Yesterday (March 9), Will Smith took viewers back in time as he rapped the lyrics to his 1997 single “Just the Two of Us” from his debut studio album, Big Willie Style, on the track’s instrumental beat paired with drums and guitar play by Ellen Alaverdyan. “Just the Two of Us” was inspired by and sampled Bill Withers and Grover Washington Jr.’s single of the same name. However, instead of being about love between a couple, Will’s version spoke about the bond between a father and son. In the opening scene of the track’s music video, the Gemini Man actor played with his son, Trey Smith. And then, before the song began, Trey told Will, “Now, dad, this is a very sensitive subject.” The rest of the video was filled with scenes of several father and son moments.
View this post on Instagram
Will has slowly returned to social media since the infamous Oscars slap incident with comedian Chris Rock in 2022. On March 2, Will attended his first awards show in over a year. He accepted the Beacon Award at the 2023 African American Film Critics Association Awards. The 54-year-old Philadelphia native was recognized for his efforts in his latest film, Emancipation, where he portrayed a runaway slave known as “Whipped Peter.”
“Emancipation was the individual most difficult film of my entire career. It was all outdoors, that is true,” he said during the opening moments of his speech. Will then went on to talk about a particular day of filming that involved an actor spitting on him. “It was the second day of shooting and 110 degrees… I was in a scene with one of the white actors. The actor decided to ad lib. So we’re doing the scene. I did my line. He did his line. And then, he spit in the middle of my chest,” Will continued. “The actor felt that the ad lib had gone well. So we do take two. I do my line. He does his line — and spits in the middle of my chest again… In the distance, I hear a voice. And Antoine says, ‘Hey, let’s do a take without the spit.’ And in that moment, I knew that God was real.” Will’s role in the 2022 film also earned him the Best Actor award at the 2023 NAACP Image Awards.