Almost 20 years ago, Will Smith warned you not to mess with him, and it didn't go well then either. 🎧 Visit Audible.com/tod... or text toddintheshadows to 500-500!
That Letterman bar is the wildest unintentional self burn I’ve ever heard on a track. “The whitest man in the world, who disavows and talks down on my genre, likes my stuff!”
The thing is, someone on Letterman's show (possibly Paul) had excellent taste in booking their musical guests, at least some of the time. Mastodon, Garbage, Robert Randolph, and above all Warren Zevon... but these are all *rock acts.* When you rely on Letterman to fill your hip-hop playlist, you get stuff like "Zingalamaduni."
@@redram5150 Glad I wasn't the only one reminded of it. They might be on different sides of the isle, but they have the same defensive, self-aggrandizing feel.
Will Smith dropping anti organized religion bars against his ex-wife might be second place behind The Slap in terms of most unexpected things he’s ever done
The fact that this album with songs that address or take aim at organized religion, black radio, right wing conspiracy theorists, talk show hosts and 9/11 opens with a song that’s just Will Smith rapping over the theme to the 60s Spider-Man cartoon does more to show how disjointed this album is than Switch or Party Starter ever could
@@kamilareeder1493 Yeah, me too. It's awful. Why; has Will Smith always been (for the most part), terrible at rapping? There's exceptions like his verse from Men In Black; Wild, Wild, West(even though that movie blows), his verse on "Summertime"; and the Fresh Prince theme song.
@@shawnfields2369I don't care what anyone says. Wild Wild West slaps. It's the perfect silly movie. I feel like too many people took that movie way too seriously. Which bugs me because Deadpool took off with a similar approach except it was R rated and raunchy. Also Will is a good rapper that progressively got worse as rap evolved and grew as a genre. As Todd says by the year 2000 Will was no longer a decent rapper let alone a good one.
What’s worse is that it’s on a song where he’s trying to sound heartfelt and sincere. It completely destroys the mood he’s going for. Also, for all his talk about not using profanity unlike other rappers, this is an instance where swearing would’ve made sense. And yet he bleeped himself out instead.
"if you think i suck maybe i'll just enter an unhealthy marriage and refuse to leave it or focus on my issues!" "what will..........how does that do anything........" "well..........SHUT UP!"
@@blackdragon6 Mel seems obsessed with Eminem to get attention though. He also acts like the only emcee that's ever existed. Many emcees complained about his attitude over the years.
NGL that "Will I be black enough" line hits for me. I relate to people discrediting your identity because you don't fit in with whatever stereotype or trend
I’ll admit that I never knew much about Will Smith’s music career compared to his acting career, so this will be another lesson in music history for me.
Will Smith's music is alright.. It's just his later work felt weird.. I think he tried to be hard instead of just sticking with what he was doing.. Just change his sound a little to the modern sounds of Pop Rap and he would have still sold records.. Why do you think LL Cool J sold records for so long?? He always modernized his Pop Rap Records.. While still making Underground Hardcore Rap Records..
@@kenrickeasonWill Smith should have imitated the Elephunk Era of Black Eyed Peas. Let's Get It Started in here is a song Will could have featured on and used to promote his 2000s rap career.
@@stefanfilipovits21 Lauryn Hill, too. I think her insistence that her Unplugged songs were "real" was at least partially defensiveness over her struggle to finish new material. Kind of like "I have to like it, I haven't got anything else", only she couldn't bring herself to admit it.
@@evilira718 I think when you’re that famous it’s hard to find people you can really trust, so it’s difficult to tell which criticisms are valid and which aren’t. Plus, they have to be aware that (as this series shows) one bad project can tank an entire career. It makes sense that “you need to change with the times” sounds like good advice when your album sales have been going down.
Just saying, it would be FASCINATING if Will Smith in this day and age put out like a 4:44-style confessional record where he really just bears his whole soul out.
Chamillionaire won a grammy and sold a ton of records without cursing. Only diference is that he didn't brag about it. Will is the type of dude to want praise for flushing the toilet and putting the seat down.
@@malegria9641 And it's not like he went into the poor house after either. Like for a while, Chamillionaire was the one signing Todd"s Cheques for a while due to him investing into stuff. Dunno what he's up to now, but I can't imagine he's flipping burgers or something.
Out of the many contradictions on this record; the video for Party Starter, his full-on Ludacris crunk club jam song, shows his crib transforming into a pumping nightclub, yet the only drinks that appear at the bar in this place are bottles of water.
[activates galaxy brain] no no, it's not that will in that video was throwing a straight-edge party, he had those water bottles out so that guests could stay hydrated while they do *illegal* drugs, which is way cooler and more hardcore than boring old alcohol!
@@thisisfyne I agree. SpongeBob is also a nice guy and more likeable than Will Smith too, because SpongeBob knows karate, and how to be responsible. While sure, a lot of us grew up with Big Willie, SpongeBob was always a better; and more iconic character who saved the entire undersea from an evil little plankton, and his evil, robotic wife too, and finally achieved his dream of being a manager. What's the Fresh Prince done since then? Slapped a comedian, and ruined his own reputation. It's as tragic as it is funny, honestly.
@@shawnfields2369gangsta as in one of its most popular producers/directors was also a child predator to all the child actors on the set? Yet, he was allowed to stay with the network for years.
@@alex_flamerThat makes total sense. The entire entertainment world is full of "people" who think they have to be leftists cos they're in entertainment cos the leftists told them that, and for literally no other reason. And they're big on abusing kids. And they know they can get away with it, cos they're all in the same camp. Which makes it "getting away with it" in much the same sense as "getting away with" breathing air: It's just what you do, cos it's all around you. I've been around long enough (1965) to remember 50 years of liberals yelling "Don't exploit kids!" Weird, it's almost like leftists are hypocrites or something...
