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After the disappointingly uneven And in This Corner..., DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince restarted their commercial momentum with Homebase, which fitted Will Smith's rhymes with up-to-date, radio-friendly production and a much richer overall sound. For the first time, the album's key single wasn't a comic narrative: "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. 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. The smoothed-out R&B background of "Summertime" provides a template for the record's poppier moments, and there's a thumping new club influence on the dancefloor cuts. Lyrically, when he's not trying to move your butt, Smith paints himself as more of a ladies' man, in keeping with his new young-adult persona. If he's still more innocent than LL Cool J, he's throwing out all his best lines on the single "Ring My Bell" and trying to play the field on "A Dog Is a Dog." And there are a few story songs, like "Who Stole the DJ" and "You Saw My Blinker," that benefit from the fresher-sounding beats. While it doesn't have the youthful, old-school charm of He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper, Homebase is a successful reinvention that laid the groundwork for Smith's multimedia stardom as an adult.
© Steve Huey /TiVo
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DJ Jazzy Jeff, Mixing Engineer - Wayne Williams, Co-Producer - Geoff Hunt, Mixing Engineer - Steven George, Engineer - Will Smith, Composer - Will Smith, Lyricist - Chris Trevett, Engineer - Jeffrey Townes, Composer - Jeffrey Townes, Lyricist - Jeffrey Townes, Producer - James Johnson, Composer - James Johnson, Lyricist - Mike Smith, Co-Producer - DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, Performer
(P) 1991 Zomba Recording LLC
Fingers, Producer - R. Mickens, Composer - R. Mickens, Lyricist - R. Bell, Composer - R. Bell, Lyricist - B. Thomas, Composer - B. Thomas, Lyricist - W. Smith, Lyricist - W. Smith, Composer - Richard Westfield, Lyricist - Richard Westfield, Composer - G. Brown, Composer - G. Brown, Lyricist - LaVette, Background Vocal - Chris Trevett, Recording Engineer - DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, Performer - Stephen George, Recording Engineer - Hula, Composer - Hula, Lyricist - Hula, Producer - C. Smith, Composer - C. Smith, Lyricist - K. Fingers, Composer - K. Fingers, Lyricist - A. Taylor, Composer - A. Taylor, Lyricist
(P) 1991 Sony Music Entertainment
DJ Jazzy Jeff, Mixing Engineer - Wayne Williams, Co-Producer - Geoff Hunt, Mixing Engineer - Geoff Hunt, Engineer - Will Smith, Composer - Will Smith, Lyricist - Jeffrey Townes, Producer - Jeffrey Townes, Lyricist - Jeffrey Townes, Composer - Mike Smith, Co-Producer - Craig King, Lyricist - Craig King, Composer - Craig King, Producer - DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, Performer - John Moyer, Engineer
(P) 1991 Zomba Recording LLC
DJ Jazzy Jeff, Mixing Engineer - Wayne Williams, Co-Producer - Geoff Hunt, Mixing Engineer - Steven George, Engineer - Will Smith, Composer - Will Smith, Lyricist - Chris Trevett, Engineer - Jeffrey Townes, Producer - Jeffrey Townes, Lyricist - Jeffrey Townes, Composer - Mike Smith, Co-Producer - DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, Performer
(P) 1991 Zomba Recording LLC
DJ Jazzy Jeff, Mixing Engineer - Wayne Williams, Co-Producer - Geoff Hunt, Mixing Engineer - Steven George, Engineer - Frederick Knight, Lyricist - Frederick Knight, Composer - Chris Trevett, Engineer - Jeffrey Townes, Producer - Mike Smith, Co-Producer - DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, Performer
(P) 1991 Zomba Recording LLC
Fingers, Producer - DJ Jazzy Jeff, Mixing Engineer - George Clinton, Composer - George Clinton, Lyricist - Wayne Williams, Co-Producer - Geoff Hunt, Mixing Engineer - Steven George, Engineer - David Spradley, Lyricist - David Spradley, Composer - Will Smith, Composer - Will Smith, Lyricist - Kenneth Gambrell, Lyricist - Kenneth Gambrell, Composer - Chris Trevett, Engineer - Mike Smith, Co-Producer - DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, Performer - Linda Shider, Lyricist - Linda Shider, Composer - Hula, Composer - Hula, Producer - Hula, Lyricist - K. Fingers, Lyricist - K. Fingers, Composer
(P) 1991 Zomba Recording LLC
DJ Jazzy Jeff, Mixing Engineer - Wayne Williams, Co-Producer - Geoff Hunt, Mixing Engineer - Geoff Hunt, Engineer - Will Smith, Composer - Will Smith, Lyricist - Jeffrey Townes, Producer - Jeffrey Townes, Lyricist - Jeffrey Townes, Composer - Mike Smith, Co-Producer - Craig King, Lyricist - Craig King, Composer - Craig King, Producer - DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, Performer - John Moyer, Engineer
(P) 1991 Zomba Recording LLC
DJ Jazzy Jeff, Mixing Engineer - Wayne Williams, Co-Producer - Geoff Hunt, Mixing Engineer - S. Crudup, Composer - S. Crudup, Lyricist - Steven George, Engineer - Will Smith, Composer - Will Smith, Lyricist - J. McCall, Composer - J. McCall, Lyricist - Chris Trevett, Engineer - Jeffrey Townes, Lyricist - Jeffrey Townes, Composer - Jeffrey Townes, Producer - Mike Smith, Co-Producer - Colonel Abrams, Lyricist - Colonel Abrams, Composer - DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, Performer
(P) 1991 Zomba Recording LLC
DJ Jazzy Jeff, Mixing Engineer - Wayne Williams, Co-Producer - Henry Mancini, Composer - Henry Mancini, Lyricist - Geoff Hunt, Mixing Engineer - Steven George, Engineer - Will Smith, Composer - Will Smith, Lyricist - Chris Trevett, Engineer - Jeffrey Townes, Lyricist - Jeffrey Townes, Producer - Jeffrey Townes, Composer - Mike Smith, Co-Producer - Irving Szathmary, Composer - Irving Szathmary, Lyricist - DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, Performer
(P) 1991 Zomba Recording LLC
DJ Jazzy Jeff, Mixing Engineer - Wayne Williams, Co-Producer - Geoff Hunt, Mixing Engineer - Steven George, Engineer - Will Smith, Lyricist - Will Smith, Composer - Chris Trevett, Engineer - Jeffrey Townes, Lyricist - Jeffrey Townes, Composer - Jeffrey Townes, Producer - Mike Smith, Co-Producer - DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, Performer
(P) 1991 Zomba Recording LLC
DJ Jazzy Jeff, Mixing Engineer - Wayne Williams, Co-Producer - Geoff Hunt, Mixing Engineer - Steven George, Engineer - Will Smith, Lyricist - Will Smith, Composer - Chris Trevett, Engineer - Jeffrey Townes, Lyricist - Jeffrey Townes, Producer - Jeffrey Townes, Composer - Mike Smith, Co-Producer - DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, Performer
(P) 1991 Zomba Recording LLC
Jeffrey Townes, Re-Mixer - Dennis Thomas, Composer - Dennis Thomas, Lyricist - Hula, Producer - Steven George, Engineer - Claydes Smith, Lyricist - Claydes Smith, Composer - Chris Trevett, Engineer - Craig King, Re-Mixer - Fingers, Producer - Robert Bell, Composer - Robert Bell, Lyricist - Mike Smith, Co-Producer - Ronald Bell, Lyricist - Ronald Bell, Composer - Wayne Williams, Co-Producer - Will Smith, Composer - Will Smith, Lyricist - Geoff Hunt, Mixing Engineer - Richard Westfield, Lyricist - Richard Westfield, Composer - DJ Jazzy Jeff, Mixing Engineer - Robert Mickens, Composer - Robert Mickens, Lyricist - Alton Taylor, Lyricist - Alton Taylor, Composer - John Moyer, Re-Mixer - DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, Performer - DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, Vocal
(P) 1991 Zomba Recording LLC
DJ Jazzy Jeff, Mixing Engineer - Wayne Williams, Co-Producer - Geoff Hunt, Mixing Engineer - Steven George, Engineer - Frederick Knight, Lyricist - Frederick Knight, Composer - Chris Trevett, Engineer - Jeffrey Townes, Producer - Mike Smith, Co-Producer - DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, Performer
(P) 1991 Zomba Recording LLC
Album review
After the disappointingly uneven And in This Corner..., DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince restarted their commercial momentum with Homebase, which fitted Will Smith's rhymes with up-to-date, radio-friendly production and a much richer overall sound. For the first time, the album's key single wasn't a comic narrative: "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. 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. The smoothed-out R&B background of "Summertime" provides a template for the record's poppier moments, and there's a thumping new club influence on the dancefloor cuts. Lyrically, when he's not trying to move your butt, Smith paints himself as more of a ladies' man, in keeping with his new young-adult persona. If he's still more innocent than LL Cool J, he's throwing out all his best lines on the single "Ring My Bell" and trying to play the field on "A Dog Is a Dog." And there are a few story songs, like "Who Stole the DJ" and "You Saw My Blinker," that benefit from the fresher-sounding beats. While it doesn't have the youthful, old-school charm of He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper, Homebase is a successful reinvention that laid the groundwork for Smith's multimedia stardom as an adult.
© Steve Huey /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 13 track(s)
- Total length: 00:57:08
- Main artists: DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Jive
- Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap
(P) 1991 Zomba Recording LLC
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