FEATURE:
Second Spin
Will Smith – Big Willie Style
___________
I feel there can be…
IN THIS PHOTO: Will Smith in 1997’s Men in Black
a degree of criticism and judgement when it comes to Rap and Hip-Hop. There are artists who are cutting-edge and quite political who are seen as essential and supreme. There are also those whose material is different, where their style is not quite as edgy and hard-hitting. I think they can get a lot of flak. Having released five albums with DJ Jazzy Jeff, Big Willie Style was Will Smith’s debut solo album. Released on 25th November, 1997, it did divide critics. I love the work he did with DJ Jazzy Jeff, and I think one of the most notable elements of that partnership was the production and music from DJ Jazzy Jeff. Smith’s lyrics were great, but there were fears that him stepping out solo would result in a weaker sound. To be fair, I think there is not a huge leap between the work he created as The Fresh Prince. Maybe the compositions are less intriguing and inventive, but there is that commercial element that meant, in 1997, the album sold really well. Big Willie Style was a commercial success. Reaching a peak position of number-eight on the US Billboard 200 chart, it remained on the chart for a total of ninety-nine weeks. On the U.K. chart, the album entered at number-sixty-three in December 1997 - remaining in the top 100 for twenty-nine weeks. I guess Smith didn’t have the same sort of popularity in the U.K. as the U.S. but, with huge films like Bad Boys, and Independence Day under his belt, he definitely had a fanbase here.
I think that Big Willie Style should be re-evaluated. I feel that, as 1997 was a year when some hefty and serious albums were released – like Radiohead’s OK Computer -, maybe there was a feeling that Smith’s music did not fit in or was too commercial. His album did spawn great singles like Gettin' Jiggy wit It, and Miami. Big Willie Style was the first to be released by Smith since 1993's Code Red, the last by the duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince. With excellent production from Poke & Tone - Poke (Jean-Claude Olivier) and Tone (Samuel Barnes) - and Smith co-writing on tracks, I think Big Willie Style is a solid album that can elicit plenty of pleasure and memories! Non-singles like Candy, and It's All Good are great and, whilst some tracks do suffer from having too many writers and producers in the mix, the album as a whole is balanced and consistent. With the inclusion of the title theme from Men in Black at the end of the album, I feel that helped a little when it came to bringing in sales and recognition. It is sad that there were some mixed and negative reviews. Big Willie Style was released the year after the long-running sitcom, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, ended. Maybe there was a feeling that Smith was prime for attack because of his popularity - and the fact he was not as ‘real’ and edgy of many of his peers. This is what NME wrote when they reviewed Big Willie Style:
“Essentially, then, he is the Cliff Richard of rap and to criticise his latest album for not being sufficiently hardcore would naturally be plain daft. So, we'll just have to condemn it on the rather more elementary level that it is explicitly awful instead.
As he helpfully advises us on the intro track, 'Big Willie Style' is all about Smith proving that, while many young rappers may pretend to live in wealth and luxury, he's doing it for real. So blimmin' ner ner. The only thing is, while there's a certain gritty appeal to the whippersnapper's scheming and dreaming, as the likes of 'Y'All Know' and 'Chasing Forever' slurp through the speakers, we learn that Smith's yuppified discourse is sorely lacking in any ambition. Rather, over a feeble backdrop of (same-)old funk snippets, he bumbles lazily about buying his girlfriend a present in Tokyo, how he'd quite like it if his child grew up to be a doctor and that he's been working very hard recently, and therefore feels like driving his snazzy car to the beach today.
Yes! All of these thoughts and more are rattling round in his brain! For sure! When he thrusts the multiple splendours of life under the microscope, a barmy whirlwind of telling stuff emerges, it does!
But, hey, we said we weren't going to snipe at Smith for his mainstream ways, didn't we? OK, instead, we'll just guffaw loudly at the fact that he's actually called a track 'Keeping It Real', cringe painfully through his excruciating version of Cameo's 'Candy' and come over all amazed because there's nary a redeeming feature on show here.
"Rub your eyes and behold the big Willie," boasts Smith on one track. To which the only fitting reply can be, "Yeah, right, now put it away”.
I have a lot of time and appreciation for Will Smith’s debut album. Maybe 1999’s follow-up, Willennium, was a more successful and tougher album – one can definitely hear a bit more edge and progression. In a more positive review, this is what AllMusic had to say:
“Will Smith wisely decided not to change his style too much on Big Willie Style, the first record he released since becoming a major movie star with appearances in Independence Day and Men in Black. Instead of trying to toughen his image, Smith continued with the friendly, humorous pop-rap that has been his trademark since He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper. Of course, he gives the music a glossy modern sheen (ironically based on early-'80s funk) in order to prove that he's still hip -- and it works. Sure, there's filler scattered all the way the through the album, but the best moments -- the disco-thumping "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It," the Larry Blackmon duet "Candy," the ballad "I Loved You," and the riotous "Men in Black" -- rank among his best singles”.
If you have not heard Will Smith’s music - or skipped ahead and missed out Big Willie Style - then go back and spin it, as it’s a truly great album. I think that it has a blend of toughness and seductiveness that shows the various sides to Smith as a performer and writer. The singles are incredible, but there is plenty to be discovered away from them. Although some critics have panned the album and feel it is not genuine Hip-Hop/Rap, I argue that Big Willie Style boasts…
AMPLE charm and quality.