It looks as if Will Smith’s recent rap verse on a remix of Bomba Estéreo’s song, Fiesta, was a primer for more musical things to come: the actor and artist has revealed that he is plotting his rap comeback.
Speaking on Zane Lowe’s Beats 1 radio show, Smith announced that he has more than 30 newly recorded songs, telling Lowe there are “six or seven [tracks] that I really, really like, that I’m trying to get the ideas to come out right. I’m shaking the rust off, knocking the dust off.”
The former Fresh Prince also stated that he is “terrified” about the prospect of returning to music, and is “pretty certain” that he will embark on a world tour in the summer of 2016, alongside DJ Jazzy Jeff.
During his first interview about music in 10 years, Smith also talked about the concept of failure (following his film flop After Earth), and described the way in which the hip-hop industry has changed since the late 80s, when he and Jazzy Jeff released breakthrough album He’s the DJ, I’m the Rapper.
“I’m from the era of 16 bars, hook, 16 bars, hook, bridge, hook, out,” he said. “I’m definitely interested in pushing the envelope of spitting – how far can you go? I’ll keep giving it a shot up until I’m 70 or 80 years old.
“I’m just trying to still find that voice; I have so many things that I wanna say. I’m struggling with saying them in a way that fits the flavour of music that I tend to like.”
Smith also described how he has enlisted a team of young artists and “philosophers” to help him on his musical journey, but touched on the fact that getting older does not hinder creativity, referencing Dr Dre and Run the Jewels: “I guess 40 is the new 30,” he said.
