Songoftheday 6/24/21 - From the first time the doctor placed you in my arms, I knew I'd meet death before I'd let you meet harm...

 

 

"Just The Two of Us" - Will Smith

from the album Big Willie Style (1997)

Billboard Hot 100 peak: #20 (one week)

Weeks in the Top-40: 8

 

Today's song of the day comes from rapper turned A-list actor Will Smith, whose first solo album eschewing the "Fresh Prince" title had scored a pair of huge hits with "Men In Black" and "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It", the latter topping Billboard magazine's pop Hot 100 chart in the spring of 1998. The next offering from the album would be the didactic parenting work of "Just The Two Of Us". Laid on a prominent sample of the #2 hit of the same name by lite jazz greats Grover Washington and Bill Withers from 1981, Smith confides in his first son, Trey, giving him advice that really is deeper than people gave him credit for. In fact, between Smith's deft command of rhythm in his rhymes and his thoughtful messages he's delivering are far better than the derision dealt to this record and to Smith himself, most likely because of his superstar status. Musically, it's basically a mixtape reading on top of Washington's record, but that song can sustain it. The music video has fellow celebs like Babyface, Magic Johnson, and Muhammad Ali with their kids, eventually revealing his new wife Jada pregnant with Jaden, who eventually would find himself on the charts. The background vocals were handled by top ten act Somethin' For The People, whose "Sauce" produced the track...

Smith's "Just The Two Of Us" became the third top-40 pop hit from Big Willie Style in October of 1998. The song also climbed to #17 on Billboard's R&B chart. Internationally, the single was a big hit as well, reaching the top ten in the UK (#2), Belgium (#2F/#40W), Iceland (#4), and New Zealand (#6), and making the top-40 in Ireland (#14), Canada (#23), and Australia (#27).

(7/10)

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Here's Will appearing on Top of the Pops to rap live...

and lastly, in concert in Britain in 2017...

Up tomorrow: Canadian dance powerhouse seeks solitude?