Released as the B-side to the hit "Higher Plane," this Kool instrumental tapped into the spiritual vibe of the album and provided inspiration for hundreds of future R&B and hip-hop songs that would sample it.
A few notable uses of the song: DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince in "Summertime" (1991), Ice Cube in "You Know How We Do It" (1993), Adina Howard in "Freak Like Me" (1995), Aaliyah in "A Girl Like You" (1996), Mary J. Blige in "Message in Our Music" (2003), Tinashe in "Wrong" (2015).
Two years after its release, this was used during a quiet scene in Rocky, where Sylvester Stallone feeds his fish - but it was enough to get Kool & the Gang jumping out of their seats in the theater. "Nobody had told us," Gang staff member Cleveland Brown remembered to Billboard. "We were watching this movie about a white boxer. When it came to the scene where Stallone dropped the needle on the record, and 'Summer Madness' started playing, I can tell you we got pretty loud in the theater."
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