This feels like the love child of "Funky Headhunter" and "American Life". Another artist who felt trapped by the image they built for themselves and instead of actually trying to evolve, just decided to chase trends and be mad at their audience
And 'Unplugged' by Lauryn Hill. The artist is clearly going through stuff and needs help. You almost feel invasive for listening like it's too personal and the singer straight up isn't okay enough to know what should stay private. I admire the honesty and the raw emotion, but this doesn't sit right for me.
LL Cool J made Pop Rap Records for decades cause he always moved with the times.. Will Smith could have made more Pop Rap Records but he tried to hard to be something he wasn't.. I don't expect Will Smith to be like 2Pac(No Pun intended) I don't expect Will Smith to be like Nas, I don't expect Will Smith to be like Ice Cube and I don't expect Will Smith to be like Lil Wayne.. I expect Will Smith to be Will Smith.. I listen to all those Rap Artists and I don't expect nothing but what they bring to the table.. I have a dozen Will Smith songs and when I play them I expect Will Smith not Jay Z..
@@52wbending52 Lauryn Hill killed her own career.. She tried to be something she wasn't either.. When you listen to music it will automatically feel natural to you when you hear it..
Between Passage, Witness and now this, I'm liking this new trend of sympathetic Trainwreckords where Todd seems to really care about the artist involved and want the best for them
@@NJGuy1973 I'd actually really like an analysis on Genesis - they're definitely not forgotten, but I really haven't heard too many people mentioning them in the last decade - especially not as much as Phil Collins' or Peter Gabriel's solo careers.
It is very hard to believe that when Will Smith sat down to write an album where he allowed himself to vent about stuff that got under his skin the only things he could come up with were petty crap, dumb rumors, his ex-wife being annoying, and that the black community didn't support him enough. To be very blunt he was a black man in Hollywood in the late 90's and 2000's he had to have seen a lot of messed-up shit and this is all he wants to complain about.
@@vaevictis_ he was raised in West Philly in a working-class family. he didn't become rich (his 1988-89 spending spree doesn't count since he blew all that money away and the IRS ended up garnishing most of it) until the later seasons of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air at the earliest. he's definitely seen some messed up shit early on (he's experienced most of Reagan's polices and their effects on the black community). maybe not as much anymore, but definitely enough to at least rile him up. too bad Lost and Found is just him reciting r/atheism talking points, whining about club dancers not wearing enough clothes, and talking about how much people think he's the nice black man for white people
@@Malkmusianful I was responding to the statement of him being a black man in Hollywood seeing some messed up shit. Hollywood!! And he is a huge multimillion dollar celebrity and had a decent rap career even before his show took off! He just comes off as someone constantly trying to prove he is “hard” when he really doesn’t need to
@@vaevictis_ Unless he was actively ignoring it he definitely saw it (which is possible with how he handled the whole Aunt Viv situation and now admits it). He's an a list star, there's little chance he wasn't privy to the terrible shit that goes on there. Esp as he has ties to Scientology.
I must say I didn't expect Will Smith to launch into a Richard Dawkins-esque spoken word piece about the hypocrisy of organized religion. It's not bad, but it's like if Taylor Swift stopped in the middle of a song and started ranting about gerrymandering.
@@frederickshaibani5655 OK, but imagine if she played a speech by an economist or a climate scientist over that song like Beyonce did with Flawless. Would it be better?
@@TheSongwritingCat I don't know why but that speech flowed nice into the song? It was pretty good and not jarring at all, or maybe I'm just a bey fanboy lol
Perhaps the image was beginning to chafe then. When people can't imagine him having a complex opinion, and his living depends upon maintaining it, no wonder he's not easy with it.
Shiet, Taylor's fanbase is gigantic and ravenous. Can we start having her sing about topical social and political issues? Wonder how many of her young fans would go out and vote against conservatives if she told them to? Follow up song describes in detail how to vote in local elections too.
The part at the end about Will Smith being on a TMI thing made me realize something about him. He has been a "star" for his entire adult life. He has been an A-lister for more time than he has not been. That has GOT to mess with your perception and emotions. But Will Smith's whole thing is "being cool". That's how he sells himself. It kind of feels like the movies and the music and all that is the only real outlet he might have had for being vulnerable, but outside of that he's like "nah that's acting". So yeah, this album would have been better if he could have just given it all in and really committed to it.
I never put that together before, you’re right. He was 22 when Fresh Prince of Bel-Air first started and was basically in or near the spotlight ever since.
Yeah and he made his professional debut at 18 years old with DJ Jazzy Jeff so that means for 35 years he has had this image that seemed stuck with him until recently.
@@VoidNull9222 And it wasn't like he wasn't already known when he started Fresh Prince. I'd known of him for at least a few years prior to that. Then again, I lived in Philly and it may just have seemed like he was a star already due to my location.
@James Cartwright yeah no, if you are gonna be stupid and racist you could do so somewhere else he got an oscar because he probably bought it, like, fucker has influence and pull because of how much of a box office magnet he used to be all the way until that incident, and also the oscars love them shitty biopics for whatever reason, he just bought it with influence and money, that's it, is a tale older than the oscars themselves
I think it's pretty rich to hear Will firing shots like "Write one verse without a curse" cause genuinely one of the best rap songs I've heard is "If It Ain't Ruff" by N.W.A which has no swears but some of the best rhymes on Straight Outta Compton. If you've got the talent, it doesn't matter if you swear or not.
I'm definitely no expert, but wasn't early rap from the 80s generally a lot more tame in its lyrics anyway? Reminds me of how most pioneer punk or metal records from the early days of the genres sound pretty soft and inoffensive to modern audiences. Genres evolve so much over time.
@@neckpeck2738yes early 80s rap was generally swear free (aside from a few slurs like in The Message). That comes from the original roots of hip hop being more from disco and those kinds of lyrics. Lyrics back then were incredibly simple and more viable for a family audience (I’d say radio, but back then it wasn’t really hitting that yet).
