (About It)" is a funk song recorded by Lyn Collins and released as a single on James Brown's People Records in 1972. The recording was produced by Brown (who also wrote the song) and features instrumental backing from his band The J.B.' ...

" by

Lyn Collins Gloria Lavern Collins (June 12, 1948 – March 13, 2005), better known as Lyn Collins, was an American soul singer best known for working with James Brown in the 1970s and for the influential 1972 funk single, "Think (About It)". A favorite ...

*"You Can Have Watergate Just Gimme Some Bucks and I'll Be Straight" by

Fred Wesley Fred Wesley (born July 4, 1943) is an American trombonist who worked with James Brown in the 1960s and 1970s, and Parliament-Funkadelic in the second half of the 1970s. Biography Wesley was born the son of a high school teacher and big band le ...

and

the J.B.'s The J.B.'s (sometimes punctuated The JB's or The J.B.s) was James Brown's band from 1970 through the early 1980s. On records, the band was sometimes billed under alternate names such as Fred Wesley and the JBs, The James Brown Soul Train, Mace ...

*"Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll" by Vaughan Mason and Crew The Reverend *" Dance to the Music" by

Sly & the Family Stone Sly and the Family Stone was an American band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1966 and active until 1983. Their work, which blended elements of funk, soul, psychedelic rock, gospel, and R&B, became a pivotal influence on subsequent Amer ...

Good Times ''Good Times'' is an American television sitcom that aired for six seasons on CBS, from February 8, 1974, to August 1, 1979. Created by Eric Monte and Mike Evans (actor), Mike Evans and developed by executive producer Norman Lear, it was televis ...

" by

Chic Chic (; ), meaning "stylish" or "smart", is an element of fashion. It was originally a French word. Etymology '' Chic'' is a French word, established in English since at least the 1870s. Early references in English dictionaries classified ...

Too Damn Hype *"The Big Beat" by

Billy Squier William Haislip Squier (, born May 12, 1950) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter who had a string of arena rock and crossover hits in the early 1980s. His best-known songs include " The Stroke", " Lonely Is the Night", " My Kinda Love ...

*"Here We Go (Live at the Funhouse)" by

Run-DMC Run-DMC (also formatted Run-D.M.C., RUN DMC, or some combination thereof) was an American hip-hop group formed in Hollis, Queens, New York City in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as one of the mos ...

Who Stole My Car? *"The Grunt" by

*" Funky President" by

You Got It (Donut) *"I Know You Got Soul" by

Bobby Byrd Bobby Howard Byrd (August 15, 1934 – September 12, 2007) was an American rhythm and blues, soul and funk singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, bandleader, and talent dedicated. He played a part in the development of soul and funk m ...

*" Eric B. Is President" by Eric B. & Rakim Numero Uno *"Public Enemy No. 1" by

The Men of Your Dreams *"Change the Beat (Female Version)" by

Fab 5 Freddy Fred Brathwaite (born August 31, 1959), more popularly known as Fab 5 Freddy, is an American visual artist, filmmaker, and hip hop pioneer. He is considered one of the architects of the street art movement. Freddy emerged in New York's downtown u ...

feat. Beeside

Charts

Chart positions

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1989 albums DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince albums Jive Records albums RCA Records albums