Album: Homebase (1991)
Charted: 8 4
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  • (Drums please)

    Summer, summer, summertime
    Time to sit back and unwind (summertime)

    Here it is a groove slightly transformed
    Just a bit of a break from the norm
    Just a little somethin' to break the monotony
    Of all that hardcore dance that has gotten to be
    A little bit out of control, it's cool to dance
    But what about the groove that soothes that moves romance
    Give me a soft subtle mix
    And if ain't broke then don't try to fix it (don't try to fix it)
    And think of the summers of the past
    Adjust the bass and let the Alpine blast
    Pop in my CD and let me run a rhyme
    And put your car on cruise and lay back 'cause this is summertime

    Summer, summer, summertime (ooh, summertime)
    Time to sit back and unwind (time to sit back and unwind)
    Summer, summer, summertime
    Time to sit back and unwind (time to sit back and unwind)
    Summer, summer, summertime (summertime)
    Time to sit back and unwind (time to sit back and unwind)

    School is out and it's a sort of a buzz
    But back then I didn't really know what it was
    But now I see what have of this
    The way that people respond to summer madness
    The weather is hot and girls are dressin' less
    And checkin' out the fellas to tell 'em who's best
    Ridin' around in your Jeep or your Benzos
    Or in your Nissan sittin' on Lorenzos
    Back in Philly we be out in the park
    A place called the Plateau is where everybody go
    Guys out huntin' and girls doin' likewise
    Honkin' at the honey in front of you with the light eyes
    She turn around to see what you beepin' at
    It's like the summer's a natural aphrodisiac
    And with a pen and pad I compose this rhyme
    To hit you and get you equipped for the summer time

    Summer, summer, summertime (ooh, summertime)
    Time to sit back and unwind (time to sit back and unwind)
    Summer, summer, summertime
    Time to sit back and unwind (time to sit back and unwind)

    It's late in the day and I ain't been on the court yet
    Hustle to the mall to get me a short set
    Yeah, I got on sneaks but I need a new pair
    'Cause basketball courts in the summer got girls there
    The temperature's about eighty-eight
    Hop in the water plug just for old times sake
    Break to ya crib change your clothes once more
    'Cause you're invited to a barbecue that's startin' at four
    Sittin' with your friends as y'all reminisce
    About the days growin' up and the first person you kissed
    And as I think back makes me wonder how
    The smell from a grill could spark up nostalgia
    All the kids playin' out front
    Little boys messin' 'round with the girls playing double-dutch
    While the DJ's spinnin' a tune as the old folks dance at your family reunion
    Then six o'clock rolls around
    You just finished wipin' your car down
    It's time to cruise so you go to the summertime hangout
    It looks like a car show
    Everybody come lookin' real fine
    Fresh from the barber shop or fly from the beauty salon
    Every moment frontin' and maxin'
    Chillin' in the car they spent all day waxin'
    Leanin' to the side but you can't speed through
    Two miles an hour, so everybody sees you
    There's an air of love and of happiness
    And this is the Fresh Prince's new definition of summer madness

    Summer, summer, summertime (summertime)
    Time to sit back and unwind (and unwind)
    Summer, summer, summertime
    Time to sit back and unwind
    Summer, summer, summertime
    Time to sit back and unwind (and unwind)
    Summer, summer, summertime
    Time to sit back and unwind (sit back and unwind) Writer/s: Alton Taylor, Claydes Smith, Craig Simpkins, Dennis Thomas, George Brown, Hula Mahone, Richard Westfield, Robert Bell, Robert Mickens, Ronald Bell, Willard Smith
    Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 6

  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn this day in 1991 {September 16th} DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince were guests on the syndicated late-night talk show, 'The Arsenio Hall Show'...
    At the time duo's "Summertime" was at position #35 on Billboard's Top 100 chart, seven weeks earlier it had peaked at #4 {for 3 weeks} and it spent eighteen weeks on the Top 100...
    And on July 28th, 1991 it reached #1 {for 1 week} on Billboard's Hot R&B Singles chart...
    Between 1986 and 1993 the duo had thirteen records on the Hot R&B Singles chart, three made the Top 10 with one reaching #1, the above "Summertime"...
    Besides "Summertime", their two other Top 10 records were "Parents Just Don't Understand" {#10 in 1988} and "A Nightmare On My Street" {#9 in 1988}...
  • Jorges from Oaxaca, Mexico"This music is DIFFERENT in the most fast description" (Rap Music, sufrfrace said in the MTV's 10th anniversary RAP tribute). So, versions and samples and mixes or whatever are different too. the options are there and each one has their own choice and taste. I would say Summertime by DJ Jazzy and Fresh Prince is cool, frech, different and a song deceivine heat and maybe some hhot breeze .
  • Yos from Santo Domingo, Dominican RepublicWhy people tend to compare, it's just a perfect match. Great instrument play, great lyrics about happy times in one's city.
  • Rain from Clinton, MdI'm a fan of both versions, although I have to say that K&TG's version is much much more enjoyable because it's longer, deeper and more classy. I could never get sick of listening to it.
  • Kevin from Omaha, NeKool & the Gang's version is 'jazzier' and much deeper...a better song, the fact that it isn't played as much says less about the taste of now, versus the quality of the song...
  • William from New Orleans, LaI like that song.He's much more talented than th average rapper. His version of Summer time is played more than the original,and I've been around long enough to be a judge of both.
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