As someone who came of age in the Willennium era, Will's music career is always a very humbling and sad reminder of how much his public persona/image was almost inseparable from his work, to his own detriment. Most of his music was either about him bragging about himself or his squeaky clean image, which really revealed just how corny he could possibly be. This is like if Speech and early 2000s Bill Cosby got together and made a rap album.
I think he’s probably the corniest rapper ever. Least Hammer came close to being an actual emcee. Will definitely seemed like he only rapped cause everyone in his neighborhood was doing it. And he decided “what the heck? Lemme jump in it.”
That what bothered me the most.. You don't have to brag about you being this way or that way.. The Music speaks for it's self.. You don't have to belittle other Rappers who do it differently than you or such.. I still enjoy Will Smith's music like I still enjoy Kenya West's music but today they are both Narcissists people..
Todd's acting skills have improved a ton over the years, but there are so many expressive moments in this video, especially 12:27. Even as a shadow, I could tell exactly every emotion he had.
Honestly he is a MASTERFUL physical actor and comedian. I can only imagine how much he contorts his face and his voice in order to communicate some of the stuff he does.
he’s such an icon to me- over the years he’s continually improved consistently. He’s timeless, he’s one of the rare internet personalities who has been doing the same bit for ages and still feels fresh and classic.
@@CarlsCozyCorner I always love actors/performers like that. The type that somehow without a face or voice can get across so much emotion through exaggerating everything else.
It's crazy how much DNA is shared between this album and other Trainwreckords. Funky Headhunter with Will trying to pull off something he's not able to, Lauryn's overhonesty and preachiness, the Robin Thicke feature. It may not be an outright bomb or anything, but it fits neatly into the Trainwreckords discography.
It has the loss of public respect of st anger, the “trying to build credibility after being seen as soft” connection to Passage, and the attempts to cash in on the sound of the time of 0304
I’m guessing you’ve already seen this but if you can find it, Lindsay Ellis did a collab with Rap Critic a really long time ago called “Will Smith was a rapper once…” and Rap Critic hits on this topic. I’m paraphrasing but he essentially says that when gangsta rap became more prominent, “kid friendly” rappers like Will Smith and MC Hammer had to adapt to the harder image or get left behind. Then after Biggie and Tupac were killed, rap relaxed on that “hard” edge and went more for the classic and crisp look, which Will fit into well, and that’s when we got “Men In Black”, “Gettin’ Jiggy wit It” and “Miami”
Also it's similar to Arrested Development where not only did they both constantly throw shade at gansta rap but they both did during an acceptance speech at an award show.
It's genuinely impossible to overstate how huge Will Smith was up to the mid 90s. I think it helped that he got big in TV, then in movies, which bouyed along his rap career for quite a while. Like, his soundtrack work was broadly received even as his rap albums were falling off.
@@andersonwang1746 Wasn't Fresh Prince his rap name before the show? He had his rap hits and then made the decision to take the rap persona and make a family-friendly show?
it's important to note that Will was a rap icon _before_ he _ever_ was an actor. The whole draw of 'Fresh Prince' was that it was a sitcom starring a rapper and that was a weird novel thing. "Girls Ain't Nothing But Trouble" came out in 1987 and Fresh Prince started airing in 1990.
Patton Oswalt once talked about working behind the scenes at some award show and saw Will Smith come in with his huge entourage. Patton saw Smith alone for a very brief time before the show and he looked completely miserable. The weight of having to keep up appearances was unbearable. This plus his bizarre turn with After Earth can’t make me too surprised by the slap.
It's so insane how much people are obsessing over it, it's almost like people never believed Will Smith was actually human or something? He's got his limits and his frustrations, and if someone attacks his loved ones then he's going to consider fighting back. That's just how people are, and celebrities are just as flawed as the rest of us. A lot of times, they have even more weird flaws to deal with. What I'm really angry at is the Oscar reaction to it. They brought the hammer down on a man trying to stand up for his wife harder than they brought it down on actual known rapists and abusers who are mostly still getting away with it. Will Smith's crime was never the slap. It was always that he "ruined" their special show, and THAT is unforgivable.
@@ar-yj8lb Chris Rock has been making nasty "jokes" about Jada, specifically her hair, for a really long time. It was the final straw for Will Smith. At a really bad time -- but those things never happen at a "good" time. Will Smith is not a "the best revenge is served cold" kind of person, which is too bad, because if he were, everything would have turned out better for him and worse for Chris Rock.
@@nerianasims1849 Oh pplease . Chris Rock made fun of everyone for years . It's what he was known for . If 50 Cent can take him joking about him getting shot , then Jada can take a GI Jane joke
For those surprised that Will went from a family-friendly pop rapper who went for harder, party songs and diss tracks when he could’ve changed his original sound slightly, remember: this is the same man who turned down playing Neo in The Matrix to be in Wild Wild West. Also, if anything, this reminds me of MC Hammer’s The Funky Headhunter. Both of them appealed mostly to kids and families with their original music, but went into a more adult-oriented, hardcore sound when their musical popularities declined. And yet all it did was show their artistic flaws even more and led to their downfall. And in both cases, they didn’t even need to alter their sound that much, because pop rap was still a thing, even if it evolved somewhat.
The albums are definitely similar in their intent,but I think their actual content is different. MC Hammer just comes off as a phony doofus trying too hard. Will comes off as a quite bitter guy that changes with the times almost like he is forced to.
I mean, hindsight is 20/20 crystal clear but I imagine at the time The Matrix looked like a weird niche film for sci fi nerds (and remember that nerd cultural dominance was definitely NOT a thing back in 1999) whereas Wild Wild West was a big Hollywood blockbuster financed to the gills (it had over triple the budget of The Matrix) with a bunch of important names connected to it and based on a classic TV property (which movie remakes of were hot shit back then, and one that was a hit could make an actor's career). Anyways Keanu is a far better pick for Neo than Will would have been.
