I’m aware that The Fresh Prince/Big Will is about as far as one can get from upcoming, unknown talent, but he did save the world from aliens on Independence Day, and he deserves a bit of thanks.  As such, I’m featuring Big Willie Style as my album of the day.

It’s a tad retro, and Keith B-Real’s interludes are simply awful, but in spite of this, there are actually some fantastic tracks on the album.  From Summer Classics like Miami and Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It to a reminder of Will’s unquestionable alien fighting ability in the form of Men In Black, this album’s sure to get you moving!  Add to these head-bopping, finger tapping rap anthems a couple of surprisingly soulful love songs like Chasing Forever and Just The Two Of Us, and you realise that Will Smith’s debut album (post Fresh Prince) is actually pretty good.

I’m aware that a few of you are probably muttering under your breath that one can’t credit Will with the music, given that most of the backing tracks are sampled directly from soul classics such as Stevie Wonder’s Ribbon in the Sky, Patrice Rushen’s Forget Me Nots and Kool and the Gang’s Celebration.  That said, I believe in giving credit where credit’s due, and I honestly believe that compared to the awfully unoriginal sampling on some of today’s hits, the tracks on these albums have been sampled rather repectfully, and given a fresh lease of life to music that deserved better treatment than it was given the first time around (such as Forget Me Nots which became Men In Black).

And okay, okay – some of the lyrics may be a bit spurious, the sampling is obvious and the interludes are a tad irritating, but I’m not claiming that Big Willie Style is the greatest album ever made.  I’m just saying that it’s worth a listen every once in a while.

So this evening, whilst toasting Independence, why not spare a thought for good old Will Smith.  We owe him big!