Rappers Show Some Punch

Hip-hop stars D.J. Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince’s new album, due Oct. 31, is called “And in This Corner”--and aptly so. The band’s first single (and video) is a hilarious rap ditty called “I Think I Can Beat Mike Tyson.” The concept is simple: Somehow convinced that he can take on The Champ, the Fresh Prince calls up Don King and gets him--and Donald Trump--to stage a bout in Atlantic City (both Tyson and The Champ are in the video). After taking one ferocious punch, the Fresh Prince calls time out: “I went to my corner and said to my coach, ‘There’s no way I’m going back out there!’ ” As with most bouts, the most excitement came with the pre-fight press conference, where the Prince cockily tells reporters: “I’ve been training 20 hours a day lifting big old cars and big bails of hay, I drink water, 20 gallons a pop, I could throw a Volkswagen a whole half-block . . . “ Our favorite part of the tale describes the Prince checking out his neighborhood’s sentiments. His friend, Laurence the Barber, tells him:

“Hey Prince, you could win, man,

If you hit him over the head with a baseball bat,

You gonna get wrecked--can I have your shoes when you break your neck

I thought at least my own grandma would be proud,

I went to her house, snuck in and surprised her,

I heard her on the phone, saying,

‘A thousand bucks on Tyson.”’