@@GhostSound2 well, considering Funky Headhunter had Hammer dissing Run-DMC, A Tribe Called Quest, and RedMan, there was quite a lot of bitterness on that album too.
Honestly, I kind of dig how neurotic this record is lol. So used to hypermasculine rap posturing that it's... interesting to hear this fractured, anxious, narcissistic but also kinda self-deprecating lyrical content. It's not comfortable listening but at least it's not boring?
Same. I wish I made that is a sentiment that I've felt as a creative myself, and seeing Will actually struggle with thoughts like that among the other topics on the record (Like being put o the pedestal of the "good black man") is really interesting.
Yeah, it’s what makes this record hard to look away from. Using hip hop swagger to convey a shocking degree of insecurity, grievance, hypersensitivity, and validation-craving.
It's like if Drake was rapping about being on Degrassi, but over the same exact kinds of boisterus, huge beats as his competition in the late bling era.
This is a great video. I've noticed with so many Trainwreckords, the artists either: 1.) Try something new that doesn't work or is so different that it alienates their fanbases or 2.) Complain about their fame and how miserable they are, sometimes intertwining it with the politics of the day, which never goes over well. This series puts into perspective what artists should NOT do if they want to further their career. Can't get enough of this series.
Don't forget 3) Made a concept album about a dark cyberpunkish future where music is banned or something and the lead singer is the hero who saves the world through the power of rock. And I know that's incredibly specific, but that is why it is very weird that it happened twice ("Killroy Was Here" and "Cyberpunk").
Except that good artists CAN pull these off-a good example of both back to back is Radiohead’s OK Computer, which was the result of feeling negative and miserable and sick of touring and discouraged by what they witnessed around them on tour, then Kid A, which alienated a lot of people and plenty of hate before it was recognized as a classic. More recently, Billie Eilish’s last record definitely falls under #2, and she’s going strong as ever. I’d argue that where artists usually go wrong there is simply failing to be relatable or make their audience care. Billie talks about craving pity or wanting attention, but in a way that feels self aware and wise, and inspires listeners to self-reflect, whereas Will Smith’s vulnerability comes off as self-centered, spoiled, and at worst, insensitive to his audience.
@@kylanbowden6125 Yh 2 can be done very well, Eminem’s most successful albums are the ones where he’s talking about his success and how miserable his life is.
I worked in a movie theater when MEN IN BLACK 2 came out. So I had to spend an entire summer cleaning the theater while "Nod Ya Head" blared over the end credits. What stuck out to me though was Will Smith promoting the single on MTV Spring Break. First off, there's no choreography he could muster to make "Nod Ya Head" look cool. It just didn't work. Second, I remember him being interviewed onstage in front of the crowd and saying "I refuse to lose. Whatever it takes to master my craft, I'll do it." And people applauded, but it gave me pause. I thought, "There's more to life than winning all the time, Will. There's no shame in failure if you tried your hardest." I think I viewed Will Smith differently after that. I viewed him as someone who sacrificed his own happiness out of a pathological obsession with being the best.
Bill Cosby openly criticized other comics, including Eddie Murphy, about using profanity in their sets. In fact, there are hundreds of examples of people being staunchly against the thing they actually are, but are desperately trying to hide.
I'm disappointed he didn't go full Unplugged 2.0. Some of these tracks sound like they would have made great bookends to twelve-minute monologues about being real.
Hearing this record makes me realize that Donald Glover did almost the exact same thing, keeping up a lighthearted image as a star before completely nuking it with a bitter, darkly comedic record. The only difference was that Donald kept his signature self-awareness with him into his music career, made the choice to make music in a more palatable style when he started tackling his personal issues, and even had a name change to solidify his artistic change. Childish Gambino is undeniable proof you can be an actor and a pop rapper without losing your dignity and still have the respect of even the snottiest critics and rap listeners.
Camp hasn’t aged super well but Because the Internet deserves to be recognized as a masterpiece. It holds up astoundingly well, I think it’s the best thing he’s ever made
Please, Todd, do an episode on Eminem’s “Encore.” Yes, his career continued to thrive, but that album was the definitive end of his glory years, with nothing he’s released since topping those first three Aftermath albums. And with everything Em was going through behind the scenes, combined with the massive difference in quality between the album’s best and worst songs, I feel like it would make a compelling subject for one of your video essays.
I think that he’s been too successful for it to count as a Trainwreckord. No previous Trainwreckord artist has had nearly as much success after their “disaster album” as Em. It would be awesome to see Todd analyze Encore, but I feel like it just doesn’t fit with the “Trainwreckord” series
PSA: Taking a swing at Wendy Williams is never a waste of time, as long as you keep it to just words (and not death threats). It will always be seen as punching up.
@@dusty2080 She's basically a black Lucy van Pelt from Peanuts/Regina George from Mean Girls who never grew up and got her own talk show. It's just as mind numbingly cruel as it sounds to watch
Todd makes a surprising number of Mean Girls references in his reviews. I’ve been noticing it for years. I like to imagine he’s secretly as much of a Mean Girls fanatic as I am
MEAN GIRLS is a widely-acknowledged classic comedy of the 00s. This is like somebody saying they're into this artist most people don't know named Adele.
Will Smith, to me, feels like a very self-conscious person. He's open about himself but he also seems to care a lot about what others think of him. It's not to the point where he's confrontational (well, not until recent at least), but it is clear that he isn't afraid to get emotional even when it might not paint him in the best light. It's kinda like the Kanye situation, except when Kanye is being open, it paints him as increasingly unhinged and petty, whereas with Will, it's just a lot more pitiable.
I can't believe that you did not mention how Will obviously failed to explain 9/11 to his son, as Jaden was spreading conspiracy theories on his album SYRE...
