Synopsis

Set on New Year's Eve 1999, the video follows Will Smith as he hosts a millennium party with K-Ci, DJ Jazzy Jeff and a crowd of celebrity guests. Smith unveils a time machine and sends the party through a series of musical eras, from the 1920s and 1940s to the funk-heavy 1970s and a futuristic year 2222. When the device malfunctions, the guests are dropped into increasingly elaborate historical settings, turning the countdown into a playful tour through pop culture.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video premiered in September 1999 and runs for approximately five minutes, making it substantially longer than the single version.

• Its production was completed in roughly one month. Principal photography took place about five weeks before the November 1999 release of Smith's album "Willennium," after which the effects work was completed at Industrial Light & Magic.

• The concept was developed through collaboration between Smith and the video's creative team. The time-travel premise was built around the idea that understanding the past helps explain where the future is headed.

• The visual style changes with each period. The 1920s sequence uses a grainier, flickering black-and-white look, while later sections move through period costumes, dance styles and futuristic effects.

• Smith reportedly had only four or five days to learn the video's dances, including the demanding Lindy Hop sections, while he was also filming a movie with Robert Redford in Atlanta.

• DJ Jazzy Jeff, Eve, Tisha Campbell-Martin and Duane Martin appear among the celebrity cameos, alongside K-Ci.

• The video was conceived as something closer to a short film than a standard performance clip, using spoken dialogue and an extended narrative to connect its musical set pieces.

• The song itself incorporates elements of The Clash's "Rock the Casbah," making the video's journey through different musical eras a visual counterpart to the track's cross-generational approach.