  Will Smith was born in
Philadelphia, PA on September 25, 1968. By
the time Smith hits 30 years of age, he claim
the rights to be called a Grammy Award
winning rapper, solo star, box-office star,
television success, and... all-round nice
guy. By bringing comedy and positive meaning
into his rap music, Smith has shown himself
to be one of the few true role models for the
youth that buy hip hop music. Smith's
charming and sly demeanor in school resulted
in the nickname "Prince" which
eventually turned into the "Fresh
Prince." While still in his teens, Smith
began rapping and eventually hooked up with
Jeff Townes (aka D.J. Jazzy Jeff) who he met
at a party. Smith's goal for a musical career
resulted in Smith turning down a scholarship
to attend M.I.T. D.J. Jazzy Jeff & The
Fresh Prince was born with Smith handling the
singing and Townes overseeing the mastery of
mixing and scratching - the combination was
hit a pop and hip hop hit during the 80's.
 D.J. Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh
Prince released Rock
The House. The track "Girls Ain't
Nothing But Trouble" was a moderate
R&B hit (and re-released a year later).
 # 50
Singles Artist of the Year
 D.J. Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh
Prince released their breakthrough LP, He's
The DJ, I'm The Rapper with the radio and
video favorites "Parents Just Don't
Understand" and "Nightmare On My
Street." The LP went on to sell over 3
million copies in the U.S.
He's
The DJ, I'm The Rapper was certified gold.
He's
The DJ, I'm The Rapper was certified
platinum.
 He's
The DJ, I'm The Rapper was certified 2x
platinum.
D.J. Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh
Prince won the first MTV Video Music Award
for newly created Best Rap category.
Rock
The House was certified gold.
 # 188
Singles Artist of the Year
D.J. Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh
Prince won 2 American Music
Awards for Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Artist and Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Album (He's
The DJ, I'm The Rapper).
D.J. Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh
Prince won a Grammy
Award for Best Rap Performance ("Parents Just Don't
Understand") - the first time this
category was presented.
The single "Parents Just Don't
Understand" was certified gold.
D.J. Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh
Prince won a MTV Video Music
Award for Best Rap Video ("Parents Just Don't
Understand") and the video was also
nominated for Best Direction and Best Art Direction.
 D.J. Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh
Prince's follow-up LP, And
In This Corner... yielded little success
when with the moderate hit "I Think I Can Beat Mike
Tyson."
At this time, the rap and hip hop scene was
changing on radio and video, and D.J. Jazzy
Jeff needed to move beyond the parody-like
concept that originally brought them success.
D.J. Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh
Prince hit the Top 40 with "I Think I Can Beat Mike
Tyson."
And
In This Corner... was certified gold.
D.J. Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh
Prince were nominated for a Grammy Award for
Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group ("I Think I Can Beat Mike
Tyson").
The acting bug hit Smith and
resulted in a NBC sitcom, Fresh Prince Of
Bel Air.
 # 34
Singles Artist of the Year
D.J. Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh
Prince were nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or
Group (And
In This Corner...).
D.J. Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh
Prince hit the Top 40 with "Summertime."
 Homebase was released and the
duo was back in the Top 10 with the feel good
song of the summer, "Summertime." Rolling
Stone said of the LP: "...steers
clear of misogyny, violence and garden
furniture, and in the process hits the button
almost every time..."
D.J. Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh
Prince hit the Top 10 with "Summertime."
The single "Summertime" was certified
platinum.
Homebase was certified
platinum.
The video for "Summertime" was nominated
for a MTV Video Music
Award for Best Rap Video.
D.J. Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh
Prince hit the Top 40 with "Ring My Bell."
The single "Ring My Bell" was certified
gold.
D.J. Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh
Prince won an American Music
Award for Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Album (Homebase) and was nominated for
Favorite Soul/R&B
Band/Duo/Group and Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Artist.
D.J. Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh
Prince won a second Grammy
Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or
Group
("Summertime").
 Jazzy Jeff
& The Fresh Prince: # 81
Singles Artist of the Year
Smith appeared in Six
Degrees Of Separation. Although some
controversy erupted when Smith refused to
have his homosexual character kiss another
man on-screen, Smith's performance was
critically acclaimed.
Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh
Prince hit the Top 40 with "Boom! Shake The Room."
