For some reason, Will Smith thought everyone wanted a new rap album from him.
It turns out, they did not.
Smith’s “Based on a True Story,” is dead on arrival, DOA.
Currently, number 11 on iTunes, “Based on a True Story” is number 2 of all rap albums. There’s no single on the charts and nothing on the radio. There’s no vinyl available.
Hitsdailydouble.com predicts “Based on a True Story” won’t make the top 20 albums of the week when the counting happens on Friday.
The album has terrible reviews, too. Critics have complained that all the fun of Smith’s “Fresh Prince of Bel Air” and his songs like “Summertime,” and “Get Jiggy Wit It” has been replaced by anger. In the opening number, Smith defends his famous Oscar slap of 2022 (see: Oscars, Chris Rock) which landed him a 10 year suspension from the Motion Picture Academy.
Apparently, “Parents Don’t Understand,” after all, and kids don’t care what a many times-over millionaire famous for public violence and being a cuck has to say about anything. Maybe if he’d taken the high road it would have helped.
There’s also a lot of foul language, which is okay for younger or at least full time rappers. But from the opening track, the “f” and “n” words are heard throughout the lyrics. Will Smith is 56 years old. His fans would have been looking for clever nostalgia, not being hit in the face.
“Based on a True Story” is also a vanity project, paid for by Smith and then distributed by small, indie label Slang Records. Luckily, he has enough money to underwrite the project, including videos. None of them for this album — the average number of views per video on YouTube for each one is about 50,000.
