Parents Just Don't Understand

"Parents Just Don't Understand" is the second single from DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince's second studio album, He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper. The song won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance at the 1989 Grammy Awards, one of the two songs to do so before the award was discontinued in 1991. It peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100.[1] The song was released as a single in spring 1988. The song was referenced several times in the television show The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The song was ranked number 96 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop, and featured in The Parent Trap, Malibu's Most Wanted and Jersey Girl.

"Parents Just Don't Understand"
Single by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
from the album He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper
ReleasedFebruary 17, 1988
Recorded1987
StudioBattery Studios (London)
GenreGolden age hip hop
Length
  • 4:13 (Radio edit)
  • 5:35 (Album version)
LabelJive
Songwriter(s)Pete Harris, Will Smith, Jeffrey Townes
Producer(s)Harris, Smith, Townes, Bryan "Chuck" New
DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince singles chronology
"Brand New Funk"
(1987)		 "Parents Just Don't Understand"
(1988)		 "A Nightmare on My Street"
(1988)
Audio sample
  • file
  • help
Music video
"Parents Just Don't Understand" on YouTube

Composition

The song's lyrics consists of The Fresh Prince detailing his problems with his own parents, whom he feels do not understand the difficulties of being a teenager. The first verse is a recollection of when he went school-shopping with his whole family, including his brother and their younger sister, at the Gallery Mall. The Prince's mother bought him a whole wardrobe that was way against his style, getting "Zips" shoes instead of Adidas, along with Sha Na Na-style outfits (with a brief mention of Bowzer), bell-bottom Brady Bunch trousers, double-knit reversible slacks, a $20 plaid shirt with a butterfly collar, and the like. His mother insists on buying all the articles of clothing she picked out for her son, in spite of his objections, stating, "You go to school to learn, not for a fashion show." The Prince soon tries to skip school on the first day by faking an illness (the music video shows him heating a thermometer with a lighter) so that he cannot go, with little success. Forced to wear such uncool clothes, The Prince suffers inevitable embarrassment on his first day at school.

The second verse consists of the Prince recalling what happened when he took the family Porsche out for a drive while his parents were on vacation (but didn't have his driver's license yet). He picked up a beautiful young girl and took her to McDonald's. When the Prince floored the accelerator to show how fast the car could go, he was pulled over for speeding, and discovered that the beauty he picked up was a tween runaway. The police arrested him for driving without a license and the Porsche was impounded. The Prince's parents were forced to come home early from vacation in order to bail him out; they angrily assaulted him on the drive home. Nevertheless, the Fresh Prince tells his audience that "parents just don't understand."

Notable cover versions

Lil' Romeo, 3LW, and Nick Cannon recorded a cover for the Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius soundtrack. T-Squad covered the song on their only album T-Squad.[2]

Track listing
7" Vinyl
  1. "Parents Just Don't Understand" – 4:13
  2. "Parents Just Don't Understand" (Instrumental) – 4:06
12" Vinyl
  1. "Parents Just Don't Understand" (Danny D Mix) – 6:20
  2. "Parents Just Don't Understand" (Original 7" Version) – 5:13
  3. "Live At Union Square, November 1986" – 4:03
American 12" Vinyl
  1. "Parents Just Don't Understand" (Extended Mix) – 5:27
  2. "Parents Just Don't Understand" (Single Edit) – 4:13
  3. "Parents Just Don't Understand" (Instrumental) – 4:06
  4. "Live At Union Square, November 1986" – 4:03

Charts
Chart (1988) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[3] 49
Canada Top Singles (RPM) 28
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[4] 13
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[5] 87
US Billboard Hot 100 12
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[6] 10

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[7] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. "DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince". allmusic.com. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  2. T-Squad - Parents Just Don't Understand
  3. "DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince – Parents Just Don't Understand". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  4. "DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince – Parents Just Don't Understand". Top 40 Singles.
  5. "officialcharts.com". officialcharts.com. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
  6. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 161.
  7. "American single certifications – DJ Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince – Parents Just Don't Understand". Recording Industry Association of America.
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