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Man, I am absolutely loving this album!!!! I love the barbershop, absolutely mesmerized by it. Rave in the wasteland has got me, hard. I love the sermons, his style on those are outstanding. I’m loving all the different styles he’s rapping in, his flow is fantastic. The hard times disco rap vibes so smooth, love it. His message resonated with me in a major way, more than anything since code red. Love the guitar on First Love. The fresh feel of Make it Look Easy. This is feeling very much like my favorite solo album, and second favorite after Code Red. This album is way better than I was expecting. So much better. Fire, just absolutely fire. Beginning to end.

I am so happy with this album, it’s exceeded my expectations, been playing it all day. The barbershop intro is the perfect start, that stuff needed to be said and it’s great to see Jeff on there. I’m enjoying “you looking for me”, it’s a middle of the road track for me. ”Rave in the wasteland” was a huge shock for me, seeing the title, it looked a little odd but when that beat started it was crazy. Sounds so different from anything he’s done, his flow is insane. Possibly my fave of the new, unreleased ones. Love “bulletproof” I think I heard it a while back when he did it live and I’ve been waiting to hear it properly. Definitely one of the better tracks of the album. “Hard times” is great, I love RnB so the female vocalist sounds great to me. Only negative was Will wasn’t quite featured enough on it, but musically it’s beautiful. Been playing “beautiful scars” lots the last few weeks, one of my top tracks of the album. “Tantrum” has been out a while, I’ve seen most people love this one, I like it but it’s lower down on my list of tracks. Maybe I’ve overplayed it waiting on this album haha. “First love” is my least favourite, the vocalist just isn’t my style and Wills flow just isn’t as good. I don’t dislike it so much but it’s just nowhere near as good as the rest of the album. Don’t know why they chose to release it. Really like “make it look easy”, it’s grown on me a lot throughout the day. It’s almost like big Willie style vibes. Such a nice, chill, fun song. I’ve always really liked “you can make it”. It came out when I was coming to the end of a tough couple of years, so it’s a special song to me. I’ve always really enjoyed “work of art” too. Being the second song out made me realise we were gonna get some great music out of Will after 20 years. Overall, love it. I think it’s perfect to come out with music like this after recent years. I’m ok with the swearing, he’s no longer got his squeaky clean image so he may as well haha. I’m hoping the next chapter/album has more fun, upbeat songs. But as the first one back, it’s just right.

Found a way to log back in to my original account and so fun to see everyone hyped. I have to say, I can’t stop playing the intro barbershop - straight up I think I can beat Mike Tyson vibes. Been giving the whole record a couple plays so far. Definitely have three or four favs and trying to get a handle on the rest.

Great to some of the old heads returning to the forum! Make It Look easy is also really catchy!

Hey guys, just thought you'd like to celebrate my one year anniversary on the JJFP board!

