![]() ![]() Smith next took on the epic sci-fi flick Independence Day (1996), a role that confirmed him as a major player in Hollywood and the go-to guy for summer blockbusters. The two Black leads proved an instant success and Smith - playing the smooth lady killer to Lawrence's clown - was established as leading man material. The high-budget cop movie saw him team up with comic Martin Lawrence, breaking away from the Black-cop-white-cop formula that had been so successful for Beverly Hills Cop and the Lethal Weapon series. Smith's first steps into superstardom came with his next film, Bad Boys (1995). Holding his own alongside Donald Sutherland, Stockard Channing and Ian McKellen, Smith played a street-wise gay hustler who cons his way through elite circles. Small roles in the drama Where The Day Takes You (1992) and the comedy Made In America (1993) were followed by a critically acclaimed lead in Six Degrees of Separation (1993). ![]() While still making The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Smith began a second crossover into movies. Meanwhile, Smith and Towne continued producing music, their 1991 album Homebase producing the hits "Summertime" and "Ring My Bell." Their final album together, 1993's Code Red, was notable for "Boom! Shake the Room." 'Where the Day Takes You' and 'Six Degrees of Separation' Playing on his rapper persona, and at times featuring his friend Towne, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was a huge success that ran for six seasons. Drawing on his experiences with fledgling stardom, NBC signed Smith to headline a sitcom about a street-smart kid from Philadelphia who moves in with stuffy relatives in the posh Los Angeles neighborhood of Bel-Air. Two years later, Smith began his crossover into acting. Movies and TV Shows 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' It was followed in 1989 by And In This Corner., which continued the pair's rise to stardom. Featuring the radio-friendly singles "Parents Just Don't Understand," "Brand New Funk," and "Nightmare on My Street," the album won the first-ever Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance. In 1988, DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince continued their success with the album He's The DJ, I'm The Rapper. But I had no intention of going to college." I had pretty high SAT scores and they needed Black kids, so I probably could have gotten in. The early success put any thoughts of attending college out of Smith's mind.Įarly on, it was reported that Smith had turned down a scholarship to Boston's elite Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), but Smith later dispelled the rumor when he told an interviewer: "My mother, who worked for the School Board of Philadelphia, had a friend who was the admissions officer at MIT. Their 1987 debut album, Rock the House, hit the Billboard Top 200, and made Smith a millionaire before the age of 18. The pair's first single, "Girls Ain't Nothing But Trouble," was a hit in 1986. The Fresh Prince rapped about teenage preoccupations in a clean, curse-free style that middle America found safe and entertaining. Music CareerĪs teens, DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince began producing music but steered clear of the gangsta rap sound that was emerging from the West Coast by groups like N.W.A. The pair became friends, and the duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince was born. ![]() At 16 Smith met future collaborator Jeff Townes at a party. Smith began rapping at age 12, emulating heroes like Grandmaster Flash but tingeing his rhymes with a comedic element that would later become his trademark. Smith was a good student whose charming personality and quick tongue were renowned for getting him out of trouble, a trait for which he soon gained the nickname "Prince.'' His West Philadelphia neighborhood was a melting pot of cultures where Orthodox Jews co-existed with a large Muslim population. He went on to attend Overbrook High School. His middle-class upbringing saw him attend the strict Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School, despite his family's observation of the Baptist faith. ![]() on September 25, 1968, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to mother Caroline, a school board employee, and father Willard C. Smith also earned acclaim for Concussion (2015), before returning to action fare with Suicide Squad (2016). He has since headlined such popular films as Men in Black (1997) and Hitch (2005) and earned Oscar nominations for Ali (2001) and The Pursuit of Happyness (2006). Smith starred on the sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air for six seasons, before establishing himself as a Hollywood A-lister with Bad Boys (1995) and Independence Day (1996). After Will Smith met Jeff Townes at age 16, the duo launched a highly successful rap career as DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince. ![]()
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