West Philadelphia Legend Will Smith stopped by Classix Philly Wednesday (Mar. 28) after having his childhood street renamed in his honor, to talk about his new album Based on a True Story with Classix’s own Lady B. RELATED: West Philadelphia Street Renamed “Will Smith Way” In Honor Of The City’s Original Fresh Prince
During an intimate sit down that lasted 45 mins, saw the two tell a story from Will Smith’s early days as the “Fresh Prince”, being a humble hungry kid from Overbrook High School, growing into the man he is today.
Smith said he took years to make this album, taking a brief period of isolation to actually get to know himself more than ever before. Taking time out to look himself in the mirror became the most transformative works he’s done to date.
“What this album will really represent is that there are new things that I discovered, as I got to take an honest look at myself, and not only show the greatest parts of myself,” Smith said. “To actually start to be honest and give my real testimony. I think the songs will represent a new flavor, because there’s a lot of things in here that I didn’t really know about myself.”
Smith also the charted #1 on the Billboard gospel charts with his song You Can Make It. He talked about how his first time ever charting under the inspirational genre wasn’t intentional, and a direct result of authenticity and being vulnerable with himself and God
“The [song] was an idea — like one of the first things that got revealed to me is the idea that life is hard for everybody” Smith said. “When we’re in our individual thing, we think it’s just us, it’s everybody… I don’t have to know you personally to know you’re going through something, I just want my eyes to say ‘You can make it’… I wanna be part of the reason you step back from the ledge, I don’t wanna be part of the reason you get shoved over.”
Lady B and Will Smith also talked about old times at Overbrook High, The Philly vs. New York ‘Battle of Hip-Hop World Supremacy’, Family life, and what’s next for the Fresh Prince.
Check out Based on a True Story: An Intimate Q+A with Will Smith below!
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Check out moments from “Will Smith Day” Below!
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