Big Willie Style

Big Willie Style is the debut solo album by American rapper and actor Will Smith. It was released on November 25, 1997, by Columbia Records. The album was primarily produced by Poke & Tone, with other contributors including L.E.S. and Smith's frequent collaborator DJ Jazzy Jeff. The album was the first to be released by Smith since 1993's Code Red, the last by the duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince. Five singles were released, including Smith's first US Billboard Hot 100 number one, "Gettin' Jiggy wit It".

After releasing five albums with DJ Jazzy Jeff, Smith turned his focus to acting and appeared in such films as Bad Boys and Independence Day before returning to the studio in 1996. The following year he starred in Men in Black, for which he recorded the song of the same name and topped the singles charts in several countries. Big Willie Style was released later in the year, reaching the top ten of the US Billboard 200, the UK Albums Chart and several other international charts.

Recording and production

Recording for Big Willie Style took place mainly in New York City with producers Poke & Tone and L.E.S. – four tracks each were recorded at The Hit Factory ("Y'all Know", "Chasing Forever", "Miami" and "Just Cruisin'") and Right Track Studios ("Gettin' Jiggy wit It", "Candy", "Yes Yes Y'all" and "Big Willie Style"). Three tracks ("Don't Say Nothin'", "I Loved You" and "It's All Good") were recorded at DJ Jazzy Jeff's A Touch of Jazz Studios in Smith's hometown of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and "Just the Two of Us" was recorded at Pacifique Recording Studios in Los Angeles, California with producer Curtis "Sauce" Wilson. All four of the "Keith B-Real" skits (including "Intro") were recorded by Jean-Claude Olivier – Poke of Poke & Tone – at The Hacienda in Los Angeles, California, and were co-produced by Smith. Speaking about the lyrics on Big Willie Style, Jamie Hunter of Rolling Stone identified themes including multiculturalism and monogamy, commenting that Smith tells "the larger story of rap values tweaking the American dream, of how he's come to terms with the conflict between the neighborhood and the global cineplex". originally released on Men in Black: The Album. The title track to the homonymous film was a commercial success, topping singles charts in Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, New Zealand, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, where it remained atop the chart for four weeks. charting at number 23 on the UK Singles Chart. "Gettin' Jiggy wit It" was released on February 10, 1998, as the third single from the album to great commercial success – it became the first single by Smith to top the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, and also reached the top ten in numerous other regions. "Just the Two of Us" and "Miami" were released as the final two singles from the album in July and November 1998, respectively, and both enjoyed mild commercial success in the US by reaching the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100;

By July 2000, Big Willie Style had been certified nine times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, indicating nine million shipped units in United States. According to Nielsen, US sales stand at six million sold copies, as of 2013. The album is also certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association, indicating Australian sales of over 35,000 units, double platinum by the British Phonographic Industry, indicating sales in the UK of over 600,000 units, and six times platinum by Music Canada, indicating Canadian sales of over 600,000 units.

Critical

Media response to Big Willie Style was mixed. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of website AllMusic awarded the album four out of five stars, praising Smith's "trademark ... friendly, humorous pop-rap" style, which he pointed out had been modernised since his releases with DJ Jazzy Jeff. Smith won again at the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards, receiving awards for Best Male Video and Best Rap Video for "Just the Two of Us" and "Gettin' Jiggy wit It", respectively, as well as nominations for Video of the Year, Best Dance Video, Best Choreography and Viewer's Choice, all for "Gettin' Jiggy wit It". "Miami" won the award for Best Male Video and received nominations for Best Special Effects and Best Cinematography at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards.

Smith won his third and fourth Grammy Awards for his work on Big Willie Style – "Men in Black" won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance at the 40th Grammy Awards in February 1998, and Smith retained the award the following year at the 41st Grammy Awards, when he won for "Gettin' Jiggy wit It". At the 26th American Music Awards in January 1999, he was nominated in the categories of Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist (which he lost to Eric Clapton) and Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist (which he won), while the album was nominated for Favorite Pop/Rock Album and Favorite Soul/R&B Album, both of which it won. Also in 1999, Smith received three NAACP Image Awards – Entertainer of the Year, Outstanding Music Video (for "Just the Two of Us") and Outstanding Rap Artist, and was named Favorite Singer at the 1999 Kids' Choice Awards.

In 2000, music television network VH1 compiled their 100 Greatest Dance Songs list, including Smith's Big Willie Style single "Gettin' Jiggy wit It" at number 100.

Track listing

;Notes

"Men in Black" features additional vocals by Coko
"Just Cruisin'" features additional vocals by Tichina Arnold

;Sample credits

|align="center"|1

Year-end charts

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

!scope="col"|Chart (1998)

!scope="col"|Position

!scope="row"|Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)

|70

!scope="row"|Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)

|50

!scope="row"|French Albums (SNEP)

|41

!scope="row"|UK Albums (OCC)

|34

!scope="row"|US Billboard 200

!scope="row"|US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)

|20