While it is widely reported that Smith turned down a scholarship to attend Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Smith denied this in a Reader's Digest interview stating, "My mother, who worked for the School Board of Philadelphia, had a friend who was the admissions officer at MIT. I had pretty high SAT scores and they needed black kids, so I probably could have gotten in. But I had no intention of going to college." This is corroborated in a Wired interview where he states he never applied to MIT.
Despite the above, when Smith appeared on Inside the Actors Studio, he stated that he was admitted to the "pre-engineering program" at MIT.
I Think I Can Beat Mike Tyson
The Fresh Prince Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hey...hey Leroy...Leroy yeah did you hear about that boy Mike Tyson?
Mike...Mike Tyson he's the boy that played football from Montreal ain't he?
No no you old coop, he a...he a boxer man yeah let me tell ya I went to his fight a couple months ago.
I seen him hit this boy, and he hit the boy so hard his head flew off into the eighteenth row (laughing) they had to get his head out of the eighteenth row
[Prince & Jeff] I was in Jeff's crib one night about eight and we were watchin'a couple of Mike Tyson fight tapes Jeff was like... man, you see how hard Mike's punchin'?
Come on Jeff the other guy was just lungin'
The very next day I gave Russell a ring with J.L. and Omar we all called Don King
I said 'yeah, Don I got a problem
Tell 'em Prince 'yeah what's up? what you sayin? you tryin' to solve 'em?'
'forget the small talk let's get to the nitty gritty' 'me and Mike, two months, Trump, Atlantic City'
Yo, you got this you gonna bust dude up
Yeah, you can be my trainer word up?
I'm rough like a freight train smooth like ice and yo Jeff, straight up, I think I can Mike Tyson
Man, you can beat him, you can beat him yo man, word up yo I put on a couple of pounds man we can do this you can do it
[Newspaper boy:] extra, extra read all about it Fresh Prince challenges Iron Mike Tyson to a fight (laughing) ah he's crazy
Ain't that the boy who knocked the guy's head in the fifthteen row?
Hey Leroy, you read the paper? that boy done lost his mind
[Prince, Barber] there was press conference to see what training I was doing
Before then I had never heard reporters booing
Cameras flashing I was in the middle
I didn't wanna look dumb so I exagerrated a little
I said uh I been training 2o hours a day lifting big old cars and big bails of hay (that's what he's doin')
And I run 10,000 miles every morning thinkin' about Mike and my moment of glory (tell 'em more)
I drink water 20 gallons a pop and I can throw a Volkswagon a whole half block (he can do it too)
And 4 million sit ups...in a minute.... ..I ain't lying I did it (he done it)
The general public thought I was a fool
I was gettin' dissed but I guess that was cool
Well gettin' dissed is never good
But I was even gettin' dissed in my old neighborhood
I was at the corner at the top of my block there was a couple of people standing outside of the barber shop
It was Larwence, my barber, and Franny he yelled out hey, Prince, you can win!
I said 'really?' and I stopped to chat
You could beat him man, if you hit him wit a bat ha ha...you gon' get whipped but can I have your shoes when he break your neck?
Everybody was laughin' out loud I thought at least my own Grandma would be proud
I went to her house and snuck in to surprise her I heard her on the phone (a thousand bucks on Tyson)
[Prince, Ring Announcer] it's fight day and man am I hyped boy I can't wait to see Mike
Boy I'm hyped ready to be my thing Trump Castle Casino
In this corner...weighing in at a mere 165 pounds, the Lighting Rodent, the Fresh Prince! (booing)
And in this corner... the heavyweight champion of the world... Iron Mike Tyson (cheering)
I came out hustling sliding and grabbing slippin' and dippin' hustlin' and jabbin'
For a second I looked good out there but then Mike brought to reality my worst nightmare
One punch, that's all it took (oooh) he hit me in my ribs and my insides shook
Now how can I say this and be a little discreet let's just say that my bowels released
I called timeout and went back to my corner
Said to my coach 'ain't no way I'm goin' the hell back out there, man you can't forget it'
My body's like a punchin' bag and Mike is gonna (hit it)
They tried to make me go meet my doom but I sucker punched my coach and hauled to my dressing room
The next day the headline in the town 'Fresh Prince breaks camp, Tyson wins first round'
Some fool asked why I ran away I said 'a good run is better than a bad stand anyday'
My career is over as far as fightin' but I don't know what made me think I can beat Mike Tyson
2 old men: hey Leroy! yeah did you see the fight?
Did you see the fight?
The..the..the football player?
