Will Smith Album: “Big Willie Style”

I was a little diappointed with Will's C.D. (Big Willie Style). There were 4 really good songs on the C.D. (Gettin Jiggy Wit It, Just the Two of Us, Men in Black, and Miami) but the rest of the songs were featuring other artists that (no offense) ruined the songs. Still, the overall C.D. was awesome! I love Will Smith to death and I will be looking to buy his C.D. soon! Luv ya'll! :)

My introduction to this album and to Will Smith from a musical and not acting standpoint was when I took up hip-hop dance lessons years back and each week the instructor kept playing "Y'All Know" and "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It". I thought those were great tracks and I'd heard from a colleague of mine who was going through a painful divorce who had a little son how much he loved and related to "Just the Two of Us" and I'd always liked Patrice Rushen's "Forget Me Nots" a.k.a. the track Will ripped off to use as the music for "Men In Black" (trust me, the original is far, far better)and so I thought I had nothing to lose and so decided to take a chance and promptly got the cd.

I was very pleasantly surprised to find other great tracks such as "Miami" and the last track "Just Cruisin'" which for some reason isn't listed among the tracks above. I've always liked albums that flowed and sounded cohesive from first to last and the humorous interludes with Keith B Real is a great device which achieves this brilliantly. The sound quality is also very good and so is Will's rapping. His lyrics on "Just the Two of Us" are simply brilliant and anyone with kids, mums and dads alike, can relate to what is clearly heartfelt, unconditional love of parent for child that's so eloquently expressed on this track.

Who says rap has to be violent and vulgar? Will shows here that he can still rap among the best of them. Highly recommended for lovers of rap and hip-hop with a pinch of humour added on for good measure.

Okay, I'm an almost-40 white guy in the Heartland. My idea of great music runs from Talking Heads and Elvis Costello to Blue Oyster Cult and Alice Cooper. What do I think of "Big Willie Style"? Well, I agree with corny ("Candy"). I agree with safe ("I loved you"). And I agree very strongly with sincere ("Just the 2 of us"). I've got a 5-year old son. I get a lump in my throat when I hear that song, because it is REAL. The most important thing is that it's just plain fun. I get teased for listening to it, but I can't help it--it's addictive. Good, clean fun. I can't relate to poppin' a cap in some gangsta, but I can enjoy rap. Some of Will's messages hit home (you don't need to be a movie star to appreciate the advice in "Don't say nothin'"), but all his raps are fun! Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'll go get jiggy wit it.

I wish there was more rappers out there like Will Smith, I'm tired of every rapper making pointless songs about how much guns they have and how much weed they smoke, back in the days hip-hop was about having a good time when you had him and Jazzy Jeff, Run-Dmc, Slick Rick, etc. making "real hip-hop" that actually had heart, "real hip-hop" doesn't consist of gun-talk and killing people for fun, that's garbage, they brag so much but if you meet them in person you'll notice that they're hiding behind their bodyguards, they're just faking but Will's showin' his true self, he's a positive person in real life so he pumps that positivity in his music. Will's keepin' it alive and I applaud him for that, this album was much needed in the mid-90s in the middle of the East-West beef which I thought was pointless, Will brought the fun back with this album, I love basically every song on here but my favorites would have to be the one he made about his son "Just The Two Of Us" and the funky "Yes Yes Y'all" with Camp Lo, I wouldn't call this album my favorite from him but it's still a classic album, he easily could outflow any of these so-called gangsta rappers too, pick this up if you don't have it already along with his other 8 albums, one love!

I have always wondered why Will Smith is so popular. Hollywood perhaps? Let's not forget about those Bruce Willis and Eddie Murphy albums. Will Smith cannot rap his way out of a paper bag. His voice is dull and thin sounding, which he has to compensate for by double-tracking his voice quite often. The material is lightweight - if I listen to rap I want to hear some bold remarks, but Will Smith's third-grade vocabulary and stories don't impress me at all. Musically, there are no original beats or samples - everything rips off an old disco hit. The lyrics at times can be cheesy and sickeningly sweet - listen to "Just The Two Of Us" and you'll know what I mean. This is candy-coated rap that absolutely anyone with even below adequate rhyming skills can perform. Will Smith should definitely have kept his day job. This uninspired trite mess is no match for the likes of Busta Rhymes or Mystikal. This CD is absolutely unlistenable - avoid it at all costs.