Will Smith is set to release his first album in 20 years later this month, marking his return to music after he assaulted Chris Rock at the 2022 Academy Awards.
Taking to Instagram, Smith announced that his album "Based on a True Story" would drop on March 28, adding, "Been working on this project for a minute, and I'm itchin' to get it out to y'all."
He also shared the track list, which includes collaborations with Teyana Taylor, his son Jaden, longtime collaborator Jazzy Jeff, and more.
Smith has dropped several singles from the album, such as "Beautiful Scars" (featuring Big Sean and OBanga), "Tantrum" (featuring Joyner Lucas), "Work of Art" (featuring Jaden and Russ), and "You Can Make It," a gospel-inspired track he performed at the BET Awards in June 2024, The Guardian reported.
Smith has kept a relatively low profile following the incident with Rock at the Oscars. During the event, Rock presented an Oscar for Best Documentary and made a remark about the shaved head of Jada Pinkett Smith, wife of Smith, suggesting she could star in a "G.I. Jane" sequel. Pinkett Smith has been vocal about her battle with alopecia.
Smith promptly walked onto the stage and struck Rock across the face. After returning to his seat, Smith angrily shouted, "Keep my wife's name out of your [expletive] mouth!"
The incident resulted in a 10-year ban from the Academy Awards. Netflix also reportedly paused development of "Fast and Loose," a film he was set to star in.
A film released later in 2022, "Emancipation," underperformed at the box office, and Smith — once one of Hollywood's biggest stars, who won a Best Actor Oscar for "King Richard" — spent time away from acting. He made his return in 2024 with the fourth installment of the "Bad Boys" franchise, "Ride or Die," which was a commercial success, grossing over $400 million, well above its $100 million budget.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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