Will Smith will forever be the Fresh Prince, except now, having launched his return to music, the entertainment juggernaut has become a student of the game again.
The Hip Hop pioneer, who won the first Best Rap Performance Grammy with collaborator DJ Jazzy Jeff in 1989, released the visual for his latest single, “Beautiful Scars,” featuring Big Sean, on Thursday (Jan. 30). On Friday (Jan. 31), he joined “Big Boy’s Neighborhood” morning show, where Smith candidly shared that he is embracing having the mindset of a “brand new artist,” not that of an established act who has reached the pinnacles of success in multiple disciplines.
“I’m really scared to make this kind of music,” The Pursuit of Happyness star admitted, speaking of his and the Detroit native’s Matrix-coded track. “Specifically, there’s a thing, there’s a brand that is Will Smith, you know, and the brand is slightly different from the man,” he continued. “The brand is just a really narrow slice of what the man is, and the man has expanded in a way that the brand can almost feel like a prison.”
Smith has explored the convergence of “Will Smith the sitcom and box office sensation” versus “Will Smith the man behind the persona” in past interviews as well as, most notably, in his 2021 memoir “Will.” With “Beautiful Scars,” the lyrics reckon around the concept that life is school in reverse — you are tested and then you uncover the lesson.
The multihyphenate explained, “I’m trying to make my way where, like, the brand has been really good to me, right, it’s just not everything that I am.” Adding, “I’m a whole lot more. I’m trying to find my artistry and my creativity to deliver the broader picture.”
Last year, Smith dropped off new music with his and Sean Paul’s “LIGHT EM UP” for the Bad Boys: Ride or Die soundtrack. He followed up with tracks: “WORK OF ART” with his son Jaden Smith and Russ, “You Can Make It” with Fridayy and Sunday Service, “TEAM TOMODACHI (WILL SMITH REMIX)” and “TANTRUM” featuring Joyner Lucas, leading up to what will mark his first album since 2005’s Lost And Found.
Get into the conversation between Big Boy and Smith below.