 The last studio LP by Jazzy Jeff
& The Fresh Prince was released: Code
Red. The duo had a hit with "Boom! Shake The Room" (which went gold
during the month) and the LP increased their
"street credibility" with the fans.
Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh
Prince hit the Top 10 with "Boom! Shake The Room."
Code
Red was certified gold.
He's
The DJ, I'm The Rapper was certified 3x
platinum.
 Smith hit box-office gold with
his starring role in Bad
Boys.
The box-office got even bigger
for Smith when he starred in the blockbuster Independence
Day.
 # 43
Singles Artist of the Year
Smith hit the Top 40 with "Men In Black."
 Smith's Men
In Black topped the summer box-office
for the year and produced a #1 soundtrack and
the #1 title track.
Smith hit the Top 10 with "Men In Black."
"Men In Black" topped the
Billboard Hot 100 Singles Airplay chart for 4
weeks.
Smith found himself being sued
for libel by Dana Goodman, Smith's original
record promoter, after an interview in US magazine was
released. The article portrayed Smith's
original record promoter in a poor light
without naming names. The interview stated
that Smith and rap partner DJ Jazzy Jeff were
intimidated into signing a record contract
when the unnamed promoter placed a gun on the
dashboard.
Smith hit #1 for a week with "Men In Black."
Smith won a MTV Video Music
Award for Best Video from a Film ("Men In Black") and was
nominated for Best Male Video, Best Choreography, and Best Special Effects.
 Smith released Big
Willie Style which contained his #1
hit "Men In Black," "Just The
Two Of Us," and "Gettin' Jiggy Wit
It" which topped the ARC Weekly Top 40
in 1998. Although the LP had a lack-luster
debut compared with other charting rap LPs,
the popularity of Smith and his music led the
LP to the Top 10 and over 4 million copies
sold in the U.S. by the fall of '98.
Smith capped off the year by
marrying his longtime girlfriend, actress
Jada Pinkett, on New Year's Eve.
 Big
Willie Style was certified platinum.
Smith hit the Top 40 with "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It."
During the year, Smith won a MTV
Europe Music Award for Best Rap Act and was
inducted into the Nickelodeon Kid's Choice
Awards Hall of Fame.
 # 3
Singles Artist of the Year (# 1
Male Artist of the Year)
 Smith won his first solo Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance ("Men In Black"). Smith hit the Top
10
with "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It."
Smith hit #1 with "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It" for 2 weeks.
The single also topped the
Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart for 3 weeks
and the Hot 100 Singles Sales chart for 2
weeks.
 D.J. Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh
Prince returned temporarily in the form of
the LP, Greatest
Hits.
Smith hit the Top 40 with "Just The Two Of Us."
Big
Willie Style was certified 2x platinum.
Smith hit the Top 10 with "Just The Two Of Us."
Big
Willie Style was certified 3x platinum.
"Men In Black" topped the UK
Singles chart for 3 weeks.
Smith topped the Billboard Rap
Singles chart with "Just The Two Of Us" for 2 weeks.
 Smith won 2 MTV Video Music
Awards for Best Male Video ("Just The Two Of Us") and Best Rap Video ("Gettin' Jiggy Wit It") and was
nominated for Best Choreography, Best Dance Video, Viewer's Choice, and Video of the Year ("Gettin' Jiggy Wit It"). When accepting
the award for "Just The Two Of Us," Smith came on
stage with his son: "It's really a song
about the other side of divorce... so I
really want to thank my wife and actually, I
want to thank my ex-wife for both of them
being mature enough to make the situation
turn out on the positive, happy side."
Big
Willie Style was certified 4x platinum.
 Smith landed another hit film
with Enemy
Of The State.
The single "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It" was certified
gold.
Smith hit the Top 40 with "Miami."
Smith's LP, Big
Willie Style, was the 8th biggest-selling LP
of 1998 with 3.6 million copies sold in the
U.S. during the year.
 Other awards for Smith during
the year included a Billboard Video Music
Award for Best Clip (Pop) ("Just The Two Of Us"), a European
Music Award for Best Male Video, a
Nickelodeon Kid's Choice Award for Favorite
Movie Actor, a NAACP Image Award for
Outstanding Rap Artist, 2 MTV Movie Awards
for Best Fight (with a giant alien cockroach
in Men
In Black) and Best Song, and a MuchMusic
Video Award for People's Choice Favorite
International Artist.
