Will Smith Reboots Music Career

Will Smith is back onstage and rocking, having performed his new song You Can Make It at the BET Awards, following it's release on June 28th.

Will began the performance by saying, "I don’t know who needs to hear this right now but whatever’s going on in your life, I’m here to tell you, you can make it." 

This is his first song since Get Lit, which was released in 2017. This came over 10 years after the release of his last album, Lost and Found, from 2005.

The lyrics of You Can Make It read, "Don’t give up on me, I need you to hold on / Know you’re deep up in the storm / But I know you can face it.”

"The darker the hell you gotta endure / The brighter the heaven you get to enjoy / The harder the fall, the higher you soar / God opens a window when the devil closes the door / Believe me, they tried to bleed Will Smith / In the rear view I see adversity was the gift.”

A few days before the performance, Will posted a video to Instagram of himself playing the song on the piano. 

"Through some of my darkest moments, music has always been there for me – to lift me and help me grow,” Smith captioned the video. “It’s my humble wish that it can do the same for you and bring you all the joy and light you deserve.”

While onstage, he was joined by Kirk Franklin, Chandler Moore, and the Sunday Service Choir. 

The actor's music career has earned him four Grammy awards. Parents Just Don't Understand, his song with DJ Jazzy Jeff, won the Grammy award for Best Rap Performance.

It was also featured in the films The Parent Trap and Jersey Girl. 

His return to the mic comes as his film career keeps rising. His new film, Bad Boys: Ride or Die, was released on June 5th, and opened to U$56.5 million. 

It features Will being repeatedly slapped by Martin Lawrence’s character while experiencing a panic attack.

Some are taking this as a nod to the infamous slap involving Will Smith and Chris Rock, which took place at the 2022 Oscars. 

While the incident was met with criticism, the producer of Bad Boys, Jerry Bruckheimer said that he would "absolutely" work with Will on another film. 

“Will made a mistake, unfortunately. That’s not who he is. He’s a phenomenal actor and there’s always forgiveness in the world.”