Will Smith Reveals What Inspired New Music in Chat With Russ

Will Smith tapped Russ and his son Jaden for his latest single and he sat down to talk to Russ about the making of the song.

During the 7-minute clip, Smith admitted to finding his voice with this song. “‘Work of Art’ was the song where I found my voice,” he told Russ. “That’s how I wanna sound, that’s what I wanna talk about. I had recorded probably 20 tracks before that and there was the old constellation of ideas of who I thought I needed to be that was coming through in the music.” He also touched on what inspired this new voice and sound of his. “It was really the first time in my life since childhood that I got the shit kicked out of me,” Smith said in regards to the media backlash he received after his infamous Oscars slap. “You know, I had a run of the gods. It’s like, it was really the first time experiencing what it’s like to get stomped.”

Smith debuted the lead single of his upcoming project — tentatively titled Dance in Your Darkest Moments — during the BET Awards. Last week, he told fans that his first album since 2005’s Lost and Found is finished. While talking with Black Film Allies, Smith said this will be his most personal project. “Over the past year and a half, I’ve been in the studio,” he said. “I have a project that is the most personal and powerful music project I’ve ever done. The idea of the music is, ‘Dance in your darkest moments.’”

Watch the “Work of Art” video below and check out his chat with Russ here.