For the first 20 years of Will Smith's career, he was nearly as prolific in the acting world as he was in the music industry. Even his initial identity as the Fresh Prince dabbled in both: first as one half of the trailblazing, GRAMMY-winning hip-hop duo with DJ Jazzy Jeff, and later on "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air."
As his movie career began to boom, Smith landed some of his biggest hits — whether it was film tie-ins like "Men in Black" and "Wild Wild West," or his own singles such as "Gettin' Jiggy With It" and "Switch." After 2005's Lost and Found, though, Smith pressed pause on his music. But almost exactly two decades later, he was too inspired to not return to his musical roots.
"The last couple years of my life have been pretty transformative," he said in a video on his YouTube channel, alluding to the controversy surrounding his 2022 Oscars incident. "I started to see life differently. I started to see love differently. I started to see suffering differently. I just couldn't stop it, I couldn't stop the lyrics from coming."
The result is Based on a True Story, a 14-track LP that will see Smith reflecting on the ups and downs of his life and career. "I took my traumas and made it a anthem," he declares on the booming "Tantrum"; as the gospel-tinged "You Can Make It" insists, "Every moment is an opportunity/ Embrace the journey."
While the new album may be his first in 20 years, Smith hasn't let his musical career completely lie fallow. The multihyphenate has gradually worked his way back to making his own music — from collaborating with the likes of Nicky Jam and Yuki Chiba, to starring in a live-action musical, to performing on major stages such as the Latin GRAMMYs and Rock in Rio.
In celebration of Smith's comeback album, as well as his first-ever world tour, catch up on the Fresh Prince's musical adventures since his last record.
Except for a gig at Nelson Mandela's birthday back in 2008, Smith's appearances on the BBC talk show "The Graham Norton Show" marked his first true foray back into the world of music since Lost and Found. His first appearance in 2012 featured him rapping along with the entire audience to the "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" theme song, alongside Take That's Gary Barlow on the keys. He returned a year later to perform a remix of the song with son Jaden and DJ Jazzy Jeff in tow, and as a grand finale he brought out castmate Alfonso Ribeiro to do the famous Carlton Dance.
"Fiesta (Remix)" (2015)
It seems all that time spent in Miami gave Smith a deep appreciation of Latin music, because "Fiesta (Remix)" was his first official release since Lost and Found. Even before "Despacito" initiated a wave of interest in Spanish-language pop, the rapper collaborated with Colombian psychedelic cumbia band Bomba Estéreo in 2015, jumping on a remix of their energetic, EDM-influenced track "Fiesta" alongside Ricky Reed.
Making the return even more special, Smith performed the track with the group at the 2015 Latin GRAMMYs, where it was nominated for Record Of The Year. The next day, they dropped a full EP of remixes for the track, which included the return of DJ Jazzy Jeff.
After "Fiesta" saw Smith and DJ Jazzy Jeff's names on a track for the first time in nearly 20 years, Smith's first solo single post-Lost and Found saw them return to the stage together. While Jazzy Jeff's wasn't listed as an official collaborator on the reggae-EDM hybrid "Get Lit," he assisted Smith for performances in Croatia and the U.K. — their first joint performance in 31 years. Smith documented their reunion in a video he'd later post on his YouTube channel, which he also launched in 2017.
Read More: How DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince Created The Ultimate Prototype For The Producer/Rapper Duo
As he ventured back into music, Smith took to one of the world's biggest stages for his next release: the FIFA World Cup.
For the soccer tournament's 2018 edition, he joined an appropriately global team of musicians including Colombian-American reggaeton sensation Nicky Jam, Kosovar singer Era Istrefi and American producer Diplo to create the cup's official anthem, "Live it Up." The collaborators later performed the song at the closing ceremony in Moscow, where the massive crowd roared as Smith made his entrance onto the field.
Three years after "Fiesta," the musica urbana movement was in full swing. So, naturally, Smith continued to pursue his interest in Latin music by hopping on Marc Anthony's "Está Rico."
The glamorous track also featured a then-rising Bad Bunny, who injected the song with the innovative trap-influenced style that would soon make him a superstar. All three took to the stage at the 2018 Latin GRAMMYs in Las Vegas to perform the song on a swanky, red-lit set flanked by dancers — está rico indeed.
"Icon (Reggaeton Remix)" (2018)
Smith reunited with Nicky Jam for a reggaeton-flavored remix of his son Jaden's bombastic viral track "Icon," his verse boasting his family's good genes: "You know why you was a icon living?/ You was born from a icon living."
Along with being the pair's first musical collaboration, "Icon" also served as the first time they performed together on stage when Will popped up at Jaden's tour opener in Miami. But perhaps the best — or at least funniest — performance of the song is Smith's parody of the "Icon" music video, which he posted to his then-newly minted Instagram after Jaden's debut album, 2017's Syre, hit 100 million streams on Spotify.