Man, the day has come. For Lost & Found, I want to Walmart to get the CD at midnight. I wish I had that kind of experience this time, but I had to settle for buying it/downloading it at midnight. I bought the regular version and the edited version. I drove around earlier today blasting the music on a super sunny 65 degree day. It was heaven. 1. Int. Barbershop - Day - I love this sound. More of this. I like the banter on this track and that Will specifically voices the characters who are critical of him. The back and for with Jeff is so welcomed. It brings the energy of the JJ+FP albums. B. Simone is a welcome addition to them. 2. You Lookin' For Me - Man, this is the Fresh Prince I love to hear. Especially those opening lines that borrow from Slick Rick. I love the lyrics and subject matter. The choir on the backup vocals sweeten up the kinda dark-sounding beat. 3. The Reverend (Rave Sermon) - I'll say this about all of the interludes. I like the encouragement and the gems he shares. It makes me wonder if they would be better coming from Will straight, instead of through the reverend character. With albums, I tend to get tired of interludes after the first few listens. 4. Rave In The Wasteland - Man, i love this beat and the energy. The subject matter is good, too. 5. Bulletproof - I like the energy and lyrics on this one, too, but I think the production is leaning average. Jac Ross has a great voice for this. 6. Hard Times (Smile) - Man, I love this one I must say, I slept on Teyana, but this song makes me want to check out her music. The slick, classic Hip-Hop meets R&B sound is my favorite. I like FP's relaxed flow and vocal presence. I'm so into this beat and the smoothed out chorus that I haven't really unpacked the lyrics yet. 7. Beautiful Scars - I love the production on this. I like the changes in his flow throughout it. Admittedly, I'm not a Big Sean fan. I always though his voice and presence was weak and his lyrics un relatable. I like him a little more on this compared to anything else I've every heard him on. I would have preferred to hear someone else on the track who is more on Will's level. No offense, to Omar, but I don't the auto tune chorus. I'd put someone like Usher on the chorus to upgrade it. 8. Tantrum - I'm not saying it's bad, but this is my least favorite song. It's just kind of repetitive. The beat is about as standard as you can get. Will holds it down. I'm not crazy about Joyner's voice. Why is Will kicking Joyner Lucas' butt on his own sound? 9. First Love - I like the artistic move with this one. I don't think it gets enough credit. However, I think it definitely takes down the pace of the album. I feel like it would serve better as a single or as a song oen one of the collaborating artists' albums. 10. Make It Look Easy - This is a really nice one. I love the sound and vibe. Like "Hard Times (Smile)", I think FP is the most comfortable on this sound. I guarantee this will be pumping through my car speakers all summer long. 11. The Reverent (YCMI) - I nice message to lead into "You Can Make It". 12. You Can Make It - This is a highlight. Heck, it crossed over to be a hit on gospel charts. Will is emotionally raw on the song. Fridayy complements it well and hearing Sunday Service literally gives me goose bumps. If this is the only real hit off the album, that's good enough. 13. Work of Art - The beat is modern, but dope. The lyrics sum up this era for Will. Jaden's feature is authentic and not forced. I know nothing about Russ, but his makes a mark on this. 14. The Reverend (WOA Sermon) A nice send off for the album. Overall I'm really happy with this album. I think it was weird that we heard so many singles off it before we got the whole thing. It made the listening experience kind of weird compared to having only heard a song or two. I feel like the songs that weren't released as singles are the glue of the album. Most of them are my favorites. I think my critiques are the sequence of songs. I feel like "Work of Art" should have been one of the first songs and that "You Can Make It" should have been the last song. I think the sound and production is kind of all over the place, which prevents it from feeling a completely cohesive album. I feel like I'll listen to some of these songs A LOT and some I'll only listen to when I'm in the mood to hear them. I haven't felt that about his previous albums. I gotta be honest, Will cussin' in his songs still sits with me funny. I'm sure 99% of the time I'll be listening to the edited version of the album. I really hope this album gets some shine. It's a reminder that the Fresh Prince is a legit emcee and musician. This is good music....good Hip-Hop.

This is a solid album. Bulletproof is an absolute banger. Tantrum, too. I also really like Rave, Scars, Hard Times, and You Can Make It... The intro is mildly amusing, but for me, it’s a track to experience as part of the full album rather than something I’d play on its own. That said—unlike most on this forum—I actually like First Love. Overall, I’m really enjoying this more aggressive, direct evolution of WS's music… and I’m about to cue up Bulletproof again! For me this is WS’s best release since Willennium. It's obviously very different, but it reflects well where he is in life—just as that album did. It's grown up and gritty.

His flow on Hard Times reminds me of his Born to Reign era. Like it a lot. But my favorite song is still Beautiful Scars. I hope he will have more tracks with Jeff on his next "Season"

Great to see some old faces posting (myself included) I'm really enjoying the album. Not a bad song on here, it plays out as a piece of art well. But yes First Love just seems a little out of place. I like it's concept and meaning. But as a song, not so much.

I really like this album! Sheesh... I really like this album! Props to Will and those with whom he collaborated. I'm certainly going to have a lot more to say and there will be quite a bit to discuss, but I feel like these lyrics from "You Lookin' For Me" encapsulate the last few years, the album, and his career really well. I've been on my grind for a very long time. I've been on your mind for a very long time. Yeah, you got your life, but your life ain't like mine. Looking for me? You can find me where the light shine. Where the light shine...

