Ī reviewer from People magazine noted that 'the musical backing is more sophisticated', viewing it as 'a smooth Gershwin via Kool & the Gang version'. Steve Huey from AllMusic said that 'Summertime' was 'a warm, breezy reminiscence about growing up in Philadelphia and attending barbecues where the whole community showed up to see and be seen.' He added, 'It had all the good vibes of a typical Fresh Prince number, but it was clearly a more mature effort, and that's Homebase in a nutshell.' Larry Flick from Billboard magazine wrote, ' Pop/ rap duo returns with this steamy hip-hop jam that is sure to quickly heat up radio airwaves thanks to its catchy chorus and clever wordplay.' James Bernard from Entertainment Weekly described the song as 'absolutely uplifting'.

The song's instrumentation samples ' Summer Madness' by Kool & the Gang, particularly the rising F# octaves played on an ARP 2600 synthesizer. Due to his voice being worn out from a previous night out, he recorded his song in a lower tone than his usual, unknowingly bringing out a style similar to rapper Rakim, in which Smith admired as one of his favorite rappers at the time. Due to a delay in his flight back home, Smith wrote the entire song in one sitting and decided to record it in Chicago. It also became the duo's first single to enter the top ten of the UK Singles Chart, peaking at #8.Īfter Will Smith completed recording for the tracks produced by Hula & Fingers in Chicago for the Homebase album and was headed back to Philadelphia, the producers handed Smith the tape that would become 'Summertime'. It spent a week at number #1 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart, as well as reaching #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 (their highest charting single on the latter). Fingers, and it won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the 1992 Grammy Awards. The song was produced by Chicago-based producers Hula and K. It was released in May 1991 as the lead single from their fourth studio album, Homebase. ' Summertime' is a song by American hip-hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince. Fingers (Craig Simpkins), Hula (Lamar Hula Mahone), Roland EdisonĭJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince singles chronologyĭJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince - Summertime on YouTube Townes, Robert Bell, Ronald Bell, George 'Funky' Brown, Robert 'Spike' Mickens, Lamar Hula Mahone, Craig Simpkins, Charles Smith, Alton Taylor, Dennis 'D.T.' Thomas, Richard Westfield

Summertime madness keyboard