Is the world ready to get jiggy with it again?
Will Smith, who hasn’t rocked a mic since 2005’s mildly popular “Lost and Found,” is heading back into the studio again to work on his hip-hop return.
Producer La Mar “Mars” Edwards (who ran the show on the Game”s newest, “The R.E.D. Album,” and is working on T.I.’s upcoming album) told XXL.com that he and his team 1500 or Nothin will work with Smith on his comeback record.
Smith, as half the duo DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, as well as a solo artist, was a veritable hit-making machine in the late ’80s and early ’90s, and was one of the first hip-hop stars to cross into mainstream Hollywood films (and on TV’s “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air”). He was able to move freely from the world of big-budget blockbusters (“Independence Day,” the “Men in Black” films) and Top Forty success. It remains to be seen if his genial, pop-friendly music will still be a big draw in 2011-2012.
Smith has also been taking time off from starring in films. His last toplining role was in 2008’s Seven Pounds,” although he acted as producer on last year’s “The Karate Kid,” starring his son Jaden. Will Smith will soon be seen in “Men in Black 3.”
What do you think of the prospect of new music from Will Smith?