Man I can’t believe we finally got here. 20 years to the day (almost) since Lost & Found was released. I was always going to love this album, no doubt, but it has completely surpassed my expectations. All of the new tracks (that we hadn’t fully heard yet) are incredible. Int. barbershop is classic JJFP with a modern self aware spin that completely blew me away. you lookin for me is incredible too. An interesting mix of old and new. It goes hard. Rave in the wasteland was completely unexpected. Very different feel, reminds of that short clip Will released years ago.(where he mentioned King Kong) has a “black skinhead” vibe mixed with Will singing, Listening to this track was the moment I knew this album was a certified banger. Bulletproof is possibly my fav track on the album, feels like it deserves to be a hit track too. Bringing soul, rock, and rap in a way only Will can. Hard Times (Smile) is great too. I have a big soft spot for upbeat fun Will songs like this. I wasn’t sure at first, but when the beat hits off the top I knew I was in. Nice to hear will feeling positive again. I like teyana’s vocals too. Make it look easy is a contender for my favourite track as well. Another upbeat positive song where Will is exuding confidence. Can’t imagine listening to this and not smiling. Love the hook too. Not one of the new tracks was a miss for me. I really enjoyed hearing the tracks we have already gotten all together in one cohesive package. The interludes were great too. Just makes it all fit together nicely. It will be a lot of fun to listen to all 3 of these albums together when it’s all said and done. out of the tracks we already had, You Can Make It and Tantrum are my favourite. Both are fantastic for completely different reasons. I really like beautiful scars and work of art as well, but I prefer all of the new tracks that were released with the album. I’m surprised they were released ahead of these. as many others seem to agree, first love is the weakest track for me. I still like it and it’s certainly growing on me. But it’s not a slam dunk like the rest are for me. I think I actually prefer team tomodachi over it. Certainly falls in a similar vein as fiesta & esta rico. I love will’s moments, but the rest is hard to vibe with. we’ve certainly come a long way from “get lit” FP is back imo. Couldn’t be more excited for what’s to come and to finally see Will (and hopefully Jeff) perform live.

I just ordered Tickets for his show in Frankfurt in July. Never thought that day would come.

This is hilarious!

One thing I find funny about the reverand interludes is Will doing an old man voice when he is old now On the Reverand in And in this Corner it was much more of a shift in his voice!

There's lyric videos for all the songs that don't have a music video...

Been listening to it all day. Some of the songs that I didn't like much the first time are growing on me. I like the different styles and I like that he tried new things.

I really like the album, can't wait to see and hear those songs live on his tour. And I'm totally hyped that Jeff will be along for the Tour! Also very much looking forward to seasons 2 & 3 of that album.

I've just listened to the whole album. AMAZING! The first track is great. JJFP style. 'Rave In The Wasteland' is awesome too. Very different to what he's done before. I think 'You Can Make It' is possibly the best song in the album, though my favourite of them all is 'Bulletproof'. This song is just on another level for me. Loving the new music! Thanks, Will.

The album dropped in Belgium. This has been worth the wait. Damn! That first track has some real JJFP vibes. Never thought we would get something like that from Will. Love the album. It really feels like an album. Bulletproof goes hard! You Looking for me is dope! Hell, Rave in the wasteland is crazy. The interludes make it feel like a real album. I agree with Tim about First Love, it will be a skip for me.

Okay I got the album so my thoughts, Opening track is very good. Perfect intro to the album with Will playing the haters after the slap where he got cancelled and Jeff defending him. Makes perfect sense that Wills potna of 40 years steps in here, Its hard to judge the album when it’s only 36 minutes and we’ve already heard 80% of it but it’s nice to hear it as a whole and a singular piece of work. You can tell this album Will was getting out of the hell of post Oscar slap and I love that Will used music to get out of that situation. there is a lot of cursing on the album which is definitely very different and there isn’t much rapping. And all the rapping is in a new rap style. I know I’d prefer a hip hop album and something more old school and fun but it is what it is. i do think it’s a good album. My fav tracks are You looking for me, Bulletproof, Tantrum and You Can Make It. when you listen to the album Tantrum really stands out as a hard hitting rap track. I think First Love is the weakest track and could have been left off. I’m interested in everyone else’s thoughts. Also interested in the second album in the series I presume it’s going to be about 35 minutes like this one.

This is fire!!

Listen to our thoughts on the album in the latest episode of the Will Smith Podcast:

Man it’s been 20 years but I was looking to find your review of the album. For real. Very much aligned with your thoughts. The cursing is my biggest issue - some ordering too of songs but I’m coming around to it as a total piece (rather than the sum of its parts).

I'd be repeating pretty much what everyone has already said here but the album is awesome. The only thing I'm not a fan of is the swearing but that's not a deal breaker for me. Hearing the F bomb on a Will Smith album feels weird to me. I'll need more time with the album and I may be jumping the gun here but this might be in his top 3 best albums.

I agree. The writing adds to the image.

Thank you! Feels like I never left (save for a few Facebook logins when I couldn’t access this account it’s gotta be over a decade now). I hope Jeff is more present in the next two albums he releases this year (crazy to say multiple albums, even just one from Will). There’s a real opportunity with the nostalgia love society has these days - even bad nostalgia wins. Now with will and Jeff’s talent, it’s a win - win. They could both commercially and critically really do something special with a cover to cover fresh Prince and Jazzy album.

Bulletproof and you looking for me are really great tracks!!

