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WILL SMITH: "Lost and Found" By Fred Shuster Staff Writer 3 stars out of four WILL SMITH: "Lost and Found" (Interscope) As a top-grossing actor, this all-around nice guy doesn't have to make records. But on his entertaining ninth album, refreshingly designed for an all-ages audience, the affable "Men in Black" star still gets a kick from hip-hop. Laced with useful dance-oriented beats, memorable choruses and just-right cameos from Mary J. Blige and Snoop Dogg, "Lost and Found" is the kind of non-moronic rap product that's become endangered - good, clean, old-school fun. Best moments include the irresistible party anthem "Switch" and "If You Can't Dance," a fond tip of the backward cap to the golden DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince era. Elsewhere, on the amusing "Mr. Niceguy," Smith slams a well-known Big Apple broadcast gossip who "better leave me alone, before I buy your radio station and send you home." With $20 mil a picture, it's not an idle threat. http://u.dailybulletin.com/Stories/0,1413,...2804126,00.html Lost and Found **** I was rather dreading sitting through the generic beats and fatherhood ballads of the ‘serious actor’ Will we’ve grown to wince at over the years. But I’m as keen on him now as I was before Jazzy Jeff’s Summertime was buried by gangsta rap. The fresh prince’s fun, refined, unhostile rhymes are fresher than ever and O.Banga’s beats are consistently hot. Unfortunately there’re a couple of naff tracks but there is a Bush bashing track, and a cameo from R’n’B one hitter Robin Thicke. It’s not harsh enough for the street, but brilliantly wholesome 13 year-old girl hip hop – PAORA http://www.tearaway.co.nz/Article.aspx?PostingID=4517 Lost and Found Story by: David Paul Story date: Thursday, April 14, 2005 Will Smith has always been an innovator; with DJ Jazzy Jeff they were one of the first ever presented with a Grammy for Best Rap Performance. The Fresh Prince was an actor/rapper long before Samuel L. Jackson needed to add credibility to movies staring rappers turned actors. If you're looking for songs about bitches, blunts and 24 inch rims, look elsewhere. Lost and Found, Smith's most recent release leaves much to be desired in that arena. Will Smith is as angry or, at least as angry as a self-proclaimed "Nice Guy" can be. Do you remember that episode of Fresh Prince where Carlton goes to the hood and becomes all Gangsta-like? On first listen Lost and Found plays just like that. With a harder than usual sound, Big Will expresses his displeasure for the current rap scene, how great his movies are, how much he is paid for them and how he wishes he told the girls to drop it likes it's hot. Lost and Found is not mind-blowing or innovative. This is Smith doing what he does best since day one--showcasing his ability as a rapper and a lyricist, especially on the opening track, "Here He Comes." It's not just because it is sung to the tune of the Spiderman theme, but also boasts an appearance of DJ Jazzy Jeff, who produces the track. The ubiquitous Snoop Dogg also makes an appearance, discussing the virtues of self-restraint, which, like the Carlton dance, works on so many levels. http://gauntlet.ucalgary.ca/a/story/5661 Will Smith debuts 'gritty' release By EMILY BINGHAM The State News There comes a point in every musician's career when he or she faces a crucial decision: Should I try something new? Some artists are continuously reinventing their music and their images with great success. Other artists - say, Will Smith, perhaps - seem to have a more difficult time pulling this off. Smith's latest release, "Lost and Found," which hits store shelves today, is a great example of the type of gamble artists take when they try new sounds. The only problem is that the disc is the perfect model for when gambling might not have been the best idea. Who is Will Smith, anyway? As a larger-than-life artist, this guy is more than just a rapper and actor. He's a household name, and a pop culture icon of our times. He's our Fresh Prince, the studly movie hero, the goofy rapper. The guy who helped us all get jiggy with it and celebrate Miami. But it's not so clear who Will Smith is on "Lost and Found." The jiggy sound is replaced with gritty, edgy music and lyrics. Smith sure ain't playing Mr. Nice Guy anymore - just tune into the song by that name, where he responds to Eminem calling out Will's squeaky clean image on Em's single "The Real Slim Shady." "I'm a nice guy, why ya'll harassing me?" Smith retorts in his song, repeating the key line: "Sometimes ya'll mistake nice for soft." You're right, Big Will, and you're anything but soft on this album. You've come a long way (nearly a dozen albums!) since you first found fame with DJ Jazzy Jeff, but one would think you'd have cemented your style by now. Instead, your new rough-and-tough attitude sounds more like a front than the real deal. It's unoriginal and completely not believable. Take "Here He Comes," which opens the album with a sad attempt at establishing the tough-guy mindset. It's nothing more than a knockoff of a superhero cartoon theme song and it doesn't do the job Will probably wanted it to do. The disappointing club anthem "Party Starter" follows, and "I Wish I Made That/Swagga" fails to impress by directly lifting from Terror Squad's "Lean Back" and Snoop Dogg's "Drop It Like It's Hot." Not surprisingly, the most successful songs on the record are those on which Smith loses the attitude. "Switch," the album's first single, is a bouncy number sure to pack dance floors, and Snoop's slick guest spot on "Pump Ya Brakes" makes for a sexy, chill little track. Mary J. Blige sits in on "Tell Me Why," lending some great vocals to a meditation on life's harsh realities, including the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Pity that the song comes a bit late and probably lost some of its intended impact during the interim. Unfortunately, the bad songs on "Lost and Found" outnumber the good ones. Smith definitely chose the right title for his album, because he seems to have lost his direction. Now all he needs to do is figure out the "found" part - by finding himself. http://www.statenews.com/article.phtml?pk=29301 Will Smith's new release gets Lost Posted Fri May 6, 14:03:16 PDT 2005 By Chris Lewis of the Campanile From the first few echoes of Lost and Found, it becomes clear what has become of