Will played the crowd like a pro

[Hero1]

" Will Smith, who played the crowd like a pro, as if this were a West Philadelphia block party. He stepped back from his hosting duties to be introduced by Jimmy Smits, who urged "feel the love, feel the vibe, but don't forget the message." Smith took the stage to the Rocky theme and stroked the crowd - "North Philly in the house?" - while keeping it light and cutesy. He performed "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It," and the new "Switch" while giving DJ Jazzy Jeff Townes time to stretch out on the wheels of steel."

"Carried out on a throne behind women spreading rose petals in his path, Will Smith gave a delightfully over-the-top show in his hometown of Philly"

Will Smith, Philly welcome Live 8

Saturday, July 2, 2005 Posted: 2248 GMT (0648 HKT)

Will Smith: "Today, we are here to declare our interdependence."WATCH

Manage Alerts | What Is This? PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- The U.S. edition of the global Live 8 extravaganza turned into the Will Smith Show, featuring the return of the Fresh Prince to his old home town.

After British rockers the Kaiser Chiefs kicked things off Saturday with their hit "I Predict a Riot," Smith took the stage to begin hosting duties before a sun-drenched crowd stretching a mile down the Benjamin Franklin Parkway from the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

"Right now you're watching the biggest concert event in the history of the world," Smith said.

Pleading for leaders of the G-8 summit to "end this daily tragedy" of African poverty, Smith was beamed around the world by satellite as he led the global audience in snapping their fingers every three seconds, signifying the child death rate in Africa.

"Today, we are here to declare our interdependence," said Smith in the city where the Declaration of Independence was signed. "Today we hold this truth to be self-evident: We are all in this together."

Later, the rapper-turned-movie star returned for the most theatrical performance of the day. He was carried onto the stage on a throne, with women spreading rose petals in his path. The theme from "Rocky" played just yards from the steps that Sylvester Stallone famously climbed in "Rocky."

That segued into a repeated sample of "the champ is here!" line that Smith delivered in the movie "Ali." Smith then introduced his old sidekick, DJ Jazzy Jeff, and they performed "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It" before launching down memory lane with the theme from Smith's early '90s sitcom, "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," and his classic hit "Summertime."

1:37

To the tune of the theme for "Rocky," Will Smith is carried onstage by six men hoisting the throne on which he sits. DJ Jazzy Jeff, who harkens back to Smith's days as the Fresh Prince, spins a looping sound byte: "The champ is here."

"Philly," Smith growls to a rapt audience. "I am home."

He opens with "Getting' Jiggy Wit It" and follows with his newest single, "Switch," a bass-heavy tune that gets the crowd moving in spite of the heat. Smith then tests his audience's memory, rapping, "Now this is a story," then waiting for the crowd to finish the verse from his theme song for "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air," the popular sitcom that catapulted his acting career.

"Summertime," perhaps the most locally applicable song to this point, gets hundreds of thousands on the Parkway rapping along.

[fan 4ever]

Thanx 4 this man! I just saw the performance again and it was of the top! The crowd loved them...they did the whole FPOBA Theme song! Great show! :2thumbs:

[fan 4ever]

Here is some more

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Will Smith gave a shout out to the Declaration of Independence, a copy of which was in a framed case onstage with him. "Today we hold this truth to be self-evident: We are all in this together," said Smith, who came on a short time later to perform, entering to Jadakiss' "The Champ Is Here." Walking on a trail of rose petals laid down by his backup dancers, Big Willie was carried in on a throne and jumped right into "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It." Even with hits like "Switch" and "Summertime," Smith received his biggest ovation for the theme song to his sitcom, "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air."

source: MTV.COM

[fan 4ever]

And here are some pictures!

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[Angel Amor]

So thats where Floyd Mayweather Jr got the idea of being carried out on a throne on his fight wit Gatti . :kool: But yeah it seems he went all out. I like his performance. GR8 pix fan4ever :thumbsup2:

Edited July 3, 2005 by Angel Amor

[Hero1]

the entrance is straight out of coming to america :lolsign:

[Da Brakes]

"Rose petals at my feet like I'm Prince Akeem!!"

[DefCEM]

Well in my opinion , Kanyes performance was way better.

[Lerkot]

I think Kanye was really really bad actually. Will was way better. Its easy to see that will & Jeff been doing this thing for abt 20 years.

[DevilsJim89]

Kanye had a great performance...he was really preaching it..you could feel it in his voice - he was lettin it all out. but FP played the crowd and all the hometown fans the best. It was so magical.

[Bracesup]

"Carried out on a throne behind women spreading rose petals in his path, Will Smith gave a delightfully over-the-top show in his hometown of Philly"

Man, that's how Indian Kings used to travel in ancient historical days. :lolsign: And Big Will did the best in working the crowd up. Even though Madonna did her thing, I don't think she came close to Will performance. DDDDDAMMMMNNN, THE CHAMP WAS THERE!!!! :jazzy: :dj: