Hypestyle

It's moving into 25 years since the first JJ & FP albums first came out. I hope that some deluxe versions finally get released, even if only online. Sometimes a third-party catalog label steps in, as well. RCA, do the right thing!

I wish the Eminem song was officially released.

January 22?

Rest in Peace, Mr. Avery. On a pure fantasy level, if I could have picked an actor to play my dad, it would be him. On a side note: I guess time will tell whether Janet Hubert-Whitten makes a statement (not that she absolutely has to). I hope, maybe, this can show that often times, life is too short; maybe she can bury the hatchet with Will.

I still want to see an album with LL Cool J, KRS-1... and a Public Enemy Track..

she should do more movies, or a TV show.

I'd put the Spanish interview in the "grain of salt" category-- I read an interview some months ago where Jamie spoke gracefully of Will and his passing on the film, bringing up their time together in the Muhammad Ali film.. here, I think I found it: http://www.celebuzz.com/2012-12-11/jamie-foxx-credits-former-django-unchained-star-will-smith-for-his-acting-career-he-told-michael-mann-ive-got-to-have-that-guy/

I hoped it would be a double LP; with production from some folks he's rarely or never worked with: Jazzy Jeff, DJ Premier, Dr. Dre, Just Blaze, DJ Toomp, and maybe hook back up with Rick Rubin, too. But I'll check it out.

I'm just wondering-- especially after the show became a hit, the song should have just been released as a single, with a full video to it.. I'm not sure why this angle wasn't pursued by Jive..

Excellent film-- it'll go into the long list of "what ifs" in Will's career (i.e., Matrix, etc.) but this type of stuff happens everyday in Hollywood.. FYI- one of the producers on the film is Reggie Hudlin-- a director in his own right (House Party, Boomerang, the Great White Hype, and more); decades ago, Will and Jeff were on the shortlist to be the stars of House Party.. but that didn't work out, and Kid & Play got the nod..

Over the six seasons, it seems like the show ended up suffering from "JJ/Good Times" syndrome. unlike Good Times, here Will was the main character from the beginning, but like Good Times, as the years went on he becomes nearly the exclusive focus, and the rest of the actors get the short shrift in storylines and character development. Uncle Phil: in the early seasons, he was clearly the head of the household, and had an sense of personal and political history that informed his decisions. He experienced Jim Crow racism, he fought for a career as a lawyer during 60's and 70s civil rights struggles. He did not want his children to experience what he and Vivian went through to be educated and have careers of their choice. Whatever aspects of him that embraced the upper-crust lifestyle, he still maintained a sense of personal integrity and was not prone to being Will's foil for its own sake. The children clearly respected his authority, and vivian respected his opinion even when she disagreed. In the later seasons, including after he became a judge, his career became deemphasized as well as his influence in the household. Frequently he existed only for being the butt of food/fat jokes, and his presence was barely felt in many episodes, amounting to one of Jazz's cameos. Aunt Vivian: Early on, her career as a college professor was touched upon on a recurring basis (possibly UCLA, or another major school).. She, like Philip, came from a background of social activism in the 60s and 70s.. She frequently had to remind Will that his hip-hop-derived fetish for certain civil rights icons like Malcolm X didn't mean he really knew much about the man, and Will's fascination with the street life didn't mean he was morally superior or "more black" to those who live the middle-class life. After being replaced by Daphne Reid, Vivian's career was almost totally deemphasized.. she became more of a background character.. And why couldn't she help get Will and Carlton into the college she worked for instead of ULA? Carlton: Early on, Carlton had aspects of the preppy stereotype, but he had aspects of general maturity beneath the stuffed-shirt behavior. But in the later seasons (4 - 6), it seems like Carlton degenerated into a generic nagging 'nerd' scenario, reflexively sucking up to Philip, constantly having bad luck with women (in the earliest seasons he had dates/girlfriends), the hyper-obsession with elevator-music, the 'carlton dance', etc. One could almost say that the producers were trying to turn him into Steve Urkel without being super-obvious. In an episode at the end of season 3 or 4, after reconnecting with his old neighborhood, Will abruptly decides that he misses Philadelphia, and tells Philip that he is staying. In the beginning of the next season, this is not dealt with dramatically at all; instead, a rather dumb 4th-wall sequence is created where Will is kidnapped by van (by NBC employees) and taken back to Bel Air. Will's antics/misadventures become increasingly juvenile in later seasons, despite having spent several years under the Banks' care.. Ashley: Initially portrayed as sweet and well-adjusted (and vulnerable to Will's suggestions), she ends up initially jealous of Nicky and being more of a typical bratty teenager by series end.. Hilary: Even after eventually getting the job as weather girl, then talk-show host, Hilary only barely evolved beyond her ditzy valley girl personality and worldview. Vy/Will's Mom: At the end of season 5, Vy and Lisa's dad ended up in bed together, and married by the end of the episode. In season 6, this is just totally ignored.

Well, now that Jive Records is being closed as a label/brand, I hope that the Jive-era catalog will not be ignored by the label people. That's one thing that a lot of labels tend to do, is not really respect their hip-hop catalogs and history..

http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.17146/title.rca-records-closes-jive-arista-and-j-records/ All too bad. I hope that the catalog of Jive will not end up being ignored here, since lots of classic material is there from the 80s and 90s. Where is the boxed set based around the following: Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince, Boogie Down Productions, Schoolly D, Tribe Called Quest, Steady B?

Green Lantern could get a reboot with Will playing ex-Marine John Stewart..

I thought it was cool for Will to do a movie like this.. but I guess he figured it was too edgy, with the language/racial overtones.. Wild Wild West mostly ignored the racial politics of the Old West..

what is it, exactly?

get some heat from plenty of hitmakers.. Dr. Dre, trackmasters, just blaze, kanye west, rick rubin, neptunes, etc.

we'll see.. one never knows..

cool concept, I think we need to see more "concept albums" like this from hip-hop. Especially from folks like LL and Will, they no longer have anything to prove commercially, per se', or even artistically (more or less).. They can afford to do some high-concept projects despite the "risk"..

Chuck D, KRS-One, LL Cool J, Rakim, Nas. It can be a cool uplifting song, social commentary, and funky..

I'd like to see a handful of progressive producers but don't overdo the 'chinese menu' approach. also Jeff needs to be in the mix for at least a few cuts. I wasn't thrilled with most of Lost & Found. Will needs to go back to sampling! I think the born to reign and lost & found tried to get away from that motif, but when you do something and you do it well, stick with the girl who you brought to the dance.. or however that goes.. Bring back Trackmasters.. get DJ Premier.. Kanye West.. Think outside the box, go for Rick Rubin.. If he wants to go all-out, convince Dr. Dre to do a one-off..

hopefully the ayah album will blow up on the radio..

I may check this out, sounds good.. if tickets aren't through the roof

going back to the 70s and 80s, there were various cartoon series based on successful live-action TV series.. addams family, partridge family (in space), Emergency, Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, Brady Bunch, Mork & Mindy.. I wonder why this was never attempted for the Fresh Prince show.. it could have been interesting.. they could have done a lot more wacky situations in cartoon form than they could get away with in live action..

interesting... Hopefully the last season will be out by the end of the year.. might as well.. What I don't understand is why Lisa was totally ditched in the last season.. also, his mother marrying Lisa's dad is never mentioned again.. it's like the producers were fond of just chucking away everything at the beginning of the season, continuity be darned..