Gettin' jiggy wit it...

Don’t Get Gassed: Will Smith is a G
written by JusHH

With Hancock tearing up the movie screen, I figure its time to break this one out…

In an interview, Bow Wow said that Will Smith wasn’t a “real” rapper. Now I have never taken Bow Wow’s opinions as gospel but what he says rings true with a lot of people in Hip-Hop. Somehow Will Smith is too “pop” and doesn’t deserve the same level of respect. But Don’t Get Gassed… Will Smith is not only the essence of Hip-Hop, he’s one of the realest dudes in the game.

Let’s see… people talk about Will Smith like he’s soft. Will Smith was born and raised in the Overbrook section of West Philadelphia. Anyone who’s ever been to West Philly will tell you that it’s as hood as Brooklyn or Compton. You don’t come up out of a place like that being “soft”. However, Will was lucky enough to have a stable household so he didn’t have to sell drugs or join a gang. When he began rapping, he used to talk about the streets and curse just like everyone else but he thought about his grandmother and didn’t want to disrespect her. So he flipped the script and cleaned up his rhymes. He stood on a principle and bucked the system. How many rappers today have the balls to “be themselves” on a record (go head, I’ll wait). Will made Hip-Hop music that his family could be proud of… now that’s gangsta.

Let’s see… people talk about Will Smith like he’s safe. You hear rappers like DMX or Bun-B say things like “F**k the Grammy’s” and people give them all kinds of props for it. You see Will Smith in all the videos and movies and think that he’s safe for white America and he just conforms. However back in 1989, Will Smith received the first ever Grammy given to a Hip-Hop artist. Let me repeat that, he was the FIRST RAPPER TO EVER RECEIVE A GRAMMY. This was the biggest music award that an artist could receive and what did Will Smith do? He publicly boycotted the Grammy Awards. He felt that the awards show didn’t give proper respect to the culture (by not televising the award) and he refused to attend. He didn’t just “say” “f**k the Grammy’s”, he actually did something about it. So when you see Jay-Z, Outkast or any other rapper on stage of the Grammy’s, you should all thank Will. Then again in 1999, after receiving a MTV award he stood in the face of everyone and proclaimed that you could be successful without cursing or killing someone on your record. The nerve of him to actually suggest that Hip-Hop music could be more positive. How many rappers have the balls to get on national television and say something you know is going to piss people off but it’s the right thing to do? Will challenged rappers and the greater Hip-Hop community to do better… now that’s gangsta.

Let’s see… people talk about Will Smith like his music is wack. Rather than talk about drugs and guns, Will used humor to talk about issues that affect everyday people. People of all ages, races and backgrounds can relate to Will’s music because he talks about our experiences. Sounds familiar? Sounds like a rapper who’s album you just bought last year? Yep. Will Smith was Kanye West, before Kanye West decided to drop out of college. “Parents Just Don’t Understand” and “Girls Ain’t Nothing But Trouble” are timeless classics. “Summertime” is still the greatest summer anthem ever created. You can laugh at “Getting Jiggy with It” but I believe the Lox have a song called “If you think I’m Jiggy”, and they’re what, the hardest rap group in the game? He spit fire on “Just Cruisin’” and “Freakin’ It” and dedicated a song to his son on “Just The Two of Us”. Now I’m not saying that he needs to be in your Top 5 but to say that his music wasn’t hot because your friends might laugh at you is stupid. Will Smith has given us hits and whether you loved or hated (on) him, he never changed who he was. He made the music he wanted to make and sold over 20 million albums doing it. He’s been in the game longer than your favorite rapper, has a better woman then your favorite rapper and could buy your favorite rapper’s house as a vacation spot… now that’s gangsta.