Will Smith's career as a musician: nothing. The man who started off his music career as the Fresh Prince is at it again, this time without his sidekick Jazzy Jeff, but with an entourage of mainstream hip-hop and rap artists including Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige and Robin Thicke. Unfortunately for Smith, this group of superstars only makes his album more pathetic, as Lost and Found becomes the worst artistic decision of Will Smith's career since Wild Wild West, and by far the most arrogant. It's become obvious over the years that Will Smith loves himself, through such works as Willenium and Big Willy Style. It is Lost and Found, however, that takes the cake as far as arrogance goes. In the first track, "Here He Comes," Smith takes an intricate balance of horns, string instruments and vocal noises as an intro, then breaks into the ever-familiar Spider-Man theme song. The only difference is the lyrics, as the chorus now reads: "Here he comes/He can rock/He can break-dance and he can bop/He can rap/He can act and if it comes down to it he can scratch/Hey there/Here comes that Will again/And every time he touch the mic/He closes his eyes and he hopes to shine/Then like a stream of light/They cheer his name/They be like 'Ahhhh.'" The rest of the album just goes down from there, especially his recent radio hit, "Switch." In this song, Smith tries to do what Los Del Rio did with "La Macarena" and what Fat Joe did with "Lean Back": create his own dance move. The unfortunate thing for Smith (and listeners) is that "The Switch" won't be able to catch on as well as either of them. In "Mr. Nice Guy," Smith eludes to different points in his career, including his recent movie Hitch, as well as his ongoing feud with fellow-rapper Eminem. Again, his arrogance shows when the chorus simply repeats "He's a nice guy," however the song itself is all but nice to Eminem. "People dissing Will sat on a wall/People dissing Will had a great fall/All the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put their careers back together again." Smith also takes shots at white people in this song, making his "nice guy" image only grow weaker and weaker. "Will's a nice guy/Why he's so nice I'd let him date my daughter like he was a white guy." "Pump Ya Brreaks" is by far the best song on the album, simply because Snoop Dogg makes an appearance in it. Smith's rhymes are fluid and go well with the obnoxious beat. Snoop adds a nice voice in the chorus of the song, but some might find this song somewhat offensive, as it makes dellusions to spousal abuse and things of graphic nature. Mary J. Blige guest-starred on the last track of the album, "Tell Me Why." This song includes the wailing of Blige as a mellow guitar plays in the background. Blige ruins what would have been a good beat, and a better-than-usual rap from Smith, which is not saying much. This song is a tribute to the September 11 tragedy, which normally would have been acceptable, if it wasn't three years after it would have been cool to write a September 11 tribute. Smith even curses for the first time in this song, and shows some rare emotion as he yells into the microphone asking why tragedies in the world are necessary. It's obvious to listeners that Will Smith has taken a new approach to his albums: a much angrier tone and content. In this album, he makes fun of people in almost every track, curses and even yells at times, something Smith has never done before. His "good guy" image has finally been diminished, and perhaps he should return to the film industry. Maybe he should just grab a cheese-steak, root for the Phillies and retire in his Pennsylvania mansion. Hopefully, he'll start to realize what he lacks in his album, and will keep on getting jiggy with it. http://voice.paly.net/view_story.php?id=2987 Will Smith Lost and Found Interscope Records "He can rap, he can act... here come Big Will again." That's right, Will Smith has a new CD. Unfortunately though, there's no single for either "Hitch" or "I, Robot." After a long hiatus from rap and a famous insult from Eminem, Smith is back with "Lost and Found." Sadly, Jazzy Jeff only produces the first track on the album called "Here He Comes." The song is a parody of the Spider-Man theme that testifies to the multifaceted talent of Smith. Spending half the album insisting his right to rap on defending his character, Smith asks, "Why should I try to sound like y'all?" Well Will, probably because people don't laugh at "them" for rapping, and they usually don't have to argue their right. But it's OK, he tells listeners in "I Wish I Made That" that David Letterman has his back, even though he doesn't listen to rap. Later in the song, Smith asks why everyone rates rappers like Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg above him. Hmm Will, hmm. In all seriousness, "Lost and Found" has some pretty legitimate beats, excluding Jazzy Jeff's contribution. There aren't nearly as many whistle tracks as his breakthrough album "Big Willie Style." But Smith's lyrics are such an anomaly in the rap world that it's confusing as to how listeners should try and receive this album. It's weird to hear an honest testament to the Sept. 11 tragedy in a rap song, as Smith does in "Tell Me Why," featuring Mary J. Blige. The song feels more like an obligatory response than a heartfelt one, tacked on to show that he is Mr. Nice Guy. If listeners can get past the fact that Smith made this record, there is a small possibility they may enjoy it. However, this is a most daunting task. Andrew Payton http://www.thetowerlight.com/vnews/display...1/4259c0577b6fd Review by John Benson On the back of Will Smith's latest disc LOST AND FOUND, the actor/rapper makes his stand with his "Ali" musculature and a sideways ball cap attempting to establish his streetwise credibility. However, his streets are Beverly Hills and his rapping is as vanilla as Pat Boone's rock singing. Still, Smith is a star who did get his start alongside DJ Jazzy Jeff. Smith's free flowing delivery style remains solid and his non-offensive edict means the 15-track album is family friendly. Perhaps the only downside is Smith's not so subtle posturing for hip-hop respect. Will, we know your past. Stick to your day job for your future and concentrate on winning an Oscar. That'll do more for hip-hop than LOST AND FOUND could ever do. http://www.plan9music.com/?node=module&id=...0000081&id3=113

