What Is the Will Smith Halloween Song? Why Is No Music Video of the Track Available Anywhere?

Will Smith sold millions of records before he ventured into acting. Back in those days, his partnership with DJ Jazzy Jeff became a well-known duo in the hip-hop world. Although their PG-rated raps during the ’80s often faced criticism for not being aggressive or urban enough- especially when compared to the popular hip-hop of the time- their friendly, approachable image still attracted a wide range of fans. But that does not mean the Philly rap duo was without their fair share of controversies. 

In fact, one major controversy caused the duo to lose one of their most legendary production, often considered a Halloween classic.

Will Smith’s old Halloween track’s legal controversy

Will Smith and DJ Jazzy Jeff really knew how to create some excellent hip-hop, especially in the early days of their careers. In 1988, the duo dropped their second studio album, ‘He’s the DJ, I’m the Rapper’, which featured one of the greatest Halloween anthems of the decades to come- ‘Nightmare on My Street.’ However, the track quickly found itself in controversies, becoming the target of a copyright infringement lawsuit from New Line Cinema, the owners of the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise that inspired the Smith song.

New Line Cinema had already commissioned a licensed Freddy Krueger rap track called ‘Are You Ready for Freddy’ by the Fat Boys and claimed the two songs were in direct competition. They feared that the music video for ‘A Nightmare on My Street’ would steal some thunder from the Fat Boys’ song, leading to a standstill in negotiations for official authorization. However, although the song never saw the light of day, a copy of the music video managed to stick around even after decades. 

Three decades later the controversial music video was finally revived back on YouTube.

Nightmare on My Street made a comeback in 2018

After the track ‘Nightmare on My Street’ and its music video were pulled from release, it faded into the distant memory of the few lucky souls who caught it that first week- and maybe lived on in the hazy recollections of a VHS tape that DJ Jazzy Jeff had. But in 2018, 30 years after it was filmed, the music video made its comeback just in time for Halloween. 

Finally getting to see the music video after all those years was a huge win for fans of Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, the hip-hop duo that keeps reuniting every now and then. The video has since racked up over three million views on YouTube, and the track’s resurgence is once again cementing its status as a Halloween classic after all this time.

What do you think about Will Smith’s Halloween classic? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!