| "Gettin' Jiggy wit It" | ||||||||||
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| Single by Will Smith | ||||||||||
| from the album Big Willie Style | ||||||||||
| Released | January 27, 1998 | |||||||||
| Format | CD single | |||||||||
| Recorded | 1997 | |||||||||
| Genre | Rap, Funk | |||||||||
| Length | 3:48 | |||||||||
| Label | Sony | |||||||||
| Writer(s) | Nasir "Nas" Jones, Samuel Barnes, Bernard Edwards, Joe Robinson, Nile Rodgers, Will Smith | |||||||||
| Producer | Poke & Tone, L.E.S. (co-prod.) | |||||||||
| Certification | Gold (RIAA) | |||||||||
| Will Smith singles chronology | ||||||||||
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"Gettin' Jiggy wit It" is a single by Will Smith from his album Big Willie Style. Released in early 1998 and co-written by Nas, it was Smith's first hit produced by Poke & Tone, who replaced his long-time partner Jazzy Jeff, though the record-scratching techniques of Jazzy Jeff can be heard in the song.[1] The record spent three weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart from March 14, 1998. This song also won a Grammy Award in 1999 for the Best Rap Solo Performance.
It was ranked the 68th greatest song of the 1990s by VH1. "Gettin' Jiggy wit It" Hit Number 1 on March 11, 1998. However, it was ranked at #19 on the list of AOL Radio's 100 Worst Songs Ever in 2010[2]
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The song samples the Sister Sledge song "He's the Greatest Dancer" and The Bar-Kays song "Sang and Dance". The line "since I moved up like George and Weezie" is a reference to the TV show The Jeffersons as well as the show's theme song, "Movin' On Up" by Ja'net Dubois. The "mama-uh, mama-uh, mama come closer" line is a reference to the song Soul Makossa by Manu Dibango (specifically the version adapted by Michael Jackson in Wanna Be Startin' Somethin''s final bridge).
The connotations associated with the expression getting jiggy were heavily influenced by this single. The term went from being used to acclaim one's fashion or style towards being synonymous with dancing, and eventually back to the original association with sexual connotations.[3] Will Smith has attested in an interview[4] that his inspiration to alter the meaning for the purpose of the song came from his association of the term "jiggy" with "jigaboo", a derogatory term for African-Americans, which made the literal meaning of the title "getting African-American with it" and which was meant to reference the popular folk-myth of an innate sense of rhythm in black folks. The co-opting of a once offensive word also was racially empowering.[4]
Two remixes produced by Jermaine Dupri surfaced. The first version uses the same lyrics from the album and features a female chorus (available on a CD Single). The second version contains brand new lyrics by Will Smith with guest raps by Big Pun, R.O.C. & Cam'ron, with additional vocals by Jermaine Dupri. Version 2 is now available only at the iTunes Music Store.
DJ Screw created a "Chopped and Screwed" version of the song. Jam band Phish covered the song on their 1999 album Hampton Comes Alive. The song was also included in ESPN's compilation album Jock Jams, Volume 4.
The 1997 music video was directed by Hype Williams and was filmed at various hotels on the Las Vegas Strip, including the New York-New York Hotel & Casino, The Mirage, and the foyer of the Luxor Hotel.
Gettin' Jiggy wit It won the 1998 MTV Video Music Award for Best Rap Video. The song was also nominated for four additional awards, including Best Choreography, Viewer's Choice, Best Dance Video, and Video of the Year, but these further nominations to were lost to Madonna for her song Ray of Light'.
The video for the 2006 internet sensation "Chacarron Macarron" by El Chombo contains similar elements to the "Jiggy" video, including Smith's shiny-blue sweatsuit, floral-print suitjacket and the actual "Jiggy" dance itself.
| Charts | Position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[5] | 1 |
The song as well as the phrase "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It" has been used and parodied in popular culture ever since its release. In the animated MTV series Daria, characters can be seen dancing to the song, in an episode released mere weeks after the song's release. In the 1999 film Superstar, lead character Mary Catherine Gallagher gets advice from Jesus Christ (played by Will Ferrell) telling her to "Get jiggy wit it, Na na na na na na". The song is also featured in the video game Backyard Football '08.
The song has also been spoofed in radio shows, including The Chris Moyles Show and WTKS-FM's radio show The Monsters In The Morning, where the song was renamed "Chicken Weenie With It".
In the Xbox Live Arcade version of Banjo-Kazooie, there is an achivement you earn by earning a jiggy named "Getting Jiggy With It".
The song has become somewhat of a theme-song for JS Giguere, goaltender for the Colorado Avalanche. "Gettin Jiggy Wit It" plays at Pepsi Center whenever Giguere stops play after making a spectacular save. Giguere's nickname throughout his NHL career has been infact, "Jiggy".
| Preceded by "Angel" by Joée |
Canadian RPM Dance number-one single February 2, 1998 (1 week) |
Succeeded by "Broken Bones" by Love Inc. |
| Preceded by "Together Again" by Janet Jackson |
Canadian RPM Dance number-one single March 2, 1998 (1 week) |
Succeeded by "Broken Bones" by Love Inc. |
| Preceded by "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion |
Billboard Hot 100 number-one single March 14, 1998 – March 28, 1998 |
Succeeded by "All My Life" by K-Ci and JoJo |
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