Minute 13:06 of this interview: "Jeff is on the first song with me and he'll be with me on tour" https://youtu.be/moTEH6A3XTs

Got tickets for Wolverhampton to meet up with Brakes, Kev and Michelle. The JJFP crew is back together. We’ve not seen each other since 2018

So excited for this album, love you can make it, work of art, bulletproof and beautiful scars. I’m not as much of a fan of first love but we can’t have it all. Just 5 days to go, we’ve been waiting a long time for this moment. I’m also hoping for a physical CD. It just won’t feel right if this album doesn’t sit on the shelf with the rest of them.

That’s because my interests are still the same! Good to see you again, been a while. Hopefully the new music will get this place poppin again!

I've always loved his more forceful verses (I'm Comin', Born to Reign), so it's great to see him embracing this. This series of albums backed up with a world tour is news that I didn't see coming. What amazes me most, though, is logging in after all these years to see such familiar usernames reappearing on these threads - people I remember from when I first began visiting this community in 2001. A lot has changed since then, yet this place still feels much the same. Fantastic. It's great to see the likes of fan 4ever (and that his interests are still "hip-hop, tennis, and my girl"), now where are 3cookies, enjoy_summertime, and the rest of the BBS crew!

Looks like Jeff is just on an intro not an actual track the other person featured is a stand up comedian. Well the moment is finally here… 20 years for a new album is wild we were all young when Lost & Found came out. I’m looking forward to hearing the whole thing together instead of singles.

I need a physical copy of this

Been waiting so long for this

Based on a True Story Tracklist: Int. Barbershop Day ft. DJ Jazzy Jeff & Simone You Lookin’ for Me? The Reverend (Rave Sermon) Rave in the Wasteland Bulletproof ft. Jac Ross Hard Times (Smile) ft. Teyana Taylor Beautiful Scars ft. Big Sean and OBanga Tantrum ft. Joyner Lucas First Love ft. India Martinez and Marcin Make It Look Easy The Reverend (YCMI Sermon) You Can Make it ft. Fridayy and Sunday Service Work of Art ft. Russ and Jaden The Reverend (WOA Sermon)

I love this. I don’t know if everyone will agree with me but I think his team have done a great job promoting this album on social media. He used to go on shows like TRL to promote it but the world is so different now. They know what people like, going viral with the anxiety video because they know everyone loves Fresh Prince, joining influencers on videos and doing stuff like this. It’s just seems to be getting bigger and although he’s getting a lot of hate still. I can see a lot more positive comments and love, particularly on this barbershop video. It was a good move.

That “freestyle” is good! He needs to put stuff like this on the next album.

As if Will is coming out with the best stuff of his career at age 56. He’s got more charisma in this than every modern rapper put together. As a fan, we know he’s awesome but this even has me shocked how good it is.

Barbershop is great, that feels like old school jjfp and I’m here for it. The entire album hits for me, for sure. But Rave in the Wasteland is my current favorite, it just takes me over when it comes on.

Another great interview:

Yeah, I have no interest in reading any reviews unless someone who likes Will's music is like "this is a good read." I couldn't care less about someone's opinion. What I think is interesting, is if you go to YouTube or something where you're actually listening to the music, it's virtually all positive. However, if you go to social media, there's a lot of hate. I think that speaks volumes.

Yeah Will doesn’t tend to get good reviews for either film or music so it doesn’t make much difference to me. What’s most important is that the fans are enjoying it and on the most part we are. I’m sure it matters more to Will what we think. i was going to make a joke about reviewers knowing nothing because it’ll be some 40 year old white person, but that’s actually describing me now haha.

Legendswillneverdie.com https://legendswillneverdie.com/2025/03/28/will-smith-based-on-a-true-story-review/ The art desk https://theartsdesk.com/new-music/album-will-smith-based-true-story?amp Ratingsgamemusic.com https://ratingsgamemusic.com/2025/03/28/will-smith-based-on-a-true-story-album-review/ Top Three Us https://www.topthreeus.com/will-smith-based-on-a-true-story-album-review/

He always gets bad album reviews, people just love to hate!

The intro is straight fire! Love hearing Will and Jeff on the same track.

The tracklist seems to be missing some features.

At first this felt like an album cut to me that he just put out for Valentine's Day based on the love theme, but the more I listen to it, the more I like it. It's probably the most different thing he's ever done musically. The guitarist on it is insanely talented. I like India, too, but I kind of wish there was an all English version. That performance is great. Will always comes with real showmanship and always surrounds himself with a great team.

Full performance on Youtube: