Will Smith spoke Complex’s Speedy Mormon regarding the Bad Boys actor’s net worth. The question is a bit intrusive but fair, although there’s no easy way to answer that.
Net worth can include many factors, and the average top 1 percent American probably can’t answer it without his or her accountant or investment banker standing there. Even still, Smith took the net worth question. After Mormon pressed Smith a bit, they deflected rather than getting into dollars and cents.
Will seems to laugh it off, saying, “He didn’t really keep track of that stuff.” To be fair, this isn’t a confirmation or denial. Will went further, saying that when he was coming up in Hollywood, he was all about making money. Not so much now, though.
Interestingly, he said he is in the downsizing phase of life now, but now all he wants to do is “give, give, give” in the second half of his life. He said, “worldly things no longer fulfill them,” being people after they hit 50.
Here’s when he got deep. He said this part of his life is scary because, as he puts it, Smith realized “no relationship, no money, not even his kids, can make him truly happy anymore.”
The philosophical Smith unpacked further, saying, “That happy is internal, full frontal contact with your dark knight of the soul, and you reconcile that you gotta make happy in here. You gotta make happy in here with none of that stuff. You gotta take happy to the people you love — you can’t try to get it from them. … It’s not for the faint of heart.”
I guess money isn’t everything if you believe Will Smith.
It’s been two years since the “slap heard round the world,” but the fallout continues for Will Smith– this time as his and wife Jada’s charitable foundation, the Will And Jada Smith Family Foundation, appears to be shutting down due largely to a drastic drop in donations following the 2022 altercation with Chris Rock.
An in-depth report by Variety found that tax records show that the organization’s revenue (which was funded largely by celebrity and corporate donors such as American Airlines and CAA) plummeted from $1,760,000 in 2020 and $2,138,660 in 2021 to $365,870 in 2022. As of 2022, the foundation did not employ any paid staff members. Publicly available financial records also show that the foundation had incurred over $3400 in bank overdraft fees in 2022. (All data was found in a ProPublica report, which is available to the public on their website.)
The foundation’s last social media posts were made on Instagram and Facebook in December of 2022.
The organization had also come under scrutiny for their significant donations to two smaller unknown charitable organizations- Rebecoming and World Rebirth Foundation, neither of which appears to have been an active organization for at least two years. (Other donations went to Big Brothers Big Sisters, the American Film Institute, and other well-known reputable charitable organizations.)
The only two major donors in 2022 came from an entity called “the WJS Trust” for $200,000 and Westbrook Media for $165,870.
As of Tuesday, neither Will nor Jada had made a public comment regarding the situation. Will, however, promoted his upcoming installment in the Bad Boys Franchise series (which is due for release in June).
According to the foundation’s website, “the Will & Jada Smith Family Foundation was founded in 1996 with the goal of making the world “better because we touched it.” Since then, WJSFF has invested millions of dollars and invaluable resources to accelerate the growth of initiatives that focus on deepening individual and collective empowerment.”
The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air was not only one of the defining TV shows of the ’90s, but it was the springboard Will Smith used to go from rapper to acting superstar. However, it looks like Smith actually wasn’t the only hip-hop figure considered for the role, as De La Soul was apparently in the mix, too.
On their new Apple Music show Art Official Intelligence Radio With De La Soul (as HipHopDX notes), Posdnuos and Maseo spoke with guest Queen Latifah about the show. Posdnuos noted, “A lot of people don’t know, yo: the Fresh Prince thing was offered to us.”
He continued, “They want us to do this? Russell [Simmons] was like, ‘Yo, y’all need to try out. Go out there.’ We was like, ‘Nah. We do rap and stuff.’ Honestly, we were scared. Seriously, we were scared.” He also joked, “And sh*t, I could have been Will Smith. I could have got married to Jada. Damn.”
Based on Posdnuos’ recounting of events, it’s not clear if just one of the group’s members would have been chosen for the Smith role, with the other two possibly getting other roles, or if the show would have had a different structure entirely with all three starring. Whatever the case, it’s a fun alternate reality to think about.
Here’s a movie to be excited about … Bad Boys 4 is currently in production, and someone leaked a set photo on the Twitterverse, now officially called “X.”
Even People reported the leak on their official X account, but it’s out there, and Will Smith is apparently on set and in character with This is Us star Melanie Liburd in what appears to be a wedding scene. So check this: Liburd was announced as a part of the cast to play a new character named Christine.
There’s no official word about who Christine is in the story, but it’s clear she’s some love interest if we’re to believe our eyes, but who knows? Some misdirection could be at play here, but that’s just speculation. But something has been going on since Smith’s Det. Mike Lowrey’s character and Liburd’s Christine are kissing during this scene. So maybe Smith’s character, who’s historically been a lady’s man, is possibly hopping over the broom, but we’ll have to wait and see.
Bad Boys 4 is aiming for a June 14 release, so it’s safe to say production may be winding down and likely heading into post-production.
