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I saw him in Hamburg. I dont know when the doors opened, but i went in one hour before the show started (i had a golden circle ticket). There was an opening act (Denyo & DJ Mad from a german rap group called Absolute Beginner) which went for an hour. Will said in several interviews that he's gonna go on tour with Jeff, so it was really disappointing when i realized that Jeff wasnt there. His performance was entertaining though. He opened the show with his verse from Joyner's Will remix, proceeded with Jiggy, Miami, Boom Shake The Room, Brand New Funk, Switch, Fresh Prince, Men in Black, Wild Wild West and then his new stuff like Rave In The Wasteland, Work of Art, You Can Make It, Pretty Girls, which was obviously the weakest part in my opinion. He ended the show with Summertime and his Willywood verse from The Chosen One. The overall concept was really nice as he paid tribute to James Avery and did the Carlton dance and other funny stuff in between songs. The biggest downside was the heavy rain (typical of Hamburg) and the non functional drainage system. The water flooded the whole front area and was up to my ankle. So jumping was impossible and my sneakers are ruined... It wasnt JJFP, but i think i'll consider it as one item off my bucket list.

All I can say is wow. Last night was the best concert I’ve ever been to. It was even better than Blackpool. Will has so much energy, it just sort of radiates off him. I saw Jeff a few months ago and I can say the same about both of them. They have the same energy as they had 40 years ago. You can tell they are both lifelong entertainers. The show had everything. Nostalgia with the FPOBA theme tune, the Apache dance and the tribute to uncle Phil. His older hits are obviously big tunes for everyone. His newer stuff went down well. He did a good job setting up “You can make it” so everyone got into it. “Work of art” was great but he had to stop half way as someone was about to collapse ( very hot and cramped up front) so we missed a chunk. He put “ get lit” in. Although none of us like the song, he gets the crowd into it. I was very excited to see WWW as he didn’t do it in Blackpool. The production was incredible with the backdrop, the dancers and that male singer is incredible. Seeing the Oscar in real life was fab and it was nice to see him proud of it. I think the last few years you could see Will lost some of his sparkle but seeing him on stage he looked so happy and he soaked up the crowd when they shouted his name. I hope from this he does more shows, especially for you guys in America and Australia. He clearly loved every second. It was great spending it with big fans, we did JJFP.com proud by yelling those BNF lyrics louder than anyone. And I got a shout of from Will coz I made a sign saying “I’m not even real, I’m A.I” and laughed and read it out.

Managed to get myself to the show in London. I echo everything Julie said. Best concert I’ve ever been too. The nostalgia, the journey, the accountability, the crowd involvement, the reflection. It was perfect

So that was awesome. But it could have been way better. Hear me out: At first we had the opener Beginner Soundsystem (Beginner without Jan Delay) which where awesome and great fun for about 30 minutes. As it was only a bit over an hour (1:20 with Pause) you can clearly see that this Tour was not intended in the first place. There were only Festivals planned. And the concept is absolutely ok for that. Adding some Headline concerts with basically the same concept with just a few more songs and then sell it as a "Based on a true story" concert... that was ****ed up marketing. It was more a Best of Will Smith concert. And I liked every bit of it. But if they had marketed that as kind of best of Tour he def. would have sold more tickets. Frankfurt was only sold for about 70-80% is my guess. The prices are one thing (I paid 170. If I had waited, that was down to 120 In the end. Front Stage was 250 and then down to 110...) I don't know if it was an issue with the Festhalle but the Sound was veeeeery bad mixed. Way too much bass and constantly overdriven. This is in this case, not as bad as it could have been since Hip Hop is very bass-heavy, luckily. But it could have been a better experience nonetheless. The Setlist was mostly like DefCems. We had Hard Smile at the very end, A Bad Boys Mix and I believe a different opener but I'm not sure what it was. I loved the Avery part, but my seat was so bad I couldn't watch any of the scenes. Bad Stage design, but the worst part was: They didn't show it at the two smaller screens on the side... I also loved the Old School Hip Hop Part with a Breakdance Crew and everything. And I liked that he had a Band. It is much better than tape... Overall. It was, maybe not worth the 170..., but Im glad I finally could see him Live on Stage after all those years. I had fun, it was a nice crowd overall, mostly my age or even older (I am 37). But... I didn't needed the Translator lady. It was a nice gesture, tough for some older folks. If you can see him you should go. Who knows if we ever get that chance again. And here is the Merch. The Red Shirt is available in Black too. The Shirts are 45 and the Cap is 35. There is also a Bag for 25 with the same design as the black shirt.

