DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince was an American hip hop duo from West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Rapper Will Smith (The Fresh Prince) met DJ Jazzy Jeff while trying to make a name for himself in West Philadelphia’s local hip hop scene. After joining forces with Clarence Holmes (Ready Rock C) the team members became local celebrities. Holmes left the group in 1990, and later sued it in 1999. The group received the first Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance in 1989 for “Parents Just Don’t Understand”, though their most successful single was “Summertime” which earned the group their second Grammy and peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 (taken verbatim from Wikipedia).
School is out and it’s a sort of a buzz.
And back then I didn’t really know what it was.
But now I see what have of this.
The way that people respond to summer madness.
Vocabulary
Review these important words and phrases before you listen to the song. Each word has an example sentence and the definition in context to the song.
- unwind (verb) – to relax, especially after a difficult day of work or school. After work, I like to unwind with a dip in the swimming pool.
- groove (noun) – a song, especially an enjoyable one. Clap your hands to the beat of the groove! Come on everybody. Get up and move!
- also a verb – to dance. She likes to groove to the music.
- be/get/run out of control (adjective) – to become impossible to manage or control. My young students are always out of control. They never listen to me, and I really want to scream at them!
- buzz (noun) – a strong feeling of pleasure or excitement. Every Friday, there is a buzz around the office. People cannot wait for the weekend to begin!
- honey (noun) – a slang word for a young, attractive woman. Look at all the honeys here! I hope I don’t say something stupid.
- hustle (verb) – to move very quickly or with a lot of energy and excitement. Many people hustle to the beach in the summer. It’s a very popular place to be.
- sneaks (noun) – short for sneakers, which is a slang word for shoes. Those sneaks look tight! Where did you buy them?
- for old times’ sake (expression) – If you do something for old times’ sake, it means you do it because it is connected to something that happened to you in the past. I used to play guitar in a rock band, but I quit several years ago. I am not a serious musician now, but sometimes I play alone for old times’ sake.
- nostalgia (noun) – the feeling of sadness and pleasure when you think about happy times from the past. Old movies always spark up a wave of nostalgia. I miss my childhood days.
- mess around with somebody (phrasal verb) – to spend time being relaxed and doing something for pleasure. We spent the day messing around in Central Park.
- roll around (verb) – to arrive. Once the evening rolls around, the downtown area will be more exciting!
- also, roll up
Discussion Question
What do you like to do during the summer? Do you have any special traditions when summer rolls up? What do you look forward to? Do you like to mess around a swimming pool with your friends? Please write in the comments below!