What’s cool is Bad Boys 4 is being directed by the creative team Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah. Also, in the report from People, the fourth installment will also star Vanessa Hudgens, Eric Dane, and Alexander Ludwig. Let’s not forget Martin Lawrence will co-star alongside Smith, playing Det. Marcus Burnett. But Tasha Smith is replacing Theresa Randle as Marcus’ wife, Theresa. Interesting but that happens.
Wedding or not, we’re excited for Bad Boys 4, and it’s great to see Will Smith back starring in a big franchise again.
MMWatch EXCLUSIVE Will Smith, 55, and Melanie Liburd, 36, KISS and GET MARRIED while filming final scenes on the Miami set of Bad Boys 4pic.twitter.com/u8lKCKGUMS
In a recent interview about his new Netflix series, The Vince Staples Show, the Long Beach rapper gave a profound answer to what seemed on the surface to be a relatively straightforward question. “Every character is you,” he said. “I think that’s what gives us nuance.”
Now, he was responding to a question about how his show character — who is ostensibly a fictionalized version of himself — differs from the genuine article. But the thing is, his answer could be applied more broadly — not just to Vince Staples, or even to any actor/character combination, but to the very idea of representation itself.
We love TV because we see ourselves in the characters and situations onscreen. This is what gives those depictions their authenticity, what pulls us in, what engages us. This goes doubly for Black folks, who so rarely see ourselves and our lives onscreen that practically any representation can feel like a breath of fresh air.
Hip-hop, which marked its “official” 50th birthday last year, has had a profound effect on that representation. These days, Black audiences see themselves most clearly in boundary-pushing shows like The Vince Staples Show and Atlanta, but those shows are only the latest in a proud lineage of Black TV shows that wear their hip-hop influences on their sleeves.
Shows like The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air and Living Single proved our favorite musicians could transition to screen stardom, while shows like Empire and The Breaks followed the behind-the-scenes inner workings of the business of hip-hop music (with an engrossing helping of drama to help them along), as shows like The Rap Game and Rhythm + Flow offered a path to stardom for real-life aspirants. A few years ago, I wrote about the hip-hop sketch comedy shows that also gave the culture a greater platform.
From Fresh Prince to Vince Staples, here’s a look at how hip-hop has pushed the boundaries of Black TV.
Sitcoms
In many ways, hip-hop’s legacy of extending the boundaries of television started with sitcoms (there’s a reason the title of this piece marks those two shows as bookends). Will Smith, the titular Fresh Prince of Bel Air, was the first rapper with a regular role in a scripted TV series, let alone a starring one. While it was the existing stardom from his and DJ Jazzy Jeff’s first album Rock The House that got his foot in the door, it was his acting chops that proved he belonged in Hollywood — and helped open the door for future rappers turned sitcom stars like Queen Latifah (Living Single), LL Cool J (In The House), Eve (who had her own eponymous show in 2003), Kid Cudi (How To Make It In America), and even Method Man and Redman (Method & Red, which ran for one truncated season on Fox in 2004).
The groundwork these shows laid allowed for the newer, more experimental approaches of shows like Atlanta and The Vince Staples Show, which drew inspiration from more offbeat shows like Curb Your Enthusiasm, but paired them with hip-hop sensibilities. Atlanta, for instance, takes sharp detours in format and setting, sometimes opting for documentary-style episodes or standalone anthologies, which have been praised for moving not just Black TV but television as a whole forward.
Drama
The golden laurels for putting hip-hop on TV in a drama format almost certainly go to Empire, which took the dysfunctional family workings of classic soap operas like Dynasty and updated them to suit the trappings and lifestyle of a successful entertainment family, complete with a patriarch with a lengthy rap sheet. You can see shades of Succession, as well as star turns from both aspiring and established rappers. No doubt, the show’s success (including a slew of primetime Emmy Award nominations) opened the door for future network TV swings such as Queens. The theme of sisterhood from the latter carries over to Rap Sh!t, which chronicled the rags-to-riches story of a Miami rap duo inspired by City Girls.
Meanwhile, hip-hop’s fertile 50-year history offers a wealth of fascinating stories about its birth (The Get Down), development (The Breaks), and the biographies of some of his biggest stars (Wu-Tang: An American Saga). Meanwhile, rapper-turned-mogul 50 Cent has built an entire cinematic universe, Power, filling it with rappers like Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, Freddie Gibbs, and Joey Badass.
Competition
Naturally, with the popularity of musical competitions like American Idol and The Voice, similar competition shows would focus on hip-hop, as the odds of succeeding on other shows can be slim (The X Factor eliminated teen rapper Astro, who nevertheless went on to have a solid film and TV career himself, including initially being cast on Euphoria, although he later turned the role down). One of the first rap-focused shows was 2003’s The Next Episode, which was produced by Showtime and Interscope Records to take advantage of the fervor surrounding Eminem’s film debut 8 Mile.
And while that show’s results would prove less than satisfactory, future efforts have produced genuine stars. Jermaine Dupri’s The Rap Game, which aired on Lifetime from 2016-2019, is notable for launching the career of Latto, as well as featuring future standouts like Flau’Jae. Meanwhile, Netflix’s Rhythm+Flow saw the rise and breakout of D Smoke, who went on to receive a Grammy nomination for his debut album Black Habits. The show is set to return in 2024.