The reason it didn't become a major controversy is that almost nobody listened to the album or even knew it existed. Can't get offended if you don't hear it.
The best encapsulation of this record being a bad idea is those shots in the "Party Starter" music video where Will's trying to sing about being the cool, hip party dude, but he turns around and his shelves are filled with _water_ instead of alcohol or even soda.
And the bit where he tells the chick she isn't wearing enough clothes? Seems like a weird time to channel his inner 1888 Kansas Librarian. It was the first party where the Coat Check Girl gives you a coat.
I do think this happened. He wrote some songs for hitch and then realized he wanted to make an album for himself. It was the transition for him to be more open and personal but this album felt a bit more like an initiatial tantrum. One where you're finally trying being honest with yourself but not knowing where to vent or how much
Which, as a creative person, I get. Sometimes emotional diarrhea like that helps get it out of your system. But I'd never imagine releasing it to the public. Not because I'm afraid to be raw, but because it's self-centered in nature and I don't want my art to be all about me.
@@samuelstensgaard4828The Men in Black II theme slapped when I was a kid but as an adult that theme was terrible. The 1st Men in Black still holds up and is very good in 2023.
2:29 I don't think the value of "Trainwreckords" lies in its strict adherence to the "rules" of what deserves to be on the list. I watch this series to rediscover lost bygones of pop music and learn about the failures of the industry as a whole. You do such a good job of that, so I don't really care about what technically classifies as a true trainwreckord. Also I understand that this was a rhetorical question in the video. Just my two cents.
A year later, finding out Will slapped Chris while he and Jada were ALREADY separated and him still calling her his wife as if they're still a close and happy couple is... certainly interesting.
@@leaffinite2001but it’s weird for him to do. Like to me, it feels controlling, bc he didn’t need to do any of that. Normally you’d just keep quiet about it instead of lying
@VultureSkins is it controlling? Was he stopping jada from publicizing their separation, or was it a mutual decision? Have they even talked about that? Idk. I think it makes sense that they wouldnt want to be publicly messy... and that if they are pretending to still be a happy couple, will might, being already emotionally rocky, overshoot and do something silly like slapping chris rock
Although this album would have eventually been featured as a Trainwreckord, we can thank the slap heard around the world for accelerating things and so here we are.
I'm 18 and I knew about his music, but trying to imagine Will Smith as a contemporary musician back then is a bit of a trip, to be honest, so you're kinda right
I've come to really love Trainwreckords for a lot of reasons but especially because it shows off how insightful Todd can be, he pours SO much research into these videos (and boy does it show) and in doing so, develops a really clear picture of these artists and their art and has a lot of valuable commentary to offer
I wonder how much Will Smith felt or still feels like Sidney Poitier. That kind of reputation and expectation to be the 'good' black man who isn't threatening or angry, and subsequently is suffocated by the 'ideal black man' mask despite personal struggles and marital troubles. That line about being the nice guy who is on par with a white man really hits me as coming straight from 'Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.' Like in order to be on par with white men and white audiences he has to be so family friendly and so careful about his image. No wonder he fucking cracked under all the pressure. I don't think white American audiences ever wanted to see Will Smith as a real person, so we didn't pay attention until we couldn't look away.
I don’t know much about Sidney Poitier, did he ever speak about what you’re referring to? I’ve always enjoyed him as an actor but had no idea about this pressure
11:01 "...he can rap, he can act, and if it comes down to it, he can *scrap!* , Hey there, here comes Big Will again!" Will really out here warning us years in advance didn't he lmao
Your point about Will Smith being fun was spot on. I don't begrudge him for trying to be "hard" or "deep" but he was so elite at making fun pop music why go away from that? He had fared soooooo much better and looked back on more fondly than pretty much any pop rapper from the 90's. Even with the Eminem diss, he was never a joke on the level of MC Hammer, who was actually a real gangsta who disguised himself as an easily digested radio friendly rapper, or Puffy, who was an easily digested radio friendly rapper who disguised himself as a real gangsta. Will Smith was just fun dude and should have leaned more into that even in the changing times of 2005. Even when he didn't have "street" cred, he always had the "old school" cred on top of the fact that he's probably one of the richest rappers of all time. I don't want to tell him how to live, but Will Smith should have been happy just being being the fun guy. There are worse things than being the unthreatening, nice guy who's a mediocre rapper, namely being the salty dude too much in his own feelings taking himself way too seriously and is a mediocre rapper.
He loved making the fun pop music but he also loved being a true rapper because he was a true rapper from the 80s. He just wanted to be able to have the freedom to also be taken seriously as a rapper whenever he tried to showcase it.
This album was actually my first exposure to Will Smith's music (as a REALLY young kid I saw bits of Fresh Prince a few times), with ""Switch" appearing on one of the first music CDs I got when I was 5 (Now 19). I still have a soft spot for that song tbh.
As weird as it sounds: I kind of remember reading an interview in a German rap magazine back in the day. It was fascinating (obviously, cause why would I remember it otherwise), because Will talked about how personal this record war... and how he told his manager to cancel all movie offers, because he wanted to go on a club tour, even though he was fully aware, that this would lose him money... So yes, aside from these 2 obvious Hitch Songs, this is really about Will Smith opening up about personal issues... and paying his dues as a rapper.
"If you told me before the Oscars that someone was gonna get out of their seat and smack a presenter, I'd have picked Liza Minnelli before I guessed Will Smith!" This is an all-time Todd line, good golly gosh.
honestly, I kinda love hearing him sing about his heatred for bible thumpers. It's something I've never heard in a rap and it's so weird and funny and personal. this wasn't a hot topic he wanted to share his opinion on, and hearing this album makes me feel how genuine his corniness is. which makes him seem like a very likeable person, this is him, and if he embraced it and had fun, I think we would all have fun.
I prefer Shaggy's "Church Heathen" Still a bit of a corny track from a corny rapper, but I found myself agreeing with Shaggy more, and just enjoying the song a whole lot more.
