Will Smith is set to make a comeback in the music industry with his first album in two decades, Based on a True Story, slated for release on March 28.
“Been working on this project for a minute and I’m itchin’ to get it out to y’all,” the Hollywood star shared on Instagram, accompanied by several promotional images and the album’s complete tracklist, as per Billboard.com.
The new 14-song album features already released singles like First Love, Beautiful Scars, TANTRUM, Work of Art, and You Can Make It. It further boasts collaborations from DJ Jazzy Jeff, Teyana Taylor, and Jac Ross.
Looking back at his decision to get back to music after his previous album, Lost and Found (2005), Smith commented in January about the path that brought him to the recording studio again.
"A well opened up within me, a well of art and understanding of pain … all sorts of things that I didn't even know were inside of me," he disclosed.
He went on to clarify that his point of view evolved following the Oscars, "That spiritual exploration just kept on going, and an entire world awakened within me that I did not even realize existed. Visions, dreams; areas of my inner landscape I had no sense of before three years ago. And that gave rise to this bubbling to express what I'm experiencing and seeing, to investigate.
Smith stressed that his new music captures the upbeat vitality he recalls from his childhood church experience. "A good part of my music now is about that: the ecstatic kind of joy I remember from church when I was growing up; the ability to try to make this place more bearable."
He also teased a new artistic direction, saying, "You know, I've always had a crazy imagination; that's just a part of me. But something new is happening with me that's forcing me to investigate musically."
Later, on March 11, Smith took it easy and joined in the lighthearted fun celebrating National Napping Day.
The People magazine published that the Oscar-winning actor posted a casual photo on Instagram, captioning it with a laugh, "Someone say it was National Napping Day?"
Smith was seen to be sleeping peacefully in the photo, surrounded by his family members, including his wife Jada Pinkett Smith, children Willow (24) and Jaden (26), and his ex-wife, Sheree Zampino, who was standing next to their son, Trey (32).
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