The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song

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"Yo Home to Bel-Air"
File:Cover from the 7" vinyl single "Yo Home To Bel-Air".jpg
Artwork for Dutch and German releases
Single by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
Released September 21, 1992 (1992-09-21)
Recorded 1990
Genre East Coast hip hop
Length 2:58
Label Jive
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) DJ Jazzy Jeff
Script error: The function "ucfirst" does not exist. singles chronology
"The Things That U Do"
(1992)		 "Yo Home to Bel-Air"
(1992)		 "I Wanna Rock"
(1992)

"Yo Home to Bel-Air", informally known as "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme",[1] is a song performed by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince. It is the theme song to the NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.[2]

Music for the song was written by Quincy Jones (who also served as the TV show's executive producer). Later Smith would change some lyrics to his liking.[3] Lyrics were composed by Will Smith, performing under his stage name "The Fresh Prince", and the song was produced by Jeffrey Townes under his stage name "DJ Jazzy Jeff".[4]

The song was released as a single in the Netherlands and Spain by Jive Records in 1992, with "Parents Just Don't Understand" as its B-side,[4] and it was re-released in 2016 by the record label Enjoy the Ride.[5] It became a hit in these countries, peaking at number three in the Netherlands and number two in Spain, and it received a Silver sales certification in the United Kingdom in February 2018. The song appeared on DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince's Greatest Hits album, along with a number of compilation albums.[6]

Theme

Lyrically, the song is storytelling narrative,[7] describing how its protagonist was "born and raised" in West Philadelphia, but after a violent encounter there was sent to live with family in Bel Air, Los Angeles. As one account maintains, the protagonist "raps about his mother sending him to live with his aunt and uncle because she was afraid that he would fall victim to [his] tough West Philadelphia neighborhood".[8] It has thus been described as an example of the tendency of rappers to "present pathological perspectives of their own communities".[8] The song further "explains how a boy from the ghetto would end up living in Bel-Air", and thereby "ushers in a fantasy" of an implausible scenario in which a poor person escapes to wealth.[9]

Single track listing

7" vinyl

A-side – "Yo Home to Bel-Air" (7" Radio Mix) – 3:23
B-side – "Parents Just Don't Understand" – 5:12

12" vinyl

A-side

  1. "Yo Home to Bel Air" (Extended Version) – 5:18
  2. "Yo Home to Bel Air" (7" Radio Mix) – 3:23

B-side

  1. "Yo Home to Bel Air" (Summertime Mix) – 5:25
  2. "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" – 2:57

CD single

  1. "Yo Home to Bel Air" (7" Radio Mix) – 3:23
  2. "Parents Just Don't Understand" – 5:18

Reception

The single was released exclusively in the Netherlands and Spain in 1992. In the former country, it spent 10 weeks on the Dutch Top 40, peaking at number three.[1] In Spain, it debuted at number two, its peak, and stayed in the top 20 for seven weeks.[10] Although it was not released in the United Kingdom, the song earned a Silver sales certification from the British Phonographic Industry in February 2018 for sales and streams of over 200,000.[11]

An article on the MTV.co.uk website stated about the song, "Say what you want, but considering the sitcom wrapped up over 20 years ago and people are still able to start spitting out those lyrics on cue, its lasting appeal is undeniably impressive."[12] Tom Eames of Digital Spy ranked the song 3rd in a list of 25 sitcom theme songs.[13] and Rolling Stone readers ranked the song 6th out of a list of 10 television theme songs.[14]

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
United Kingdom (BPI)[11] Silver 200,000

xunspecified figures based on certification alone
double-daggersales/streaming figures based on certification alone

References

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External links

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 47, 1992" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Dutchcharts.nl – DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince – Yo Home to Bel-Air" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Jeremy Orlebar, Jonathan Bignell, The Television Handbook (2007), p. 90.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Jennifer A. Sandlin, Brian D. Schultz, Jake Burdick, Handbook of Public Pedagogy: Education and Learning Beyond Schooling (2010), p. 225.
  9. ↑ Rinaldo Walcott, "'It's My Nature': The Discourse of Experience and Black Canadian Music", in Joan Nicks and Jeannette Sloniowski, eds., Slippery Pastimes: Reading the Popular in Canadian Culture (2002), p. 271.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Enter The Fresh Prince of Bel Air in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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