Will Smith is back in the news because he released an apology video to Chris Rock on YouTube and Instagram, which seems to me like a PR move more than an apology, but whatever. I always preferred Smith back in his hip-hop days, when he and Jeff Townes put Philly on the rap map with light-hearted but clever rhymes and smooth grooves.
This 1991 tune became the duo’s highest charting single, reaching No. 4 on the Hot 100.
The song samples the groove and synth sound of “Summer Madness” by Kool & the Gang, who still aren’t in the Hall of Fame. The instrumental single from 1974 went to No. 35 on the Hot 100 and has had a long afterlife in hip-hop, film and video games, everything from the original “Rocky” to Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.