There's this amazing rapper, Aesop Rock, he was raised catholic and as an adult he put out quite a few songs against organized religion. This theme is very close to him. Check out Holy Smokes , Save Yourself, Supercell.
So many Trainwreckords subjects have been family friendly acts chafing against the fact that they aren't as cool or commercially popular as the edgier side of culture of the time. Hammer, The Carpenters, Arrested Development, and now Will. Some of them, like Hammer, try to be edgier and fail. Some of them, like Arrested Development and The Carpenters, staunchly refuse, saying "I shouldn't have to be violent to be popular or to be taken seriously". Will Smith is rapping about 9/11, ripping off Luda and 50, and contemplating the murder of his ex wife all while bitching and moaning about how black radio only plays gangsta shit... and also sampling spider-man. What tone are you going for Will?
The irony about Hammer is that he was that type of dude. He was respected in the streets. There's a hilarious Redman interview on Vlad TV talking about their beef.
Also, I didn't notice this at first, but "Lost and Found" the title track is a straight up rip off of Eminem. It sounds just like "Business" from The Eminem Show.
Your criticisms are spot on. Except the one about him getting Robin Thicke on the album because he "couldn't afford" Justin Timberlake 😳 This is early 2000's Will Smith. That man could've afforded to have Elvis exhumed, reanimated & featured on the song. The only possible answers are that he was/is super thrifty with his bread, or JT straight up turned his ass down. Imo of course.
Wasn't Justin Timberlake also super popular in early 2000s? If there's anyone who could be out of Will's price range at the time in the music world it would be him.
incorrect, he had a funky headhunter phase during the same time with "Code Red" in 1993. There, he proudly proclaims "many have died tryna stop my show." lost and found is too authentic to be a funky headhunter
I've been watching a large amount of various Trainwreckords episodes recently, which has lead to the music in my head being an uncanny mashup of the "heeey" from Switch here, Intuition by Jewel, Mr. Roboto by Styx, the chorus of the Spin Doctors' Big Fat Funky Booty for crying out loud and Hollywood by Madonna, which is...quite the experience to say the least
The Slap Heard Around The World did reveal a lot about Will, but it also got people looking deeper into Will’s transformation. For example: this album.
Personally, I am not shocked about the slap. I am actually shocked it took so long for the general public to observe Will Smith's declining mental health considering the fact he and his family are scientologists.
@Perverted Alchemist To be short on the Oscar's 2022 slap, I'll just be quick and say Chris Rock's joke is quite tame and NOT worthy of a deck across the face.
Be real everybody: If he didn't retaliate, he would have been laughed and mocked, if he retaliated (which he did) he would have been seen as violent. Chris Rock should apologize. Just don't go there with your jokes, man!
@@peterDcontact TLC sold 10 million records and a majority of their money went back to their record company. Music isn’t as lucrative as it seems. A majority of artists have to do other things in order to break even such as fashion, perfume, make up, producing etc.
@@lightonsnow1 TLC also had a famously all-time bad record deal. They only got like 7% of revenue from albums sold (typical industry standard is 15%) & they signed away the rights to the actual name "TLC" (which they had to buy back 1 letter at a time). An artist *can* make money off albums sold, they just need a fair percentage & can't let themselves get a bad deal on their advance (or waste their advance, which happens a lot when bands are dysfunctional). It's still a system weighted in the record company's favor, but a lot of musicians mismanage their own finances & keep dumb people around them.
Will Smith has always been a charismatic actor who can deliver the dramatic chops to receive accolades. He's also always come across as an extreme ego-maniac with deep seated issues.
Actually Will Smith did tried to have a comeback as an EDM artist. He released his single "Get Lit" to virtually no attention in 2017. He even performed it live on a Croatian beach festival. It sounds like a very bleak rip-off of Diplo or Skrillex.
I think he's just gotten really into producing music over the past few years. Beatmaking is pretty much completely accessible to anyone with a working computer now, and he seemed to have just picked it up in his spare time. I don't think he was completely serious about it.
I used to see his videos on BET’s Rap City and Yo! MTV Raps when I was a tyke lol I really thought his name was The Fresh Prince too. 😂 But I’m 38 so lol
I think what's worth acknowledging more about this album (about which I may be biased, because it's the only Will Smith record I actually enjoy listening to) is that many of the things that Todd seems to find hard to enjoy because they are bitter, envious or judgmental are exactly the reasons I think it's worthy of at least a little appreciation. It is, at least to me, kinda obvious that Will is having a moment; and it's worth noting that not only is sourness or envy perfectly normal to show up in art, but they're some of the best parts of some entire artists' most popular oeuvres. I think I really enjoyed that Will was willing to be in a lot of places really vulnerably catty - for instance, I read 'I Wish I Made That' as him admitting that he feels like he *can't keep up* artistically and would be able to make up for it by being hard, and really does feel envy that the songs he cites *are actual bangers he thinks he can't write at the level at*, and makes it all the more humanly interesting for being on the same record as the title track, because at least he's willing to admit some desire to grow in the same space as that judgment and doubt. I don't mean to say any of that to think you are being too harsh at all - I think you're actually being legitimately kind, and it would be improper to imply otherwise - but I feel like there is still more kindness to spare for acknowledging that doubt on a track-by-track basis as well.
And his next song...Damn I suck and shouldn't even be up here...nah. Beck pulled it off with Loser but that's a hard sell and takes mad skills he didn't have.
I think the main problem with this album is that all the songs have exactly one theme, and it's that Will Smith is having his Madonna/Katy Perry moment where he's entirely uncomfortable with everything he did before and he resents that the identity he created for himself is now a chain that binds him. Like he tried very hard to create this identity, and then wasn't happy that he couldn't just change that identity on a whim. He's a controlling dude, deep down, but in his case it's about controlling his image and the perception of himself.
