Today’s song of the day is “I Wish” by Skee-Lo, an acclaimed American rapper.

The hit single was the lead single for the album of the same name. It peaked at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America after selling over 600,000 copies in the United States alone.

Fun Facts:

• The single “I Wish” was released independently from the album with the same name. The album was released on July 27, 1995, while the song came out on April 10, 1995.
• Skee-Lo was born Antoine Roundtree on March 27, 1975, in Chicago, Illinois. The talented American rapper wrote the lyrics and performed the song through Scotti Brothers Records.
• The song got special attention because it did not include explicit language, which was unusual in the gangsta rap genre at the time. 
• The song also performed well in other countries, reaching the #4 spot in Sweden and Norway, #5 in Finland, and #6 in the Netherlands.
• “I Wish” also performed well in Switzerland (10), Germany (14), New Zealand (14), the UK (15), Belgium (25), and France (25).
• Skee-Lo and Walter Kahn played the role of the producer during production, showing the artist’s vast talent in the music industry.
• “I Wish” was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance at the 38th Annual Grammy Awards. Unfortunately, it did not win, losing to Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise.“
• The lyrics have been described as self-deprecating, with the artist reflecting on various personal shortcomings that he blames for his non-existent or failing love life.
• Just 5 months after the release of “I Wish,” Skee-Lo left the industry because of a dispute with his record company. Skee-Lo claimed Sunshine Record took all credit and profits from his I Wish album, and he refused to make any more music. He eventually won rights to the song after years of legal battles. 
• Skee-Lo co-wrote Youngstown’s “I’ll Be Your Everything” for the Inspector Gadget soundtrack. 

Lyrics 

Hey, this is radio station W S K E E

We’re takin’ calls on the wish line

Making all your wacky wishes come true

Hello

I wish I was little bit taller

I wish I was a baller

I wish I had a girl who looked good

I would call her

I wish I had a rabbit in a hat with a bat

And a six four Impala

I wish I was like six-foot-nine

So I can get with Leoshi

‘Cause she don’t know me but yo, she’s really fine

You know I see her all the time

Everywhere I go and even in my dreams

I can scheme a way to make her mine

‘Cause I know she’s livin’ phat

Her boyfriend’s tall and he plays ball

So how am I gonna compete with that

‘Cause when it comes to playing basketball

I’m always last to be picked

And in some cases never picked at all

So I just lean up on the wall

Or sit up in the bleachers with the rest of the girls

Who came to watch their men ball

Dag y’all, I never understood, black

Why the jocks get the fly girls

And me I get the hood rats

I tell ’em scat, skittle, scabobble

Got hit with a bottle

And I been in the hospital

For talkin’ that mess

I confess it’s a shame when you livin’ in a city

That’s the size of a box and nobody knows yo’ name

Glad I came to my senses

Like quick, quick got sick, sick to my stomach

Overcometh by the thoughts of me and her together

Right? So when I asked her out she said, I wasn’t her type

I wish I was little bit taller

I wish I was a baller

I wish I had a girl who looked good

I would call her

I wish I had a rabbit in a hat with a bat

And a six four Impala

I wish I was little bit taller

I wish I was a baller

I wish I had a girl who looked good

I would call her

I wish I had a rabbit in a hat with a bat

And a six four Impala

I wish I had a brand-new car

So far, I got this hatchback

And everywhere I go, yo I gets laughed at

And when I’m in my car I’m laid back

I got an 8-track and a spare tire in the backseat

But that’s flat and do you really wanna know

What’s really whack, see I can’t even get a date

So, what do you think of that?

I heard that prom night is a bomb night

With the hoodrats you can hold tight

But really tho’ I ‘m a figaro

When I’m in my car, I can’t even get a hello

Well, so many people wanna cruise Crenshaw on Sunday

Well, then I’ma have to get in my car and go

You know I take the 110 until the 105

Get off at Crenshaw tell my homies look alive

‘Cause it’s hard to survive when your livin’

In a concrete jungle

And these girls just keep passin’ me by

She looks fly, she looks fly

Makes me say my, my, my

I wish I was little bit taller

I wish I was a baller

I wish I had a girl who looked good

I would call her

I wish I had a rabbit in a hat with a bat

And a six four Impala

I wish I was little bit taller

I wish I was a baller

I wish I had a girl who looked good

I would call her

I wish I had a rabbit in a hat with a bat

And a six four Impala

I wish I was a little bit taller

I wish I was a baller

I wish I was a little bit taller y’all

I wish I was a baller

I wish I was a baller

I wish I was a baller

Hey, I wish I had my way

‘Cause everyday would be a Friday

You could even speed on the highway

I would play ghetto games

Name my kids ghetto names

Little Mookie, big Al, Lorraine

Yo you know that’s on the real

So if you’re down on your luck

Then you should notice how I feel

‘Cause if you don’t want me around

See I go simple, I go easy, I go greyhound

Hey, you, what’s that sound?

Everybody look what’s going down

Ah, yes, ain’t that fresh?

Everybody wants to get down like dat

I wish I was little bit taller

I wish I was a baller

I wish I had a girl who looked good

I would call her

I wish I had a rabbit in a hat with a bat

And a six four Impala

I wish I was little bit taller

I wish I was a baller

I wish I had a girl who looked good

I would call her

I wish I had a rabbit in a hat with a bat

And a six four Impala

I wish, I wish, I wish

Source: Musixmatch