Will Smith has announced that his new album Based On A True Story will drop on March 28 — two decades almost to the day from his last one.
On Friday (March 14) the veteran superstar shared the news on Instagram, along with the album cover and track list, the latter of which is divided into “episodes” instead of songs. Features include DJ Jazzy Jeff, Teyana Taylor, and Smith’s son Jaden.
“It’s OFFICIAL!!” Smith captioned the post. “My new album Based On A True Story drops March 28. TWO WEEKS!! Hit that presave. Been working on this project for a minute and I’m itchin’ to get it out to y’all.”
Smith’s last LP was Lost and Found, released on March 29, 2005. Check out the album announcement post below.
Last month, Smith revealed that he and Prince once discussed the idea of launching an entertainment company with JAY-Z – but the legendary singer went on to pass away just hours later.
While appearing on the Broken Record podcast with Justin Richmond, Will revealed he’d not only had that moment with Prince before his passing in 2016, but that he’d also met Biggie Smalls just hours before he passed in 1997.
“I talked to Prince eight hours before he died,” he elaborated. “He called and he was pitching. He was saying that me, him and JAY-Z should start an entertainment company. And he said that he had talked to Jay and he wanted to do it. We talked that night and in the morning – he was gone.”
Will Smith and JAY-Z have since worked together in multiple capacities, but it has been through their respective companies joining forces as opposed to operating under one company together.
In 2020, Jay’s Roc Nation and Smith’s Overbrook Entertainment linked up to bring the story of Emmett Till and his mother Mamie Till Mobley to the small screen.
The limited series was announced on the 65th anniversary of Till’s 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁ing at the hands of two white men in Mississippi on August 28, 1955. The Chicago teen’s casket remained open at his funeral at the request of Mobley who wanted attendees to see how her son was brutalized and mutilated. Till’s death played a major role in inspiring the civil rights movement of the 1960s.
And in 2021, the pair of entertainment moguls invested in the startup Landis Technologies, which aims to help turn thousands of renters into homeowners.
Roc Nation and Smith’s Dreamers VC were part of a group of investors that helped Landis raise over $165 million. The influx of cash will go toward purchasing about 1,000 homes. The company will then rent the home to low-income families until they qualify for a mortgage.