Page 50 - Will Smith: A Biography of a Rapper Turned Movie Star

Will Smith
50
of two years earlier, when he lost all his money. He was ready
to put all his energy into his career. “I don’t need a social
life,” he said in 1990. “You see, I’ve got to work now and I’ll
have a social life when I’m thirty. My mother is going to fly
out here to keep things in line. See, I’m not into the L.A.
lifestyle, the clubs, etc. It takes your mind off work.”2
Homebase, the album Smith was working on during those
long hours, was released in 1991. As usual, he recorded it with
DJ Jazzy Jeff. A single from Homebase, titled “Summertime,”
became a big hit, reaching number four on the Billboard
national song chart and selling more than a million copies.3
Like Will and Jeff ’s other songs, “Summertime” was a
lighthearted look at teenage life. Some critics found it to be a
more sophisticated record than some of the duo’s earlier
works. In “Summertime,” the Fresh Prince rapped about
looking for girls, cruising in his car, having fun at an outdoor
barbecue, and shooting baskets on a local court. Awell-known
Philadelphia-based turntablist and hip-hop producer, King
Britt, said, “That was a monumental song in hip-hop. It was a
clear picture of what summer is for the black community.”4
“Summertime” earned the duo its second Grammy
award, as best rap song. It also earned another honor: an
Image Award from the NAACP (National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People), one of the nation’s oldest
and most respected civil rights organizations. NAACP Image
Awards are given annually to those whose work represents
positive aspects of African-American life. It was the first of
several Smith would receive.