- Wild Wild West (Will Smith song)
Infobox Single
Name = Wild Wild West
Artist =Will Smith featuringDru Hill andKool Moe Dee
from Album =Wild Wild West Original Motion Picture Soundtrack "and"Willennium
B-side = Big Willie Style
Released = June 1999
Format =CD single Cassette single Vinyl record
Recorded = Spring 1999
Genre =Pop rap ,Funk
Length = 4:29 (album version)
4:07 (single version)
Label =Overbrook /Interscope/Columbia
Writer = Moe Dewese, Rob Fusari, Will Smith, andStevie Wonder
Producer = Rob Fusari & Mark Wilson
Certification =
Chronology =Will Smith singles
Last single = "Miami"
(1999)
This single = "Wild Wild West"
(1999)
Next single = "Will 2K"
(1999)
Misc =Extra tracklisting
Album =Willenium
Type = studio
prev_track = "Uhh"
prev_no = 13
this_track = "Wild Wild West"
track_no = 14
next_track = "The Rain"
next_no = 15Extra tracklisting
Album = Greatest Hits
Type = compilation
prev_track = "Will 2k "
prev_no = 12
this_track = "Wild Wild West"
track_no = 13
next_track = "Nod Ya Head (The Remix)"
next_no = 14"Wild Wild West" is the title of a hip hop song written by
Will Smith as the theme song for Smith's film "Wild Wild West ".Will Smith's 1999 release was recorded specifically for Smith's planned summer blockbuster movie, "
Wild Wild West ". Smith's song became a number-one pop hit on the Billboard Hot 100, and its extendedmusic video , directed by Paul Hunter, was a hit onMTV .Will Smith's "Wild Wild West" single samples
Stevie Wonder 's song "I Wish", with parts of the chorus fromKool Moe Dee 's song as well. Kool Moe Dee re-performs that chorus for the song, with additional guest vocals fromR&B groupDru Hill . The song also features, as an introduction, a brief spoken word conversation between Will Smith and his sonJaden Smith in which Will asks his son what song he should perform next, and Jaden suggests this one.The high-profile music video for the single, running seven minutes and including several dialog sequences, featured Smith,
Kool Moe Dee ,Dru Hill , and guest appearances from Stevie Wonder, and, as their "Wild Wild West" charactersKevin Kline ,Salma Hayek andKenneth Branagh . Fellow popstarEnrique Iglesias also appeared in the video playing a Prince. Moreoever, "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air " co-star and tap dancerAlfonso Ribeiro appeared in the music video as one of the dancers. Other cameos include actorLarenz Tate ,Shari Headley , singer/writer/producer Babyface, and female rapperMC Lyte .The "Wild Wild West" video notably was a star-making vehicle for Dru Hill lead singer
Sisqó , while relegating the other three members of the quartet to the background. Dru Hill memberJames "Woody" Green quit the group on the set of the video, feeling a need to return to hisgospel music roots.Despite its pop success, the song was criticized for both sampling Wonder's song and for its incongruity with the western for which it serves as the theme. It won the
Golden Raspberry Award for Worst "Original" Song of 1999. In an episode of "South Park ",Eric Cartman sings a parody of "Wild Wild West".An "unreleased" remix of this song, said to be remixed by
Jason Nevins , is available through file-sharing programs.Credits
* Written by Kool Moe Dee,
Rob Fusari , Will Smith, and Stevie Wonder
** Contains a sample of "I Wish", written and performed by Stevie Wonder
** Also contains an interpolation of "Wild Wild West", written and performed by Kool Moe Dee
* Produced by Rob Fusari & Mark Wilson
* Lead vocals by Will Smith, Mark "Sisqó" Andrews, and Kool Moe Dee
* Ad-lib vocals byLarry "Jazz" Anthony
* Background vocals byLarry "Jazz" Anthony , Mark "Sisqó" Andrews, Tamir "Nokio" Ruffin, and James "Woody" Green
* Record scratching byDJ Jazzy Jeff
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