Wild Wild West (feat. Dru Hill & Kool Mo Dee) - Album Version With Intro

This was written for the 1999 movie Wild Wild West, a big-budget production starring Will Smith, Salma Hayek and Kenneth Branagh. In the film, Smith plays Jim West, a dashing cowboy secret service agent in an enchanted version of the Old West. The movie is based on the TV series of the same name that ran from 1965-1969 with Robert Conrad in the title role. The lyrics are mostly about how Jim West isn't a man to be messed with. There are some allusions to the plot, including some references to the villain, Arliss Loveless. The movie made almost $50 million its opening weekend but dropped off quickly when word got out about how bad it was. Smith has cited it as the film he most regrets working on.

Just as the movie is based on an existing franchise, the song is built from the bones of Stevie Wonder's 1976 hit "I Wish," and Kool Moe Dee's 1987 track "Wild Wild West." Wonder's song supplies the perky rhythm that plays throughout. Kool Moe Dee's song lends the hook, and also the line "Break out, before you get bum-rushed." Both artist got onboard, with Wonder appearing in the video and Kool Moe Dee featuring on the track, recording new sections so his song didn't need to be sampled. He also appears in the video.

Will Smith had pulled off another big movie/song combo in 1997 with Men In Black, in which he starred alongside Tommy Lee Jones as terrestrial alien fighters. That film was a box-office smash, and "Smith's title track" was a #1 hit. The movie was directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, who also directed Wild Wild West and was integral on getting Smith on board.