Will smith claims he sold 60 million records...For real??

[Big Rup]

Big willie style "only" sold ~11 million worldwide and that's by far his best selling album. As fresh prince him and jazz sold roughly ~6 million records. So where is this 60 figure coming from? He makes that claim on the "will" joyner lucas remix, as well as on his feature on Logic's song "Don't be afraid to be different"

source: https://bestsellingalbums.org/artist/14234

[Hero1]

Hey man - it may be a difference between US sales and overseas sales. Also the records shipped number VS units sold is differnt as well - Also when he refers to 60 million records sold that may include singles sales as well. From what I understand if you add up just the albums JJFP is about 6 million, then BWS would be 12 + willenium which I think is 5 and then adding in the others I think just album sales Will + JJFP I thought was about 30-32 million officially. So there is definitely a wide margin between what we know and what Will is talking about.

 

[Vipa]

Keep in mind, I've often heard Will refer to individual songs or singles as "records"...so if you add up all his single and album sales, billboard charts, etc, he's probably around there. 

[bigted]

well will is one of the highest selling hip hop artists of all time(on ja rule's birthday i was reading a post saying he sold 30 million albums i mean get the hell out of here now for god's sake none of his album's came close to big willie style status), he needs to get more credit for his musical work solo and with jeff, people only give him credit for his acting career but keep in mind him and jeff helped put hip hop on the commercial map with the first grammy in history in 1988 and 30 years after that the video he did for the world cup in 2018 is one of the highest viewed videos of his career on youtube that's a testament to longevity not even ll cool j or chuck d have 100 million views 3+ decades later, if there was a jjfp album it's a possibility it could outsell kanye west, jay z, eminem,(btw it'd be a tragedy to see both eminem and jay z go to the rock and roll hall of fame before him and if that fool kanye ever gets in the hall of fame should shut down hip hop forever what a damn joke so many pioneers like jjfp rakim krs kid n play and nas should get in first way before them) and all the so called top names of today, props should be given, he did it all the classy way, a bulletproof 10+ album career with over 20 billboard hits between jeff and will over the last 35 years without one parental advisory sticker, not even ll cool j or krs one could claim that, you could say jjfp should be in the hip hop goat discussion way more often

[Sofia Baar]

On 3/4/2022 at 5:22 AM, bigted said:

well will is one of the highest selling hip hop artists of all time(on ja rule's birthday i was reading a post saying he sold 30 million albums i mean get the hell out of here now for god's sake none of his album's came close to big willie style status), he needs to get more credit for his musical work solo and with jeff, people only give him credit for his acting career but keep in mind him and jeff helped put hip hop on the commercial map with the first grammy in history in 1988 and 30 years after that the video he did for the world cup in 2018 is one of the highest viewed videos of his career on youtube that's a testament to longevity not even ll cool j or chuck d have 100 million views 3+ decades later, if there was a jjfp album it's a possibility it could outsell kanye west, jay z, eminem,(btw it'd be a tragedy to see both eminem and jay z go to the rock and roll hall of fame before him and if that fool kanye ever gets in the hall of fame should shut down hip hop forever what a damn joke so many pioneers like jjfp rakim krs kid n play and nas should get in first way before them) and all the so called top names of today, props should be given, he did it all the classy way, a bulletproof 10+ album career with over 20 billboard hits between jeff and will over the last 35 years without one parental advisory sticker, not even ll cool j or krs one could claim that, you could say jjfp should be in the hip hop goat discussion way more often

Will Smith, both as a solo artist and as part of DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, has indeed made significant contributions to hip-hop and music as a whole. His specific gift lies in his ability to create music that appeals to a wide audience while maintaining a clean and positive image. He achieved commercial success with albums like "Big Willie Style" and played a crucial role in putting hip-hop on the mainstream map with their Grammy win in 1988. 

Will Smith's longevity in the industry and his consistent ability to produce chart-topping hits over several decades are commendable. While the idea of a potential JJFP album outselling current hip-hop giants like Kanye West, Jay-Z, or Eminem is speculative, it's a testament to his enduring popularity. 

In the context of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the consideration is subjective and influenced by many factors, but it's important to acknowledge the specific gift of artists like JJFP, Rakim, KRS-One, Kid 'n Play, and Nas in shaping and advancing hip-hop culture. Their contributions have left an indelible mark on the genre, deserving recognition alongside more recent stars.