Will Smith returns to music with 'Based on a True Story' | AP interview

Will Smith channeled post-Oscars-slap introspection into his first album in two decades, "Based on a True Story," out Friday. The 56-year-old Hollywood star sat down with AP entertainment journalist Jonathan Landrum Jr. in Los Angeles to talk about the 14-track album and his upcoming tour. He addresses learning from Denzel Washington and Doechii, spirituality, his unique approach to fatherhood, overcoming "brute-iful" life experiences, that 10-year ban from the Academy Awards — and why he's embarking on "the greatest creative run of my entire career." #willsmith #basedonatruestory #hiphop

In this video:
00:00 Introduction
00:09 Lead single "You Can Make It"
01:29 The Reverend
02:24 Spirituality and his grandmother's faith
04:53 Working with Sunday Service Choir
05:41 "Rave in the Waste Land" and next music "seasons"
08:12 Songwriting as self-examination
08:50 "I got the keys to heaven but I earned them things in hell"
09:55 Denzel Washington's advice about the "funky 40s" and "**** it 50s"
10:39 Public image, inner self and his "psychological halfway house"
13:07 DJ Jazzy Jeff and concert tour performances
13:50 Album collaborators and connecting people through art
15:42 "There are only blessings"
16:33 "Things was brute-iful"
18:01 Channeling and exploring "inner energies"
19:38 Doechii and the "purity of joy"
21:04 Parenting and family roles
22:56 Looking inward
23:53 Upcoming film projects "the greatest work I've ever done"
24:51 10-year Oscars ban

The AP News story: https://apnews.com/article/will-smith-based-on-true-story-interview-acff9d0c743df50da7110d7e4d9f143b

Post from AP on March 26, 2025

View Original Post