I dont wanna sound too harsh, but this is what i honestly feel. I don't know what it is, but Will sounds off. It's like he's trying too hard to come off as dominant, superior, hard and at the same time he lacks confidence... which gives me a feeling of not being authentic. I totally understand why people are annoyed, especially the younger generation. He probably comes off as somebody who just started rapping. I have also read some comments and you really can't refute the criticism, when people f.e. point out that he rhymed "tonight" with "tonight" three times on Pretty Girls. His flow is very basic, his rhyme scheme is the same as 20 years ago. It looks like he never touched the pen in the past 20 years. As i mentioned previously, i think he is way behind his peers like LL, Rakim, Nas, which is very sad. His rap persona ego is just too big compared to what he delivers. I'm sorry that i couldn't be more positive and i don't wanna spoil the excitement, but as a long time fan i just had to express my true feelings. I still hope that he will go back to his roots and make some fun storytelling tracks with Jeff.

The song is getting a better reaction than what I thought! I've even had a friend who's not particularly a Will fan message me saying, "Will's new track is a banger!" I don't think that's happened since Switch! It might not be what we were hoping for or expected but maybe this gets more people listening to Will's new music, which can only be a good thing! All I know is, I got to see Will live this week in London, he signed my Willennium vinyl, I'm seeing him again in August and he's consistently releasing new music. So I'm not going to take this for granted. In 10 years, Will will be in his mid 60s and none of this will be happening. I'm just going to enjoy that he's still making music while I can!

The new song is cool and I’m glad Will is having fun with the music again, but I was thinking of something…he constantly talks about wanting to be respected as an artist. He wants his name in the same breath as Dre, Jay, Rakim, LL, Slick Rick, etc…but if he wants that we need some real hip hop. He needs to dig back deep to his roots. We know he’s capable of spitting bars. We need more tracks like Tantrum. These days it’s hard to sell and it’s even harder to get a hit like Jiggy…I feel like that’s kinda what he’s shooting for with a summer anthem like this but at the end of the day he has a chance to really do something to cement his name in hip hop. Not that that isn’t already in stone, but to really show out and prove himself in a rap game that’s currently lacking. You look at Nas, LL, Dre, Snoop…these old heads are still spittin and still getting respect. I really hope these next 2 seasons have some real stuff. Just my two cents. If this is what he wants and he’s just having fun then I support it.

How awesome is this?!

He posted this on his IG.

This is hilarious!

Found out about an unreleased album today from 97. Features 24 tracks on, I believe, 2 cassettes I've contacted the record company who uploaded all the info to see if I can get hold of it

Such a great find! I hope we get to hear all of these songs one day! Here’s a link to one of the tracks.

This is a great interview.

Myself, Kev, Brakes and Michelle are meeting up in Wolverhampton to see the show tomorrow. Im so excited, I’ve heard nothing but good things from people who were there. We are hoping to get there early to be as close as we can.

I went to both shows in Orange. The venue was crazy, so impressive. I don’t want to post and talk too much about it because I know a lot of you guys are still going to see the show and I don’t want to spoil the experience. Let me tell you one thing: people love him! They don’t care about Jada, the slap and all that bull****. They just want to see him do his thing. The classic songs get the show going, Get Lit gets a huge response. The newer stuff sounds great live. Loved these two shows! Seeing him again in my homeland Belgium next week.

