Gettin' Jiggy Wit It

Label

Columbia Records

Genre

Hip hop

Media Type

CD

Duration

3:48

Composer(s)

Samuel Barnes;Bernard Edwards/;Joe Robinson/;Nile Rodgers/;Will Smith

Entered Chart

Feb 28, 1998

Peak Date

Mar 14, 1998

Released

January 26, 1998

Recorded

Unknown

Catalog #

78804

B-Side

"Big Willie Style"

"Jiggy" is a term meaning to be cool and trendy. It's often associated with a style of dress, and in the context of this song means dancing effectively and also making a name for yourself. It also became a term for sex. The song was produced by the team of Jean-Claude Olivier and Samuel Barnes, who were known as Poke & Tone. Poke came up with the title after the team put the track together. "I said we should call it 'Gettin' Jiggy Wit It' and I started doing this cute dance," he said. The title stuck, and when the song became a huge hit, "Jiggy" made the leap from street vernacular to the popular lexicon. This samples the beat from "He's The Greatest Dancer" by Sister Sledge (1979), and the "na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na" hook from a song called "Sang and Dance" by the Bar-Kays (1970). It also incorporates some lyrical elements from the 1980 song "Love Rap" by Spoonie Gee and The Treacherous Three (the "to the east to the west... yes yes y'all" part). Thanks to the samples and interpolation, 12 different writers are credited as composers on "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It." Here's the breakdown: The seven guys who wrote "Sang and Dance," which was six members of the Bar-Kays (James Alexander, Ben Cauley, Larry Dodson, Willie Hall, Harvey Henderson and Winston Stewart) plus the Stax Records songwriter David Porter. Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers, who wrote "He's The Greatest Dancer." They were founders of the group Chic; Rogers enjoyed a career resurgence in 2013 after he worked on the Daft Punk album Random Access Memories. Joe Robinson, who ran Sugarhill Records with his wife Sylvia. Robinson wrote "Love Rap" for Spoonie Gee, who was signed to the label. Samuel Barnes, who was half of the production team Poke & Tone, which produced this track. Will Smith, who wrote the lyrics. The lyrics, "since I moved up like George and Weezie" are a reference to the TV show The Jefferson's and the show's theme song, "Movin' On Up." Will Smith certainly knew his sit-coms - he starred in one called The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air for six years. Smith won the Grammy for Best Rap Solo Performance for this song. The previous year, he won the same award for "Men In Black," which was his first song produced by Poke & Tone and his first release without DJ Jazzy Jeff. According to some sources, this Pop-Rap track was co-written by the New York rapper Nas. His name is not listed on the official credits, although he is listed on two other Big Willie Style tracks: "Chasing Forever" and "Yes Yes Y'all." Nas clarified his small contribution during a 2014 Reddit AMA: "I hung out with Will in the studio," he explained. "And watched him write it. It was a fun studio session, and I said a line or two or three to him. It wasn't that serious. Will Smith wrote that song." The music video, directed by veteran hip-hop director Hype Williams (Missy Elliott's "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)," R. Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly"), was shot throughout the Las Vegas Strip. It won the 1998 MTV Video Music Award for Best Rap Video.

Bring it
Woo
Uh, uh, uh, uh
Haha, haha
What? What? What? What?
Uh

On your mark, ready, set, let's go
Dancefloor pro, I know you know
I go psycho when my new joint hit (woo)
Just can't sit
Gotta get jiggy wit' it, ooh, that's it
Now honey, honey, come ride
DKNY all up in my eye
You gotta Prada bag with a lotta stuff in it (uh, uh, uh)
Give it to your friend, let's spin
Everybody lookin' at me, glancin' the kid
Wishin' they was dancin' the jig
Here with this handsome kid
Ciga-cigar right from Cuba-Cuba
I just bite it
It's for the look, I don't light it
Illway the an-may on the ance-day oor-flay
Give it up jiggy, make it feel like foreplay (woo)
Yo, my cardio is infinite
Ha ha
Big Willie style's all in it

Gettin' jiggy wit' it
(Na-na, na, na, na-na-na-na)
(Na-na, na, na, na-na)
Gettin' jiggy wit' it
(Na-na, na, na, na-na-na-na)
(Na-na, na, na, na-na)
Gettin' jiggy wit' it
(Na-na, na, na, na-na-na-na)
(Na-na, na, na, na-na)
Gettin' jiggy wit' it
(Na-na, na, na, na-na-na-na)
(Na-na, na, na, na-na)

What? You wanna ball with the kid?
Watch your step, you (woo) might fall
Trying to do what I did
Mama, uh, mama, uh, mama, come closer
In the middle of the club with the rub-a-dub, uh
No love for the haters, the haters
Mad 'cause I got floor seats at the Lakers
See me on the fifty yard line with the Raiders
Met Ali, he told me I'm the greatest
I got the fever for the flavor of a crowd pleaser
DJ, play another from the prince of this
Your highness, only bad chicks ride in my whips
South to the West to the East to the North
Bump my hits and watch 'em go off, go off
Yes, yes, y'all, you don't stop (woo)
In the winter or the (summertime)
I makes it hot

Gettin' jiggy wit' 'em
(Na-na, na, na, na-na-na-na)
(Na-na, na, na, na-na)
Gettin' jiggy wit' it
(Na-na, na, na, na-na-na-na)
(Na-na, na, na, na-na)
Gettin' jiggy wit' it
(Na-na, na, na, na-na-na-na)
(Na-na, na, na, na-na)
Gettin' jiggy wit' it
(Na-na, na, na, na-na-na-na)
(Na-na, na, na, na-na)

850is, if you need a lift
Who's the kid in the drop?
Who else? Will Smith
Livin' that life some consider a myth
Rock from South Street to One Two Fifth
Women used to tease me
Give it to me now, nice and easy
Since I moved up like George and Weezy
C.R.E.A.M. to the maximum, I be askin' 'em
"Would you like to bounce with the brother that's platinum?"
Never see Will attackin' 'em (uh-uh)
Rather play ball with Shaq and 'em, flatten 'em
Psyche, kiddin'
Thought I took a spill, but I didn't
Trust, the lady of my life she hittin'
Hit her with a drop top with the ribbon
Crib for my mom on the outskirts of Philly
You? Tryna flex on me? Don't be silly

Gettin' jiggy wit' it
(Na-na, na, na, na-na-na-na)
(Na-na, na, na, na-na)
Gettin' jiggy wit' it
(Na-na, na, na, na-na-na-na)
(Na-na, na, na, na-na)
Gettin' jiggy wit' it
(Na-na, na, na, na-na-na-na)
(Na-na, na, na, na-na)
Gettin' jiggy wit' it
(Na-na, na, na, na-na-na-na)
(Na-na, na, na, na-na), uh, uh

(Na-na, na, na, na-na)
(Na-na, na, na, na-na)

(Na-na, na, na, na-na-na-na)
(Na-na, na, na, na-na)
(Na-na, na, na, na-na-na-na)
(Na-na, na, na, na-na)
(Na-na, na, na, na-na-na-na)
(Na-na, na, na, na-na)
(Na-na, na, na, na-na-na-na)
(Na-na, na, na, na-na)