Before diving back into the music industry, Will Smith reached out to Jay Z for advice, and the rapper’s words ended up inspiring the title of Will’s new album.
The Independence Day star is making his comeback with Based on a True Story—his first album since 2005’s Lost and Found. In a recent interview on Sway in the Morning, Will shared that he made two important phone calls before hitting the studio: one to Jay Z and the other to Kendrick Lamar.
Will recalled asking them both for advice about returning to music, saying, “Before I started, I made two phone calls. I talked to Jay and I talked to Kendrick. I was like: ‘Hey, I want to get back in music. What’s the advice?'”
Jay Z’s advice really stuck with him. “He said, ‘Don’t fake your story,'” Will explained. “He was like, ‘You gotta say what’s true for you.’ He said, ‘You’ll be looking at the younger rappers and you want that to be true for you, but you don’t live like that.’ He was like, ‘Be true to your story. Tell your story.'”
This advice inspired the album title Based on a True Story. Will also mentioned Kendrick Lamar encouraged him to push boundaries, saying, “[Lamar said] say that s*** you’ve always been f****** scared to say.”
Will has said that he’s entering the “greatest artistic creative period” of his life. In an Instagram video, he explained, “The past couple of years, I’ve been doing a very deep exploration of who and what I truly am. The process of this album is really allowing myself to be more honest with myself than I ever have about who and what I actually am.”
The album features singles like “First Love,” “Beautiful Scars,” “TANTRUM,” “Work of Art,” and “You Can Make It,” with collaborations from DJ Jazzy Jeff, Teyana Taylor, and Jac Ross.
Will also reflected on how his return to music came after the 2022 Academy Awards controversy, where he slapped Chris Rock on stage before winning the Best Actor Oscar for his role in King Richard. “A well opened up inside of me, a well of understanding of art and pain… all kinds of things that I didn’t even know were in there,” he said. “After the Oscars, that spiritual investigation continued and a whole world woke up inside that I didn’t even know was there.”
He explained that this period of introspection led to a new creative force, with music being a way to explore and share his inner journey. “A big part of my music now is about that: the ecstatic kind of joy I remember from church when I was growing up; the ability to try to make this place more bearable.”
Will admitted that something new is happening in his life, something that’s pushing him to explore his creativity musically in a deeper way than ever before.