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Men in Black (song)

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"Men in Black"
Single by Will Smith
from the album Men in Black: The Album and Big Willie Style
B-side
  • "M.I.B. Main Theme"
  • "Dah Dee Dah (Sexy Thing)" (Alicia Keys)
ReleasedJune 3, 1997 (1997-06-03)
Recorded1996–1997
Genre
Length3:48
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Poke and Tone
Will Smith singles chronology
"Men in Black"
(1997) 		"Just Cruisin'"
(1997)
Music video
"Men In Black" on YouTube

"Men in Black" is the debut solo single of American rapper and actor Will Smith from the 1997 film of the same name, in which he also played the lead role. The song was released by Columbia Records on June 3, 1997, as the lead single from both the soundtrack and Smith's debut solo album, Big Willie Style (1997), and it was Smith's first solo single following his work with DJ Jazzy Jeff. The accompanying music video was directed by Robert Caruso, featuring Smith dancing with an alien.

The song is heard during the film's closing credits, and heavily samples "Forget Me Nots" by Patrice Rushen. Lyrically, Smith discusses the role, function, and duties of the Men in Black as the character Agent J, while Coko of the R&B group SWV provides the chorus and background vocals. "Men in Black" reached number one in several countries and won Smith a Grammy Award in 1998 for Best Rap Solo Performance.

Sample

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"Men in Black" features a sample of, and a re-sung chorus from, "Forget Me Nots" by Patrice Rushen. The line "To help you to remember" is changed to "They won't let you remember", in reference to the memory-erasing "neuralyzer" devices used in the Men in Black film.[citation needed]

Release

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Aside from appearing on the movie's soundtrack, "Men in Black" also appears on Smith's Columbia Records album Big Willie Style. "Men in Black" topped the charts in Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. In Australia, Ireland, and the United Kingdom, "Men in Black" became Smith's second chart-topping song after "Boom! Shake the Room" in 1993, Smith's first solo chart-topping song, and Smith's first chart-topping song released under his real name. "Men in Black" did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100 because it was not released as a commercial single in the United States; at the time, only songs that were commercially released as singles were eligible, but it did top the airplay chart. The music video for the song also appears on the DVD The Will Smith Collection. It was also included in the album All Time Greatest Movie Songs, released by Sony in 1999. It was also featured after the end credits of the VHS release of "Men in Black". It was also covered by Forever the Sickest Kids for the compilation album Punk Goes Crunk & by Alvin and the Chipmunks for the album The A-Files: Alien Songs. An instrumental and short version of the song plays over the closing credits in Men in Black: The Series.

Critical reception

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Larry Flick from Billboard wrote, "Remember when Will Smith was better known as a rapper? That seems like a lifetime ago, doesn't it? Well, he returns to music in excellent form on this lighthearted theme song from the soundtrack to his new movie of the same name. Smith has never been a hardcore lyricist, but he also never been anything less than clever, charming, and shrewdly aware of what the masses will dig. There's no doubt that this jam, which nicks its hook from Patrice Rushen's "Forget Me Nots", will be an outta-da-box smasheroo."[1] In 2017, Billboard ranked "Men in Black" number 100 in their list of "The 100 Greatest Pop Songs of 1997".[2] Pan-European magazine Music & Media said that Smith builds his raps on the song by Rushen "in an instantly appealing way."[3] A reviewer from Music Week gave it three out of five, noting that "Smith raps some rather stodgy sci-fi stuff over Patrice Rushen's 'Forget Me Nots' riff. It will be huge, like the film. And the video is a hoot."[4] Kirstin Watson from Smash Hits gave "Men in Black" a top score of five out of five, saying it "is so cool it'll have you reaching for your black shades pronto. The video features weird alien things dancing along in the chorus line and the former Fresh Prince looking as hot as ever. It's totally rap-tastic and a surefire top three hit!"[5]