Doors open 18:00/6pm 2hrs before 20:00/8pm. This Shirt in Red and Black, an other Black Shirt with WS Based on a true story on it and a red cap. Thats the Merch for this Tour at least in Germany. Iam ready Mr. Smith...

Not sure what’s going on with new people joining and leaving negative comments but I guess that’s the internet these days. It definitely has mixed reviews, a lot of hate but lots of comments enjoying it too. Nearly half million views on YouTube in 3 days. Ive honestly been playing the song none stop all weekend. I don’t want it to appear that I have bad taste in music here haha, but there’s something about it that’s so enjoyable to me. It’s a shame that I feel like I’m enjoying it by myself. It’s like stoichennium said, he’s not gonna be doing this in 10 years. In fact I never thought I’d see him do this in 2025. Embrace it. He’s not gonna make another BWS at his age. But we’ve got a tour and 3 albums. Your hip hop stuff is coming. That anxiety rhyme will be on the album.

An account with two posts and a personal attack. I've no reason to lie. What's happening to this board? I've been a member over 20 years and suddenly the board is littered with new accounts focused on posting negative comments. I don't like it.

Noriega is a terrible interviewer, but Will makes up for it. He tells some stories for the first time here.

No rapper (bar Em) is gonna have a massive chart hit in their 50s. Maybe is Jay-Z dropped something. It's just how it is. Honestly charting high now doesn't matter, and shouldn't matter to him. The tours on the other hand are selling well, that's the bread and butter now.

Love this mashup. That Work It beat is awesome!

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.

Having 'Make It Look Easy' on repeat. Can't stop playing it! Such a nice, positive and catchy song

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.

This is fire!!

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

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 think he needs to release a proper video for this song. Not just because it's proabably my favorite song off of the album, but because all of the other singles/videos have been serious. This song best represents the Fresh Prince well all know and love.

This is actually one of the better Drink Champs. Noriega is just the worst interviewer. He always cuts off the people he's interviewing. I only watch these when I really love the guest. I didn't notice Will not drinking until I read one of the comments. Since he's mindful of his health and since he wouldn't risk being sloppy in front of cameras, I'm not surprised.

I enjoyed this and Will was great but towards the end it got a bit annoying when everyone got a bit loud and started talking over each other. Not sure if it was the drink or all that monster. Did you notice though Will barely drank. He had a few but when they did shots of would avoid or pretend to drink it.

An interview with Will: https://www.complex.com/music/a/minou-itseli/will-smith-mimi-the-music-blogger-based-on-a-true-story-interview

I’ve found a website for the official streaming chart in the UK but it’s not in the top 100. I’ve got a feeling it gets updated weekly because they announce it on radio 1. So maybe we’ll see on Friday.

Wow, number 3 on iTunes is awesome!

The album debuted #3. The press tour is definitely going to help on the concerts.

I’m so glad he put this out and that it fits easily with the time length and style of reels/tiktok. The more this kind of flow gets promotion the more I hope he leans in to these types of songs.

You quoting it is exactly what I came here to say. The 20 of us or so who ate up every “freestyle” post Lost and Found became, shall I say, a bit disenchanted knowing he wasn’t turning over a new record. I had to shake my cynicism and say: (a) yes, this is likely a track he wrote, (b) it could be on the cutting room floor or repurposed but (c) he’s not done producing new music this year so I can just relax and enjoy. definitely high quality verses for sure even if something he had in the hopper already.

Whoa, that intro was straight up Childish Gambino. I liked it though.

Great review of the album! Just one correction in this. You mentioned that he had played “attention” off of his phone in another part of that twitch stream, but that’s not actually accurate. He played “bulletproof” off of his phone on the stream, but before that he chose a beat out of a pool of 15 or so, and then went into the booth and rapped “attention” over it. He ended up doing it twice all the way through, with a few other attempts that the streamer bungled in between. But when they were playing it back in the other room they were just playing back the recording that they had just made in the booth.

Sounds like the second album is gonna have some hard hitting hip hop!

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.

Yeah. My wife was listening with me last night and she asked "what's with all the cursing?"

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.

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!

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