DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince: Summertime

DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince: Summertime

“Drums please!”

Ah, 1991. This was back when Will Smith was just a rapper and wasn’t secretly a member of the Church of Scientology. (With a school teaching Study-Tech) Most of his songs were light-heart and funny, but still written extremely well. This song ended up being a huge hit for Jazzy Jeff and Will Smith.

I personally still enjoy listening to the song, and “Summertime” is probably my favorite song released by them. It’s makes good use of Kool & The Gang’s song “Summer Madness”. DJ Jazzy Jeff took the Summer Madness baseline and instrumentation and sped them up. Will Smith’s smooth poetic flow fits with Jazzy Jeff’s beat.

I remember having the single and listening to all the various remixes. Here are a few remixes to listen to.

Will Smith does the song Acapella: I got a kick out of this one.

Summertime (Jazzy Jeff's Mix): The actual vocals are more restrained. Jazzy Jeff added scratching in this version. It is more laid back than the original version. I really like this version probably the best from the official remixes.

Summertime (Hybrid Remix):

Summertime (Promo Only?): This version uses more of "Summer Madness" from Kool & the Gang. I remember hearing this version way back in the day.

Summertime 98 [Soulpower mix]: I think this remix is pretty good too. The background beat is really catchy. They changed the female vocals to different positions in this version.

Summertime (Soul Train): I looked everywhere for Heather Hunter. She used to be a Soul Train dancer before becoming an Adult Star.