90′s wiki: The Fresh Prince of Bel Air

The Fresh Prince of Bel Air was without doubt a driving force in bringing hip hop from the underground to the mainstream in the 90′s. Taking elements from The Jeffersons, Cosby Show and Different Strokes and coupling them with the infectious personality of young rap star Will Smith, the show was a welcome breath of fresh air when it amazingly premiered on BBC 2 of all channels in the UK in late 1990.  The show is centred on the struggles of streetwise teenager Will, who is uprooted from the ghettos of south Philly to the mansions of Bel Air to live with his rich Uncle Phil and his 3 cousins.

This show embodied the essence of early 90′s hip hop with Will sporting a wardrobe colour matched to the front cover of De La Souls 3 Feet High and Rising, whilst spouting the popular slang of the time. Between Will and best friend and occasional guest star Jazz the unsuspecting audience is slowly introduced to the elements of hip hop; turntablism, beatboxing and break dancing, though Will’s dancing is more Heavy D and the Boyz than Crazy Legs.

Though primarily a family show, the Fresh Prince occasionally touched on more serious topics such as crime, racism and absentee fathers, although a gag was never far away to lighten the tone. By the later series a number of running jokes had been firmly established, Aunt Viv had been replaced, Ashley had grown up and a new family member Nicky had been added but the show was just as popular as ever, avoiding the axe on couple of occasions.

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Popularity: 90% [?]

Edited: September 8th, 2008

Retro round up 1

Yo peeps, this is our first round up of items that prove the 90′s are coming back strong….

Puma West Philly collection

Bringing a new meaning to the phrase ‘fresh kicks’ here are the samples from the new Puma West Philly collection which are based on the cult 90′s TV show the Fresh Prince of Bel Air.

The tongues sport the familiar green and pink logo from the shows opening credits and on the heels there is a feint graf dub of the words ‘West Philly’ which is where the playground that the Fresh Prince was born and raised and spent most of his days was situated.

There’s also a backpack and bright green watch to go with these sneaks that have yet to surface in the shops yet but if you do see them holla at ya boy cos I wanna cop these!!!

Peep em here

and the rest of the range here

Wiley – Summertime Video

This video has everything a 90s guy like me could wish for. Backdrops that come straight of a pair of Zubaz pants, a stack of girls in cycling shorts and a homage to the ‘House Party’ dance off, really what more could you ask for?

Just Blaze – 90′s Flava Vol.1

Roc-a-fella’s premier producer is back with a new mixtape which is all 90′s. Its got a smattering of everything, new jack swing, new school and east coast hardcore. Be warned though, it also has a smattering of his voice every couple of minutes too, but well worth a listen.

On the DL

part 2

Popularity: 61% [?]

Edited: September 6th, 2008