 # 17
Singles Artist of the Year
Smith won 3 American Music
Awards for Favorite
Pop/Rock Album, Favorite Soul/R&B Album,
and Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist, and
was nominated for Favorite Pop/Rock Male
Artist.
Smith hit the Top
10
with "Miami."
Smith won his 4th Grammy Award for
Best Rap Performance ("Gettin' Jiggy Wit It").
Big
Willie Style was certified 6x platinum.
 Smith picked up 3 NAACP Image
Awards for Entertainer of the Year,
Outstanding Music Video, and Outstanding Rap
Artist ("Just The Two Of Us") and a
Nickelodeon Kid's Choice Award for Favorite
Singer.
The Los Angeles Times
reported that DJ Jazzy Jeff was currently
working on his solo LP in Philadelphia.
Smith hit the Top 40 with "Wild,
Wild West."
 In the summer, Smith could be
seen on the big screen in Wild
Wild West and heard on the radio with the
title track from the film - "Wild,
Wild West" hit the Top
10.
Smith took home a Blockbuster
Award for Favorite Artist - Rap.
Smith hit the #1 for 1 week with "Wild,
Wild West" (which also topped the
Billboard Hot 100 for a week, the Billboard
Hot 100 Singles Sales chart for a week, and
the Billboard Rap Singles chart for 3 weeks).
The single "Wild,
Wild West" was certified gold.
Smith won a MTV Video Music
Award for Best Male Video ("Miami") and was
nominated for Best Special Effects and Best Cinematography ("Miami"), Video of the Year, Best Video from a Film, and Best Choreography ("Wild,
Wild West").
Smith was nominated for a VH1
Fashion Award for Most Fashionable Artist
(Male).
Smith was nominated for 2 MTV
Europe Music Awards for Best Male Artist
(which he won) and Best Hip-Hop Artist.
 Smith released his next LP, Willennium and won a MTV European
Music Award for Best Male Artist.
Smith hit the Top 40 with "Will
2K."
Smith was nominated for a
People's Choice Award for Favorite Male
performer.
Smith ended the year with some
bad news when his film Wild
Wild West was selected as one of the
worst films of the year by numerous movie
critics.
Willennium was certified 2x
platinum.
 Smith hit the Top
10
with "Will
2K."
MTV: 100
Greatest Videos Ever Made includes
"Parents Just Don't
Understand" at # 99.
 # 73
Singles Artist of the Year
Smith won an American Music
Award for Favorite
Male Artist.
Smith was nominated for a Brit
Award for Best International Male Solo
Artist.
Big
Willie Style was certified 8x platinum.
Smith was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance ("Wild,
Wild West"). Smith performed "Freakin
It"
and "Wild,
Wild West" at the Grammys, but went
home empty-handed.
Smith was nominated for a Soul
Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul or
Rap Music Video ("Will
2K")
and some Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Song
and Favorite Song from a Movie ("Wild,
Wild West") and Favorite Male
Singer.
Smith hit the Top 40 with "Freakin
It."
Smith's summer flick Wild
Wild West was named Worst Picture of 1999
at the Golden Raspberry ("Razzie")
Awards, the film's theme song "Wild,
Wild West" was named Worst Original
Song, and Smith was single out with co-star
Kevin Kline as Worst Screen Couple.
Smith won a California Music
Award for Outstanding Hip-Hop/Rap Album.
Smith won 3 Kids' Choice Awards
for Favorite Male Singe, Favorite Song, and
Favorite Song From a Movie ("Wild,
Wild West").
Smith won 4 World Music Awards
for World's Best-Selling Male Pop Artist,
Male R&B Artist, Male Dance Artist, and
Male Rap Artist.
 A lawsuit was filed against
Smith by The Furious Five
over Smith's sampling of their
"Superappin'" on his "Will
2K"
hit.
Big
Willie Style was certified 9x platinum.
VH1: 100
Greatest Dance Songs includes Smith's
"Gettin' Jiggy Wit It" at #100.