I was tired of people’s takes on The Slap the second it happened. That said, Will Smith cannot sell being hardcore. I think that’s the actual reason people are so shocked.
@@eamonndeane587 or distracts people from how the academy got Megan and a bunch of reggaeton stars to sing we don’t talk about Bruno instead of THE ACTUAL CAST!
Frankly, the fact that people are flipping their lid so much more over Will Smith reacting to literal decades of goading from Chris Rock over, oh, IDK, Alec Baldwin literally killing someone is some patently racist shit. What a mountain out of a molehill.
Also things that matter significantly more like the guy who burned himself to death on the steps of the Capitol to protest climate disaster and the media’s pretending he did it for no reason or it was a weird accident.
When I heard about the, uh, _percussive incident_ , I was a bit 'oh my' but not completely shocked. Ever since After Earth I had an impression of WIll being a worn down, bitter and angry man. Knowing what I know about his activities in Scientology, the 'schools' he helped make and all the harm he did to his kids with it, I already knew he was broken. Will has been broken for a long time. Just like functioning adicts, he can still create, but he is not whole nor okay.
@@StudioScarecrow Google Applied Scholastics. They were for marks to get them into scientology without knowing they were dealing with the ''''church''''. Kind of like WISE for businesses that tricked a business into becoming involved under the guise of some super special business system.
I think Will's "actor" problems leaked through to his music way more in this record. This is mostly evident in the diss tracks which feel a lot more like you're reading a twitter feud between catty showbiz divas than a battle rapper firing off at his haters.
A list of various Trainwreckords Todd hasn’t covered for those interested in researching some spectacular career-killing failures for themselves: The Monkees - “Head” - Jack Nicholson and a collapse into irony The Smashing Pumpkins - “Machina/The Machines of God” - Over-wrought and half-baked Pink Floyd - “The Final Cut” - Roger Waters kills his own band with his ego Kurtis Blow - “Kingdom Blow” - Desperately trying to be cool Kiss - “Music from The Elder” - Orchestral concept album from f*cking Kiss The Velvet Underground - “Squeeze” - Capitalize on Lou Reed’s sudden popularity by using his band’s name to release an album without him Lou Reed - “Berlin” - An amazing concept album that single-handedly destroyed any chance he had of remaining commercially successful Genesis - “…Calling All Stations…” - A Genesis album without Peter Gabriel or Phil Collins??? Bob Dylan - “Saved” - Bob Dylan makes Christian Rock The Zombies - “New World” - An album that failed because there were too many bands claiming to be The Zombies. New Order - “Republic” - An album so successful it crushed the band beneath it. Neil Young - “Trans” - Neil Young modernizes for the 80s The Doors - “Other Voices” - A Doors album without Jim Morrison. Ew. The Heads - “No Talking, Just Head” - The name of this band is not Talking Heads, listen and you’ll know why. Vanilla Ice - “Mind Blowin’” - Vanilla Ice tries to prove he’s a G. Milli Vanilli - “The Moment of Truth” - No fake singers on this one, unfortunately Limp Bizkit - “Results May Vary” - An album that managed to kill its own genre Janet Jackson - “20 Y.O” - A sub-par album, Jermaine Dupri, the nip-slip, and Janet’s industry blacklisting culminate in Janet Jackson being tragically erased from popular culture. The Cars - “Door to Door” - The good times don’t roll and that isn’t what they needed… Common - “Universal Mind Control” - A completely unnecessary and unwarranted change in direction. If you have any others let me know!
Some good ones (I actually really like The Final Cut but I also like Waters' solo work). One thought is that Trans is also very heavily about his physically disabled son and caring for him, as well as hope that the world in the future would be more accepting and acommadating for him. Not that the album isn't bad, it's kind of unlistenable, it's just hard to really dig into it without touching extensively on some heavy subject matter. A couple of other thoughts: Rush - Vapor Trails - Rush gets in on the "loudness war" nobody, not even the band, likes the result Lou Reed - Metal Machine Music - It's considered groundbreaking now, that doesn't mean it's considered good Slipknot - All Hope is Gone - A band already stretched to their limits makes their most commerically beloved album, breakdowns ensue Vanilla Ice - Mind Blowin' - Dread it, run from it, gangsta Vanilla Ice waits for you all the same Black Flag - What The... - I could talk about a lack of Rollins or it being released almost three decades after their last good release, but just google the album cover.
Robin Thicke being on the album is like the mid-credit scene in a superhero movie where they show the villain for the next movie.
Great now I can't unsee Robin Thicke as Thanos. Thanks for that mental image.
omg….
Robin Thicke: fine I will do it myself
LOL damn
🤣🤣🤣
"Nickelodeon, I can't hear y'all!" lives rent-free in my head.
What the fuck is up, Nickelodeon???
Get the fuck up out your seats, Disney Channel!
10:10
he slapped it.
"This one's for my nigga Spongebob! B-Bottom side represent! Bubble Bass watch yo ass!"
I love how “Pump Your Brakes” is on the same album as “Jesus was with me to keep me from killing you”
It’s really jarring, ain’t it?!
@@timmy841212The lack of consistency in the topics he chooses to write about hurt this album.
He pumped his brakes!
jesus took the wheel and pumped his brakes for him
@@RenaldyCalixteI agree
That Letterman bar is the wildest unintentional self burn I’ve ever heard on a track.
“The whitest man in the world, who disavows and talks down on my genre, likes my stuff!”
The guy wants to fit in so badly. I kind of get where he’s coming from and It’s sad.
The thing is, someone on Letterman's show (possibly Paul) had excellent taste in booking their musical guests, at least some of the time. Mastodon, Garbage, Robert Randolph, and above all Warren Zevon... but these are all *rock acts.* When you rely on Letterman to fill your hip-hop playlist, you get stuff like "Zingalamaduni."