Reality
As much as reality shows are looked down on as “trash TV,” there’s no denying their popularity — or their ability to share details of our favorite entertainers’ lives. Growing Up Hip Hop chronicles the lives of second-generation hip-hop stars, while a whole bunch of stars, from Snoop Dogg to Rev Run, have their own shows about their respective family lives and the often wholesome bonds that maintain them throughout their hectic lives.
Of course, no hip-hop reality show is better known or more engrossing than Love & Hip-Hop, the long-running series chronicling the ins and outs of romance in the rap scenes of several major cities. While many come for the mess, the show is responsible — at least in part — for the rise of one of the most notable names in rap: Cardi B, who spent several seasons in the cast of Love & Hip Hop: New York, becoming a breakout fan favorite and giving her the launching platform for one of the most successful careers in rap for a woman ever.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
It’s fair to say Will Smith is doing A-OK with the announcement of Sugar Bandits, an action film he will star in and executive produce. As reported by Variety, Sugar Bandits is based on the book Devils in Exile by Chuck Hogan; Smith plays an Iraq War veteran who becomes part of a team of other vets taking Boston’s drug trade.
Variety stated the film is described as “high-octane action thriller.” Hogan will pen the script, which he used as the co-writer for The Strain screenplay with Guillermo del Toro and penned the script for The Town starring Ben Affleck.
Smith is the executive producer under Westbrook Studios alongside Westbrook’s Jon Mone and Ryan Shimazaki. Also producing are AGC Studios’ Stuart Ford and 3 Arts Entertainment’s Richard Abate. ICYMI Smith has been busy with the next Bad Boys on the way next summer, not to mention the highly anticipated sequel to I Am Legend.
Will Smith’s former assistant, Brother Bilaal, is not worried about a threat from Jada Pinkett Smith about being sued for revealing a secret sexual relationship between the actor and Duane Martin. Returning to Tasha K’s Unwine with Tasha K, Bilaal is giving a deadline for the lawsuit.
“Jada, listen, in two weeks, if you don’t sue me in two weeks, if Tasha K will have me, I’m back here and I’m dropping evidence,” Bilaal said. “You said I extorted you, you said it was a money shakedown, you said a lot of things about me. Jada, you a bald-head liar and a drug addict.”
Previously, Bilaal stated he walked into a dressing room where he saw Smith on the receiving end of anal sex with Martin.
“I opened the door to Duane’s dressing room and that’s when I see Duane having anal sex with Will,” Bilaal said. “There was a couch and Will was bent over the couch and Duane was standing up killing him, murdering him. It was murder in there.”
Kanye West was on a first class flight from Dubai to Los Angeles over the weekend and guess who he ran into? Will Smith. The two A-list supertars were on the way back to the states.
According to HotNewHipHop, Will Smith spoke at the Red Sea International Film Festival in Saudi Arabia. Ye is believed to have been putting the finishing touches on his album.
The two posed for an image together with an unidentified woman
Will Smith aka “The Fresh Prince”, has publicly acknowledged that he was attempting to sound like Rakim on his 1991 smash hit “Summertime” when both of the legends attended CBS’ Grammy Salute to 50 Years of Hip-Hop. While backstage, Smith told the R that he was purposely trying to mimic his style for the classic summer tune.
“I was absolutely trying to sound like you on ‘Summertime,’” Will admitted, garnering a grin from the 55-year-old living legend. He went on, “Because I had been screaming all night, and I couldn’t get my happy-go-lucky high voice. And [producer] Hula just said, ‘Yo, just gimme that Rakim s***.’”
This is great — Will Smith finally tells Rakim he was trying to sound like him on “Summertime”
For years the urban legend was that Rakim ghostwrote the song for Will, when in fact, it was written by the legendary MC Juice & recorded at the old Jive Records studios in Chicago pic.twitter.com/0hCQ3c3axh
Rakim said that “Summertime” was a track that was supposed to be included on their debut album, but timing kept the song off of the Eric B. and Rakim’s epic LP Paid In Full.
The clip of the Rakim/Will Smith interaction can also be seen on a seven-minute, behind-the-scenes special of the CBS presentation on YouTube.
Will Smith to the Grammy’s stage, rocking his Philadelphia Phillies jersey, reuniting with DJ Jazzy Jeff for a medley of their classics. Questlove introduced the two.
“In a year and a night full of hip-hop moments, this is a big one,” says Questlove. “I grew up idolizing these two from my hometown of Illadelpho. They were the first artist to ever receive a Grammy award for hip-hop. Back then, they weren’t invited to perform or accept their award on camera, which led to the hip-hop community sitting things out that year. But thankfully, a year later, their hip-hop invitation did show up and they did become the first hip-hop group to ever perform at the Grammy Awards. And tonight, as a fan, as a friend, from way back in Philly, let’s welcome to the Grammy stage, the incomparable, the amazing, the legendary, DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince!”
The duo performed “Brand New Funk,” “Gettin Jiggy With It,” “Miami,” “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” theme song, and “Summertime.”
