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Will Smith resurges rap career with new single 'Work of Art'

​​​​​​​View Date:2024-12-23 19:08:59

The Fresh Prince is officially back in the rap game.

Will Smith released the debut single "Work of Art" off of his upcoming album Friday along with its music video. The track features Smith's son Jaden and singer Russ on the vocals with the Grammy-winning rapper reflecting on the different aspects of his personality.

"I am Musa, I am Jesus / I am Judas, I am the judge / I am the victim, and I'm the shooter / I'm in the Torah, and the Koran, and in the Bible / I am a shepherd / I am a leader, and a disciple," Smith, 55, smoothly raps.

He also alludes to his struggle in the public eye after he slapped comedian Chris Rock at the 2022 Academy Awards.

"They tried to censor me / But then they sent for me," he raps in one section, adding in the chorus, "I am a saint, but if you touch, I am a savage."

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Throughout the music video, Smith reveals to Russ that he recorded over 20 songs for his upcoming project. "'Work of Art' was the song where I found my voice. It was like 'Ah! That’s what I want to talk about,'" he says as the two become part of a museum display.

Smith has been teasing his return to music in the past few months with an appearance during J. Balvin's Coachella set in April, followed by the first live performance of his song "You Can Make It" at the BET Awards in June and a surprise appearance at La Velada Del Año 4 earlier this month.

Teasing his fifth album, the "Bad Boys: Ride or Die" star wrote on Instagram on July 12, "The Theme of the music I’ve been working on is 'Dance in your Darkest Moments.' Over the past couple of years I’ve had to learn a different way to be with adversity — a different way to face hard times."

The actor's most recent studio album was “Lost and Found,” released in 2005. The album sold a half-million copies and peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.

Contributing: Edward Segarra, KiMi Robinson

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