I Think I Can Beat Mike Tyson
Encyclopedia
"I Think I Can Beat Mike Tyson" is the first single taken from DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
's third studio album, And in This Corner…. The song was released a single in the summer of 1989. This is the duo's first single to be available on Compact Disc
format.
, Fresh Prince (Will Smith) gets the strange idea that he has managed to find a way to defeat the champ, and manages to convince Don King to arrange a match in two months and DJ Jazzy Jeff to train him. No one gives Fresh Prince any chance – reporters covering his camp are booing (compounded by Fresh Prince's unrealistic brags, such as performing 4 million situps in a minute and throwing a Volkswagen
half a city block), his barber thinks he can beat him, but only if he used a baseball bat (and asks if he can have his shoes once Tyson kills him), and Fresh Prince even hears his own grandmother bet $1,000 against him. As predicted, the fight doesn't go well, and Fresh Prince manages to avoid being punched for a second, only to get hit in the body (at which point, he says to be discreet, "let's just say that my bowels released
"). He stumbles back to his corner, who insist he continue fighting, so he hits DJ Jazzy Jeff and the fight ends. At the end of the video, DJ Jazzy Jeff thinks that, by watching both the Tyson tapes and Fresh Prince in training, that now he could beat Tyson, only to have Fresh Prince say "no one can beat him" and abruptly end the song. Interspersed in the song is a conversation between two older men, Leroy and another unnamed man. The unnamed man claims to have attended a Tyson fight and saw Tyson's opponent's head fly "into the 18th row" while Leroy thinks Tyson is a football player from Montreal (in an extended version of the song, Leroy replies that the other man hadn't been "off the block in 18 years"). Three guest stars appear in the accompanying music video. Mike Tyson
himself shows up as The Fresh Prince's opponent. Don King also appears in the video, and Alfonso Ribeiro
(future co-star of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
) appears as a member of the fighting crew's posse.
12" Vinyl
DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince
DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince is a hip hop duo from West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Vocalist Will Smith met Jeff Townes while trying to make a name for himself in West Philadelphia's local hip hop scene. After joining forces with Clarence Holmes the team members became local celebrities...
's third studio album, And in This Corner…. The song was released a single in the summer of 1989. This is the duo's first single to be available on Compact Disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
format.
Song Information
After watching several tapes of the unbeaten, and seemingly invincible heavyweight boxing champion Mike TysonMike Tyson
Michael Gerard "Mike" Tyson is a retired American boxer. Tyson is a former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles, he was 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old...
, Fresh Prince (Will Smith) gets the strange idea that he has managed to find a way to defeat the champ, and manages to convince Don King to arrange a match in two months and DJ Jazzy Jeff to train him. No one gives Fresh Prince any chance – reporters covering his camp are booing (compounded by Fresh Prince's unrealistic brags, such as performing 4 million situps in a minute and throwing a Volkswagen
Volkswagen
Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...
half a city block), his barber thinks he can beat him, but only if he used a baseball bat (and asks if he can have his shoes once Tyson kills him), and Fresh Prince even hears his own grandmother bet $1,000 against him. As predicted, the fight doesn't go well, and Fresh Prince manages to avoid being punched for a second, only to get hit in the body (at which point, he says to be discreet, "let's just say that my bowels released
Defecation
Defecation is the final act of digestion by which organisms eliminate solid, semisolid or liquid waste material from the digestive tract via the anus. Waves of muscular contraction known as peristalsis in the walls of the colon move fecal matter through the digestive tract towards the rectum...
"). He stumbles back to his corner, who insist he continue fighting, so he hits DJ Jazzy Jeff and the fight ends. At the end of the video, DJ Jazzy Jeff thinks that, by watching both the Tyson tapes and Fresh Prince in training, that now he could beat Tyson, only to have Fresh Prince say "no one can beat him" and abruptly end the song. Interspersed in the song is a conversation between two older men, Leroy and another unnamed man. The unnamed man claims to have attended a Tyson fight and saw Tyson's opponent's head fly "into the 18th row" while Leroy thinks Tyson is a football player from Montreal (in an extended version of the song, Leroy replies that the other man hadn't been "off the block in 18 years"). Three guest stars appear in the accompanying music video. Mike Tyson
Mike Tyson
Michael Gerard "Mike" Tyson is a retired American boxer. Tyson is a former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles, he was 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old...
himself shows up as The Fresh Prince's opponent. Don King also appears in the video, and Alfonso Ribeiro
Alfonso Ribeiro
Alfonso Lincoln Ribeiro is an American actor, director, dancer, game show host, and comedian. While he received attention for his performance in the title role of the Broadway musical The Tap Dance Kid and his appearance as a dancer in a Pepsi commercial featuring Michael Jackson, Ribeiro is best...
(future co-star of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from September 10, 1990 to May 20, 1996. The show stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart teenager from West Philadelphia who is sent to move in with his aunt and uncle in their...
) appears as a member of the fighting crew's posse.
Tracklisting
CD Single- "I Think I Can Beat Mike Tyson" (Radio Mix) - 3:57
- "I Think I Can Beat Mike Tyson" (LP Version) - 4:50
- "I Think I Can Beat Mike Tyson" (Extended Mix) - 6:34
12" Vinyl
- "I Think I Can Beat Mike Tyson" (Radio Mix) - 3:57
- "I Think I Can Beat Mike Tyson" (LP Version) - 4:50
- "I Think I Can Beat Mike Tyson" (Extended Mix) - 6:34