Will Smith quickly addresses the infamous Chris Rock Oscars slap on his new album Based on a True Story, which dropped on Friday.
The opening track, “Int. Barbershop — Day,” kicks off with the line: “Will Smith is canceled.” The song, featuring DJ Jazzy Jeff and B. Simone, showcases a freestyle exchange of opinions and rumors about Smith. One voice questions, “Who the f— Will Smith think he is?” while another says, “I ain’t never going to forgive him for that shit he did.”
Smith stirred controversy after slapping Rock onstage during the 2022 Oscars after a joke was made about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. The actor walked up, slapped Rock, and then shouted from his seat, “Keep my wife’s name out of your f—ing mouth!” Smith later won the Oscar for Best Actor for his role in King Richard. “Int. Barbershop — Day” addresses the incident directly with lyrics like, “I heard he won the Oscar but he had to give it back/ And you know they only made him do that shit because he’s Black.” While Smith didn’t have to return his Oscar, he was banned from Academy events for 10 years and resigned his membership, issuing an apology.
The song also references the moment with the line: “Him and Jada both crazy girl, what you talkin’ bout?/ You better keep his wife’s name out of your mouth.” On the second track, “You Lookin’ for Me?”, Smith raps, “Took a lot, I’m back on top/ Y’all gon’ have to get acclimated/ Won’t stop, my shit still hot/ Even though I won’t get nominated.”
Though Smith’s ban from Academy events doesn’t impact his eligibility for future nominations, it seems unlikely he’ll be nominated soon. Based on a True Story is Smith’s first full solo music project in two decades, following 2005’s Lost and Found. However, it’s not his first major release since the slap—he also starred in Apple’s Emancipation and the box office hit Bad Boys: Ride or Die with Martin Lawrence.
