Will Smith channels his post-slap introspection into music on 'Based on a True Story'
Entertainment
In the process, Smith rediscovered a long-neglected creative outlet in music
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Will Smith could have let his infamous Oscar slap be his cinematic fade out with a career bruised, marriage dissected and reputation in a free fall. But instead of retreating, he turned inward for self-reflection.
In the process, Smith rediscovered a long-neglected creative outlet in music, using the mic as a vessel to voice his thoughts after years of prioritizing his Hollywood dominance.
“I’ve taken the last couple of years to really do a deep dive on the parts of me that may or may not been in that level of certainty and asking those deep scary internal questions,” said Smith, an Oscar and Grammy winner, who will release his fifth studio album “Based on a True Story” on Friday. It’s his first music project in two decades since “Lost and Found.”
“It really is the result of my initial self-examination,” he said. “Every song is about some part of myself that I discovered or wanted to explore, something I wanted to share. It’s the most full musical offering that I’ve ever created.”
Smith’s new offering features guest appearances from Big Sean, Teyana Taylor, DJ Jazzy Jeff, his son Jaden Smith, Jac Ross and Kanye West’s Sunday Service Choir. His album weaves in gospel melodies and messages, but he doesn’t call it a full-blown gospel project, despite the success of “You Can Make It,” which soared to No. 1 on the Billboard Gospel Airplay chart.
