Will Smith has rapped the Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air theme track over the beat of Missy Elliott’s track ‘Work It’.
As part of Lyrical Lemonade’s Lunch Break Freestyle series, Smith performed a mashup of the theme track over the Missy Elliott beat. He appears to have visited Lyrical Lemonade’s Chicago HQ, as he is also photographed hanging out, playing basketball and acting in a skit.
Smith appears to be promoting his latest album ‘Based On A True Story’ – his first studio album in 20 years – which was released on March 28. It features collaborations with artists such as Teyana Taylor and DJ Jazzy Jeff. and follows on from his 2005 record ‘Lost And Found’. “Been working on this project for a minute and I’m itchin’ to get it out to y’all,” he said.
Watch the clip of Smith rapping the Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air theme track over the beat of Missy Elliott’s track ‘Work It’ below.
Will Smith Performs “The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air” Over The “Work It” Beat 🍋 (LL MASHUP) pic.twitter.com/0xVcfUwZrm
— Lyrical Lemonade (@LyricaLemonade) April 9, 2025
Smith has announced his first-ever headline tour, with shows set to take place in the UK and Europe this summer. The rapper is scheduled to play numerous European festivals, as well as his own headline concerts in Hamburg, Hanover and Frankfurt.
In August, he’ll head to the UK for bill-topping gigs at Scarborough Open Air Theatre, Cardiff’s Bute Park, Manchester’s Victoria Warehouse, London’s O2 Academy Brixton, and The Halls in Wolverhampton. He then wraps up the forthcoming tour with a performance at Zénith in Paris on September 2.
Will Smith’s 2025 UK ‘Based On A True Story’ tour dates are:
AUGUST
24 – Scarborough Open Air Theatre, Scarborough
25 – Bute Park, Cardiff
27 – Victoria Warehouse, Manchester
28 – O2 Academy Brixton, London
30 – The Halls, Wolverhampton
You’ll be able to find any remaining tickets here (UK) and here (Europe).
Jay-Z and Kendrick Lamar gave Smith advice ahead of his return to music. Speaking on the show Sway In The Morning, Smith talked about his preparation for returning to rapping. “Before I started, I made two phone calls,” Smith said. “I talked to Jay and I talked to Kendrick. I was like, ‘Hey, I want to get back in music. What’s the advice?’”
He revealed Jay-Z’s reply: “Don’t fake your story”, recalling: “He was like, ‘You gotta say what’s true for you’. He’s like, ‘You’ll be looking at the younger rappers and you want that to be true for you, but you don’t live like that’. He was like, ‘Be true to your story. Tell your story’”.
He then said that Lamar told him: “Say that shit you’ve always been fucking scared to say… Basically the same thing. It was like, ‘Be honest.’ It was scary. That’s the thing with genre. Make the record you want to make. Don’t try to make the record that you think people will like you for. Make the one that’s authentic”.
In other news, Smith and Doechii have teamed up to recreate the viral ‘Anxiety’ dance, which features choreography from The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air.
