March 31, 2025
‘Earlier than I began, I made two telephone calls,” Smith mentioned. “I talked to Jay and I talked to Kendrick.’
Earlier than Will Smith accomplished his first new hip-hop album in 20 years, Based mostly on a True Story, he referred to as two hip-hop heavyweights to get some much-needed recommendation: Jay-Z and Kendrick Lamar.
At a listening session that came about in Smith’s hometown of Philadelphia, Sway within the Morning‘s hosts, Sway Calloway and Heather B., spoke with Smith about his newest album.
“Earlier than I began, I made two telephone calls,” Smith advised the viewers. “I talked to Jay and I talked to Kendrick. I used to be like, ‘Hey, I need to get again in music. What’s the recommendation?’”
Jay-Z merely mentioned, “Don’t faux your story.”
Smith elaborated. “He was like, ‘You gotta say what’s true for you.’ He’s like, ‘You’ll be wanting on the youthful rappers, and also you need that to be true for you, however you don’t reside like that.’ He was like, ‘Be true to your story. Inform your story.’”
Lamar’s recommendation to Smith: “Say that sh** you’ve all the time been f**king scared to say.”
“Mainly, the identical factor,” Smith added. “It was like, ‘Be trustworthy.’ It was scary. That’s the factor with style. Make the file you need to make. Don’t attempt to make the file that you simply assume folks will such as you for. Make the one which’s genuine.”
It’s exhausting to imagine given his big-screen success, however Smith first grew to become a family title as a rapper. His hip-hop persona, The Contemporary Prince, debuted in 1985. A profitable file, “Dad and mom Simply Don’t Perceive,” together with his accomplice and deejay, DJ Jazzy Jeff, adopted a number of years later.
Then got here every little thing else. In 1990, Smith landed on a success tv present, The Contemporary Prince of Bel-Air, and have become one of the vital fashionable and highest paid film stars, thanks to a few consecutive hits within the mid-90s: Unhealthy Boys, Independence Day, and Males in Black.
You’ll be able to try the total dialogue under:
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