Will Smith is ready to return to his roots.
On Friday, March 14, the multi-hyphenate announced that his first full-length album in 20 years, Based on a True Story will be arriving on Friday, March 28. Smith’s last album, Lost and Found, was released in March 2005.
Smith’s 14-track album will feature a variety of collaborators, including DJ Jazzy Jeff, with whom Smith first made his mark in music, Teyana Taylor and Jac Ross.
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“It’s OFFICIAL!! My new album Based On A True Story drops March 28. TWO WEEKS!! Hit that presave. Been working on this project for a minute and I’m itchin’ to get it out to y’all ??,” Smith wrote alongside the release date and album cover on Instagram.
He first announced that he would be releasing a new album when he unveiled his latest single, “Beautiful Scars,” in January. The track is a collaboration with Big Sean featuring Obanga.
The music video for the track caused a stir online, as it featured Smith playing Neo, The Matrix film character he famously turned down to star in Wild Wild West. Big Sean starred alongside him playing the role of Morpheus.
Other previously-released singles included on the new record include “Work of Art,” which features his son Jaden Smith and Russ, “Tantrum,” featuring Joyner Lucas and “You Can Make It,” which Smith performed at the 2024 Bet Awards.
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Smith previously opened up about how long it took him to complete the project in a May 2024 interview with Extra.
“You know, I’ve been, this last year and a half, I’ve been in the lab. I have a project that is, you know, without question, the most personal and powerful music that I’ve ever made,” he said at the time. “So, you know, I’m going to sneak that out on you in a month or so.”
On the same day of his announcement, Smith also reunited with his The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air costar Tatyana Ali and Doechii to film their version of her “Anxiety” social media challenge.
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Being that the online challenge involves them doing dance moves similar to those he did on the hit television show, he wrote in the caption of his Instagram video, “Waited 35 years for this dance to trend.”