Music video

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Robert Caruso directed the music video for the song. It starts with a dark hallway lighting up. Tommy Lee Jones enters from around the corner and begins to explain in a voiceover the purpose of the Men in Black. Will Smith enters with the line: "And we dress in black." There is then a cut to what appears to be an alleyway, a steel box which looks a bit like a commercial refrigerator in the middle. The surface begins to deform and show a glowing light from within. The video then cuts to several scenes of Agents experimenting on alien organisms and technology, with Smith rapping into further detail of the operations of the Men in Black. It soon has him surrounded by MIB agents in a warehouse. In the middle of the dance routine, an alien (Mikey from the film) comes in and screams at Smith. Smith then leads the agents and the alien to do a modified Electric Slide, where the alien slips out in the middle.

After dancing along with the agents, he goes after the alien. The same glowing light from the beginning of the video is then seen in the drivers seat of an SUV with the two female Agents who were with Smith in the vehicle; they speed off just as Smith reaches it. Disappointed, he puts on his sunglasses and takes out a Neuralyzer, pointing it at the camera.

Two versions of the video were made alternating the flash. In one version of the video, the flash takes the viewer back to the empty hallway from the opening scene, effectively erasing the video's contents entirely as if ensuring the viewer doesn't remember what they saw in the video, while in the other, the flash produces a white screen. Just before the flash in both, Smith says, somewhat regretfully, "Sorry".

Track listings

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Personnel

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  • Patrice Rushen, Terry McFadden, Will Smith – writers, composers
  • Coko – backing vocals
  • Matthew Wishart – clarinet, trombone
  • Poke and Tone – drum programming, producer
  • Commissioner Gordon, Tony Maserati – mixing
  • John Shriver – recording
  • Paul Griffin – animation director for "Mikey" (video)
  • Rob Chiarelli - recording engineer & remixer

Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[58] 2× Platinum 140,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[59] Gold 25,000*
Belgium (BEA)[60] Platinum 50,000*
France (SNEP)[61] Diamond 750,000*
Germany (BVMI)[62] 3× Gold 750,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[63] Gold 50,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[64] Platinum 10,000*
Norway (IFPI Norway)[65] Platinum  
Sweden (GLF)[66] Platinum 30,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[67] Gold 25,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[68] 2× Platinum 1,200,000‡

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

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Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United States June 3, 1997
Columbia [69]
United Kingdom August 4, 1997
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • cassette
 [70]
Japan August 22, 1997 CD Sony [71]

References

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  1. ^ Flick, Larry (June 14, 1997). "Reviews & Previews: Singles" (PDF). Billboard. p. 74. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  2. ^ Unterberger, Andrew (June 29, 2017). "The 100 Greatest Pop Songs of 1997: Critic's Picks". Billboard. Retrieved December 12, 2024.
  3. ^ "Airborne" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 14, no. 30. July 26, 1997. p. 17. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  4. ^ "Reviews: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. July 19, 1997. p. 21. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  5. ^ Watson, Kirstin (July 30, 1997). "Singles". Smash Hits. p. 61. Retrieved December 12, 2024.
  6. ^ Men in Black (Australian CD single liner notes). Will Smith. Columbia Records. 1997. 664770 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  7. ^ Men in Black (European CD single liner notes). Will Smith. Columbia Records. 1997. COL 664724 1, 664724 1.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  8. ^ Men in Black (European maxi-CD single liner notes). Will Smith. Columbia Records. 1997. COL 664724 2, 664724 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  9. ^ Men in Black (South African CD single liner notes). Will Smith. Columbia Records. 1997. CDSIN 199 I.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  10. ^ Men in Black (UK CD1 liner notes). Will Smith. Columbia Records. 1997. 664868 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  11. ^ Men in Black (UK CD2 liner notes). Will Smith. Columbia Records. 1997. 664868 5.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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  63. ^ "Dutch single certifications – Will Smith – Men in Black" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved November 20, 2019. Enter Men in Black in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 1997 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
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