Will Smith gets a lot of flak from other rappers for his clean lyrics. Eminem calls him out by name on “The Real Slim Shady.” But what’s wrong with rap that you can listen to with the whole family, even if you have to explain what “getting jiggy with it” means? Let’s go back to 1988 when Will was known as the Fresh Prince, before he had kids, and he released “Parents Just Don’t Understand,” the first rap song to win a Grammy. The song is a warning to other kids that, “You know, parents are the same, no matter time nor place they don’t understand that us kids are gonna make some mistakes.” I wonder what Will’s take would be on his lyrics today now that he has 3 kids of his own?
The lyrics are clean, the music is catchy, and if you play this for your child you might even be considered cool because by playing this song you’re telling your child that you do understand that parents don’t understand.