No the boxer, come on man I was at the fight last night I paid four hundred and seventy fo' thousand dollars for my ticket right... ah, you weren't at no fight I seen you around here last night ..and the boy..the boy ran out the ring you always lying I ain't lying... you lie to your grandkids.. ..I seen it... ...you been lying ever since you was a little kid ...Mike Tyson punched the boy in his ribs, and his leg fell off his leg fell off and it fell over... ...you always lying ...and it knocked the HBO cameraman's camera fell out his hand I said, god damn, I couldn't beleive it Leroy you shoulda been there...you definetly shoulda been there ...I was right next to you playin' checkers
The song "I Think I Can Beat Mike Tyson" by DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince tells a story of Prince boasting about being able to defeat Mike Tyson in a fight. The lyrics are humorous and are presented in a conversational manner, with different characters adding to the narrative. The song begins with Leroy asking about Mike Tyson, to which Prince responds with a story of seeing him hit someone's head so hard that it flew into the eighteenth row. Later, Prince brags about how he could beat Tyson if given the chance, and even tries to set up a fight with him.
The song explores the themes of overconfidence, exaggeration, and the unrealistic pursuit of greatness. Prince's claims of training twenty hours a day, lifting cars and bales of hay, running ten thousand miles every morning, and throwing a Volkswagen a whole half-block are outrageously unrealistic. This exaggeration plays on the idea of the glorification of athletes and the quest for fame and success. Despite his overconfidence, Prince fails miserably in the ring as Tyson only needs one punch to knock him down and cause him to flee the fight.
Overall, the song is a mix of humor and a critique of the mentality of being the best at all costs. It reminds us that sometimes our unrealistic goals can lead to our downfall.
Line by Line Meaning
Hey...hey Leroy...Leroy yeah did you hear about that boy Mike Tyson?
A conversation starter about boxer Mike Tyson between Leroy and someone else
he a...he a boxer man yeah let me tell ya I went to his fight a couple months ago.
Clarifying to Leroy that Mike Tyson is a boxer and sharing a personal experience of attending his fight
I seen him hit this boy, and he hit the boy so hard his head flew off into the eighteenth row (laughing) they had to get his head out of the eighteenth row
Recounting a funny yet violent incident from Mike Tyson's fight where he hit someone so hard that their head went flying into the crowd
man, you see how hard Mike's punchin'?
Amazed by the strength of Mike Tyson's punches while watching his fight tapes with Jeff
Left, right, left, right, another K.O. if that was me I'd a been ok though
Observing Mike's skill and anticipating that one could have survived those punches like oneself
I'm rough like a freight train smooth like ice and yo Jeff, straight up, I think I can Mike Tyson
Arrogantly asserting one's own capabilities to defeat Mike Tyson to Jeff
there was press conference to see what training I was doing
Narrating a press conference held to learn about one's training regime leading up to the fight against Mike Tyson
Cameras flashing I was in the middle
Being the center of attention surrounded by cameras and reporters during the press conference
I didn't wanna look dumb so I exagerrated a little
Confessing to exaggerating about one's training schedule to avoid looking foolish
And I run 10,000 miles every morning thinkin' about Mike and my moment of glory (tell 'em more)
Boasting about running an impossible amount of miles and thinking about winning against Mike Tyson
I was gettin' dissed but I guess that was cool
Taking pride in being ridiculed by others about fighting Mike Tyson
Everybody was laughin' out loud I thought at least my own Grandma would be proud
Hoping for one's own grandmother's pride even though others were mocking one's fight against Mike Tyson
They tried to make me go meet my doom but I sucker punched my coach and hauled to my dressing room
Fleeing from the fight and fighting one's own coach who tried to make one return to the ring
My career is over as far as fightin' but I don't know what made me think I can beat Mike Tyson
Acknowledging the end of one's fighting career and questioning what led one to believe in defeating Mike Tyson
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JEFFREY TOWNES, PETER BRIAN HARRIS, WILLARD C. SMITH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
King-Vis
You can call Will Smith corny or whatever you want, but you can't deny that he's extremely talented!
King-Vis
*****
Ask the haters.
clark4023
+King Vis People who try to ride that bullsh*# bandwagon forget that this guy thrived during a time when you had to be a great MC in order to make it. It's not like now when one hit makes you great. You had to be great in the 80's.
Cam M
he's being himself infintely better then these trying to hard to be tough guys running around instead of being comfortable in there own skin
clark4023
He had a great impact. He made it easy for MC's like kid and play, Dana Dane and Biz Markie to come out and not be so serious. They talked about funny real life issues and not police brutality or poverty. Before him, the closest thing you had was the Fat Boys talking about food. There was no mainstream hip hop in 86. People think that it always existed because it does now.
clark4023
You call it crap, but being in New York, we loved it. We laughed and talked about that was how we acted after we saw the movie. So, it was far from crap. Again, like parents just don't understand, he spoke truth in a funny way. We felt like our parents didn't understand us.
Florida life is the best
This was the best era for hip hop. Story telling, humor and everyone had their own sound.
Brandon H
Back when rap wasn't afraid to be fun
qxtves 💫💜
@JazzFan76 fr
MLBlue30
@qxtves 💫💜 Actually its more about drugs and getting turnt at the club. Every other song is about some new way to get drunk to some shitty dubstep beat.