While Smith's YouTube content was largely dedicated to funny bits and behind-the-scenes looks into his life, it also occasionally fed fans hungry for new music. A 2018 video of him freestyle rapping in the studio, referencing his movie career ("Y'all be doing features, I be doing features," "I could play Muhammad Ali or a white lady, probably") and alluding to his new "unretired" status, racked up millions of views. Although the video ended with a tease of "new music coming soon," the wait for a new album would continue.
Filling the massive shoes of Robin Williams as the Genie in Disney's live-action remake of Aladdin, Smith didn't just paint himself blue — he also delivered new versions of the animated film's iconic songs for the Guy Richie-directed film. He put his own spin on "Arabian Nights," "Friend Like Me" and "Prince Ali," infusing the classic soundtrack with hip-hop energy and rapping his lyrics.
"Don't Be Afraid to Be Different (Remix)" (2019)
Logic has been known to reference "The Fresh Prince" on tracks like "Still Ballin'" and "Life of a Don," so who better to collaborate with than the Fresh Prince himself? Smith appeared on the remix for the fellow rapper's chiptune-inflected track "Don't Be Afraid to Be Different" back in 2019.
Smith's verse playfully referenced his TV career, interrupting a playful rendition of the "Fresh Prince" theme with a more serious reflection on his success and influence: "Came in the game on my neon fresh/ Won the first rap GRAMMY so I guess I'm blessed/ Come off tours, walk on sets/ Everybody following the trends I set."
Plenty of artists tried to keep themselves busy (and sane) with online performances during the pandemic, and Smith was no exception. The "Fresh Prince of No Fresh Air," as he playfully dubbed himself, joined DJ Jazzy Jeff over Zoom and performed a concert of the group's greatest hits, their first performance together since a 2019 reunion at Smith's 51st birthday party.
"Will (Remix)" (2020)
With such a long and successful career, it's inevitable that Smith would influence other younger artists — including Massachusetts-born rapper Joyner Lucas, whose tribute to the Fresh Prince, "Will," made such an impression on Smith that the man himself decided to hop on the remix.
"If it wasn't for you I wouldn't be the man that I am," Lucas told the star in a conversation on Smith's YouTube channel. The appreciation was seemingly mutual, as the two have continued to collab, with Lucas featuring on Smith's Based on a True Story track "TANTRUM."
Alongside Martin Lawrence, Smith returned to the role of Miami PD detective Mike Lowry in the Bad Boys For Life in 2020. A pandemic-delayed sequel, Bad Boys: Ride or Die, marked a return to the screen and music for Smith after the controversial slapping incident at the 2022 Oscars. The follow-up also resulted in another tie-in track for Smith; he recruited Jamaican dancehall legend Sean Paul for the '90s-tinged "LIGHT EM UP."
"TEAM TOMODACHI (WILL SMITH REMIX)" (2024)
Smith may have teamed up with Japanese rap sensation Yuki Chiba on a reimagining of the hard-edged trap tune "Team Tomodachi," but his feature is less concerned with the Far East and more interested in repping his hometown.
"Straight out of Philly, I came out the gutter/ I still hit the city with all of my brothers," he raps. "I might go to Overbrook, buy me a cheesesteak/ Cause I got all this bread and butter."
As the first-ever winners of the GRAMMY for Best Rap Performance, there was perhaps no one better suited to mark hip-hop's 50th anniversary for the Academy than Smith and DJ Jazzy Jeff. The two reunited on stage during A GRAMMY Salute to 50 Years of Hip-Hop — their first appearance together since the Fresh Prince of Bel Air Reunion special in November 2020 — repping West Philly with custom baseball shirts and performing a medley of their hits including "Miami" and "Brand New Funk."
Read More: A Brief History Of Hip-Hop At 50: Rap's Evolution From A Bronx Party To The GRAMMY Stage
Smith has described Based on a True Story as his "most personal and powerful" music ever; if the gospel-inflected lead single "You Can Make It" is any indication, the album will be quite inspirational. His Sunday Service Choir-backed debut performance of the song at the BET Awards — in which he placed himself in a literal ring of fire like a phoenix reborn from the ashes — was a fitting kickoff to this new phase of his career.
Rock In Rio (2024)
As Smith's official return to music started ramping up, he made his Brazil stage debut with an appearance at the Rock in Rio festival in September 2024. While his set was only 20 minutes, he delivered most of his solo hits as well as Based on a True Story's "You Can Make It" and "Work Of Art," even offering a rendition of "Bad Boys" in Portuguese.
The show served as a tantalizing taste of his upcoming first-ever headlining world tour, which is set to begin this June in Morocco before jaunting across Europe. Judging by this performance, it seems the world is ready for Will Smith — and the Fresh Prince is ready to take over the world once again.