 Smith could be seen starring in
the film The
Legend Of Bagger Vance with Matt Damon.
Smith put aside music for a
little while as he assumed the role of
Muhammad Ali: "I'm not doing anything
with music. I'm not doing anything but
training. I train 3 hours in the morning, and
I train 3 hours in the evening. Then, in
between, I'm doing dialect work, and I'm
working with Michael Man (director). I'm
becoming Muhammad Ali... that's all I
do."
Smith became a dad again during
the month.
Smith took home a 'My VH1' Award
- Double Threat (Musician, Actors).
Smith was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Music Video, Short
Form
("Will
2K").
Smith was nominated for a Kids'
Choice Award for Favorite Male Singer.
VH1: 100
Greatest Videos includes:
# 42
- "Parents Just Don't
Understand" (by DJ Jazzy
Jeff & The Fresh Prince).
Smith's movie Ali broke Christmas-day
box office records when it opened in
theaters.
 # 94
Singles Artist of the Year
Smith was nominated for a Golden
Globe Award for Best Actor in a Drama for Ali.
 Smith was nominated for an
Academy Award for Best Actor for Ali. Smith said of the
nomination: "If this was the rap
category at the Grammys, I'd feel like I have
a much better shot... I don't care who wins.
I am completely honored to be in the company
in this category." Smith was up against
Russell Crowe, Sean Penn, Tom Wilkinson, and
the winner, Denzel Washington.
 Smith hit the Top 40 with "Black Suits Comin' (Nod
Ya Head)."
Smith performed on the Today
Show Summer Concert Series.
Smith released Born
To Reign.
Smith won a BET Award for Best
Actor (Ali).
Smith won a MTV Movie Award for
Best Male Performance (Ali).
Born
To Reign was certified gold.
Smith's video for "Black Suits Comin' (Nod
Ya Head)" was nominated for 2 MTV Video Music
Awards for Best Special Effects (Pixel Envy) and Best Video from a Film.
Smith ranked #
29 on VH1: 100
Sexiest Artists.
 Smith released
a hits collection - Greatest
Hits.
VH1: 50
Greatest Hip Hop Artists includes Smith and DJ
Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince at # 30.
Smith could be seen in the
big-budget sequel Bad Boys II which
was the #1 movie of the week when it was
released.
Smith could be seen in the movie
I, Robot which was the #1
movie of the week when it was released.
Smith could be heard in the
animated feature Shark Tale.
Will Smith came in at #
110 on the Top Pop Artists
of the Past 25 Years chart, and DJ Jazzy
Jeff & The Fresh Prince came in at # 304.
 # 30
Singles Artist of the Year
Smith won a People's Choice
Award for Favorite Male Action Movie Star.
 Smith could be seen in the film Hitch
- which broke the record for the biggest
opening weekend by a romantic-comedy film.
Smith hit the Top 40 with "Switch."
Smith released his next LP, Lost
And Found.
 Smith topped the Billboard Hot
Digital Songs chart with "Switch."
Smith hit the Top 10 with "Switch."
On July 2nd, Smith performed in
Philadelphia as part of the worldwide Live
8 concerts. The mission of the
concerts was to raise awareness of the
on-going poverty in Africa and to pressure
the G8 leaders to take action by doubling
aid, canceling debt, and delivering trade
justice for Africa.
Lost
And Found was certified gold.
 Smith hit the
Top 40 with "Party Starter."
Smith won an American Music
Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist.
The single "Switch" was certified 3x
platinum.
Smith won a Nickelodeon Kids'
Choice Award for Favorite Movie Actor.
Smith could be seen in the film The
Pursuit Of Happyness.
Smith was nominated for a Golden
Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor
in a Motion Picture - Drama for The
Pursuit Of Happyness.
Smith was nominated for an
Academy Award for Best Actor for The
Pursuit Of Happyness.
DJ Jazzy Jeff released Return
Of The Magnificent.
Smith could be seen in the film I
Am Legend.
VH1: 100
Greatest Songs of the 90's included "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It" at # 68.
| Note: Song title and
position links lead you to the song's Top
40 chart run (from the ARC Weekly Top
40)
and LP links take you to Amazon.com's page for that LP
(often including track listings and sound
samples). |
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