Will Smith has made a long-awaited return to music. He dropped his first album in two decades, Based on a True Story.
Videos by According2HipHop
Released on Friday (March 28), the new LP finds Will addressing various headlines about himself over the years, from his marital issues with Jada Pinkett Smith to the infamous Chris Rock slap at the 2022 Oscars.
Smith’s new album opens with a barbershop skit mocking debates and social media chatter about recent events that have shaped his current image.
“Him and Jada both crazy, girl, what you talkin’ about?” one sings, before another adds, directly alluding to Will’s slap controversy, “You better keep his wife’s name outta your mouth.”
Later Jazzy Jeff also sings, “I heard he won the Oscar but had to give it back, and you know they only made him do that s–t because he’s Black.”
While he never lost his Academy Award, he was banned from all Academy related events, including the Oscars, for 10 years.
On “You Lookin’ For Me?,” he takes a more direct approach.
“Took a lot, I’m back on top, y’all gon’ have to get acclimatеd/ Won’t stop, my s–t’s still hot even though I won’t get nominatеd/ Personal life with my wife, mind your business, it’s complicated,” he raps on “You Lookin’ For Me?”
Will Smith Called Kendrick and Jay-Z Before Album Release
During a recent interview on Sway in the Morning, Smith revealed some words of wisdom offered by Jay-Z and Kendrick Lamar ahead of his release.
“I talked to Jay and I talked to Kendrick. I was like, ‘Hey, I want to get back in music. What’s the advice?’ ”
He recalled Jay-Z telling him, “Don’t fake your story.”
“He was like, ‘You gotta say what’s true for you.’ He’s like, ‘You’ll be looking at the younger rappers and you want that to be true for you, but you don’t live like that.’ He was like, ‘Be true to your story. Tell you story.’”
He went on to share that Jay-Z’s words inspired the name for the album.
As for Kendrick, Smith said he told him to “say that s— you’ve always been f—— scared to say.”
“Basically the same thing. It was like, ‘Be honest.’ It was scary,” the Men in Black star added. “That’s the thing with genre. Make the record you want to make. Don’t try to make the record that you think people will like you for. Make the one that’s authentic.”