keep those entries comin we got 6 teams so far!

haha! damn treys gettin bigger every day

hey da brakes..when Will did girls live in london with jeff and biz he actually rapped the original lyrics!

awesome..ive wanted this for years :dj:

yeah its been itunes top 10 for over 3 months!

"Asking why I continue to make hip hop records is like asking why does a tree grow, or why does a river flow?" the West Philadelphia product says thoughtfully. "Because that's what it does. Hip hop is a part of why I was placed here. It's what I was born in the universe to do." nuff said :word:

kool kool

I dont know if hes performing all i know is he's gonna be their..maybe he'll join Will on stage?

kel spencers gonna be their at this show for any1 who is attending

Cough *SIN CITY* Cough ← they havent released that in Australia yet!! which is wack :sleep2: ive heard its the best comic /movie tho lookin forward 2 it :kool:

where was the crowd response? they sucked :sigh:

wave em off!! :word:

Memento is one of my favorite movies.. the fact that batman begins is directed by christopher nolan(the director) has got me excited about this... as far as comic book movies go..i was a big comic book fan in the early 90s..and the movies have really failed at capturing the spirit of the comics..i thought spiderman was rubbish.. the best comic book to movie i've seen is Hellboy... interesting david goyer wrote this .. he also wrote dark city and the first 2 blade movies so he just needs a good director to fix up his hokey dialogue..which he's got here thank god the movie isnt directed by goyer himself like the disaster that was blade trinity :wink:

Spurs in 4 :smart:

I think Will was actually offered that movie at some point..he would have been great in it.. the trailer doesnt do that movie justice..its really funny!

great movie that! very funny..great direction..great action scenes :2thumbs: :2thumbs: with Hitch star wars mr and mrs smith and batman begins next week we are actually gettin sum good movies this year :word:

if party starter is a hit it will reach platinum easy.. cause then Will has 2 hits switch and party starter..its kind of like a cumulutive effect

yall got till the 16th to enter!

1. around the way girl 2. mama said knock you out 3. goin back to cali

I think 7 is gonna be its peak though..its never gonna get ahead of the songs in front of it.. #7 single ..great effort by Will!!!(dont call it a comeback) Now dont expect party starter to rush straight into the top 10.. like I said with Switch it takes up to 3 months to get up there ..

damn it!..anyway this is on in just over 2 hours..dont miss it!

10 to 15

Don't think it will do better than Switch? ← First of all party starter is a second single.. secondly i dont think pop radio will take to it like they took to switch..eventually.. its not as radio friendly..Wills actually sayin sumthin! haha.. and the big question is black radio..will they actually play party starter when they have such a huge bias against Will.. it coulda kinda get caught inbetween.. I hope its huge though..it definitely deserves to be!

im a bit more cautious and predict a top 20 hit..