Will Smith announces new album and shares Big Sean collaboration
Will Smith has announced that his new album, Based on a True Story, will be released in March. It will be his first in 20 years following 2005’s Lost and Found, which featured hit singles ‘Switch’ and ‘Party Starter’.
To coincide with the news, Smith has also released his new single, ‘Beautiful Scars‘, collaborating with Big Sean and OBanga over production from Omarr and LaXoskeleton.
Taking things back to his roots, Smith raps in the first verse, “Fly as a eagle, fresh outta Philly/ Yeah, I still rep the city/ Mirrors on the wall worth half a billi’/ ‘Cause I’m a icon/ Somebody you could base your life on/ That you should place your sights on/ Shot on Canons and Nikons/ Turn the cameras and lights on.”
Although the tracklist for Based on a True Story is currently unknown, Smith released a single called ‘Work of Art’ with Russ and his son, Jaden, in July last year. Before that, he dropped ‘You Can Make It’ with Fridayy and the Sunday Service Choir, along with ‘Light Em Up’ alongside Sean Paul for the Bad Boys: Ride or Die soundtrack.
Speaking to BFA Collective in July, Smith revealed he was working on a “powerful” new album that he believed was his most personal to date. “Over the past year and a half, I’ve been in the studio,” he said. “I have a project that is the most personal and powerful music project I’ve ever done. The idea of the music is, ‘Dance in your darkest moments.’”
Smith discussed the material even more in September, detailing a gospel sound and the honesty in the music. “The last couple of years have been a real soul-searching experience for me,” he told Get Up! Mornings with Erica Campbell. “I had to move past my superhero persona and dig into something more authentic … It’s about the parts of me where I’m scared or confused. It’s from a place of real honesty.”
He continued, “I don’t see it as just making a gospel record. It’s more about what feels true to me and what can help others. I grew up in the church, and that background influences everything I do. My grandmother played Mahalia Jackson every day. Performing in the church choir was my first real experience with music.”