This came out in 1999 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Time will tell if Will Smith’s new summer flick does the boffo box office of Independence Day and Men In Black.
But already, there’s little doubt the soundtrack to W3 (my suggested acronym, in keeping with ID4 and MiB) will be a blockbuster. Smith’s title cut, a hammy sandwich of Kool Mo Dee’s cowboy-rap classic and Stevie Wonder’s I Wish, is already in heavy rotation. Several other tracks, most of which continue the homeboys-on-the-range theme, will likely follow, such as Kel Spencer’s I’m Wanted, which samples Bon Jovi, or Dr. Dre and Eminem’s G-rated G-funk Bad Guys Always Die. W3 (hear how that rolls off the tongue?) doesn’t always hit the target — too many ballads and no-names make it a mild, mild ride at times — but it’s still sure to score a pop-chart bull’s-eye.