"Yo, Indiana, represent!!"
I don’t know why but Will Smith having an entire theological debate during a song like he’s a beat poet is sending me.
yea im not gonna front Big Willie goes hard there bro he is goin IN on this person lmao
somewhere in a studio archives, there's a tape of Will Smith rapping about evolution over intelligent design
Like father, like son I guess
Kinda Lauren Hill’s second Unplugged performance-ish. All over the place. A lot to say and no focus or real statement to add to the discussion
@@redram5150 Glad I wasn't the only one reminded of it. They might be on different sides of the isle, but they have the same defensive, self-aggrandizing feel.
Will Smith rapping to a warped instrumental of the 60s Spider-Man theme song is something else.
I was feeling weird that went unnoticed in this video.
MF DOOM he is not.
I unironically thought it went kinda hard
@@darko1295 it did, and that's peak fresh prince tbh
@darko1295 of course the guy with an MF DOOM pfp liked the song that had a cartoon superhero sample
Will Smith dropping anti organized religion bars against his ex-wife might be second place behind The Slap in terms of most unexpected things he’s ever done
The way he was going on about religion on his Oprah interview, yeah that shocked me.
Nah, he donates to the Church of Scientology.
Isn’t he a Scientologist
@@quasitigre i hope not..i liked his church diss. kinda
@@quasitigre technically it's not an organized religion. It's a cult for rich weirdos to get their rocks off
Forget the slap, "Nickelodeon, I can't hear you", said in the gruffest voice possible, should become a meme.
He legit kinda sounded like Cookie Monster there
I laughed my ass off at that part
Or the “will I be black enough?” at 20:38
@@mrkd2k10 no that parts just sad :( I really feel for him
I've got to hard agree with you there. I had to pause the video because I was laughing so hard
The fact that this album with songs that address or take aim at organized religion, black radio, right wing conspiracy theorists, talk show hosts and 9/11 opens with a song that’s just Will Smith rapping over the theme to the 60s Spider-Man cartoon does more to show how disjointed this album is than Switch or Party Starter ever could
Its awful 😂😭 thanks Will, I hate it. 🙈
@@kamilareeder1493 Yeah, me too. It's awful. Why; has Will Smith always been (for the most part), terrible at rapping? There's exceptions like his verse from Men In Black; Wild, Wild, West(even though that movie blows), his verse on "Summertime"; and the Fresh Prince theme song.
Notice how all those right wing conspiracies about covid turned out to be true??? Crazy right?
I’d never heard the song and thought come on it can’t be the 60s Spider-Man theme… oh my it’s the 60s Spider-Man theme .
@@shawnfields2369I don't care what anyone says. Wild Wild West slaps. It's the perfect silly movie. I feel like too many people took that movie way too seriously. Which bugs me because Deadpool took off with a similar approach except it was R rated and raunchy. Also Will is a good rapper that progressively got worse as rap evolved and grew as a genre. As Todd says by the year 2000 Will was no longer a decent rapper let alone a good one.
"Wendy Williams, you gon' blow me... up" is the "Peñis... Colada that is" of the album.
Holy crap,it really is
God I love that line it's so ridiculous and stupid and i dig it
It was done with such casualty too 😉
@@lucasoheyze4597 you smartass for pointing that out. Next topic.
@@lucasoheyze4597 😂
Will Smith bleeping out his own F-bomb on the record will never stop being one of the greatest things ever.
“Will Smith ain’t gotta cuss in his raps to sell records. Well I do. So f him and f you too.”
- Eminem, 2000
What’s worse is that it’s on a song where he’s trying to sound heartfelt and sincere. It completely destroys the mood he’s going for. Also, for all his talk about not using profanity unlike other rappers, this is an instance where swearing would’ve made sense. And yet he bleeped himself out instead.
@@heymistercarter. true true i beileve every word you just said
Get my wife's name out of your flipping mouth
“King of Rock?
You ain’t King of sh- [HAMMER!!!]” - MC Hammer, 1994 😂
The “I’d let him date my daughter like he’s a white guy” bar was good (IN ISOLATION) and I’m not gonna pretend it ain’t
it would've been cool if he actually leaned into that sort of sentiment and made the song about that
@@murciadoxial8056 agreed
As much as none of these songs are very good or feel authentically him, they do have some very good lines in isolation.
@@blank9574 nope! Mostly because I’m not white!
That would have made for an excellent song premise and I wish he had
will smith getting pissy with it is one of the best jokes you’ve ever written
"if you think i suck maybe i'll just enter an unhealthy marriage and refuse to leave it or focus on my issues!"
"what will..........how does that do anything........"
"well..........SHUT UP!"
I LMFAO when Todd said that! 😂🤣 "Getting pissy with it" I'm dead, I died of laughter, and was brought back by it too. "Pissy with it!" 🤣🤣🤣
Slap the Chris and get pissy pissy… oh oops, that’s another washed up artist.
That joke legit made me snort laugh.
LOL
It's really interesting to hear Will Smith's very 80s flow and style over these mid-2000s beats and with these bitter lyrics
right? It's such a confusing sound but not offensive enough to complain about it too much
Prelude to the melly Mel disaster.
@@chrisdow6627eh, melly still has bars. Eminem fans are just insufferable 😂
@@blackdragon6 I'm far from an Eminem fan but no melly embarrassed the fuck out himself with that dated cornball mess.
@@blackdragon6 Mel seems obsessed with Eminem to get attention though. He also acts like the only emcee that's ever existed. Many emcees complained about his attitude over the years.
NGL that "Will I be black enough" line hits for me. I relate to people discrediting your identity because you don't fit in with whatever stereotype or trend
Corny
The ironic thing there is "Fresh Prince" already covered that exact issue when Carlton was accused of being a sell-out.
I’ll admit that I never knew much about Will Smith’s music career compared to his acting career, so this will be another lesson in music history for me.
@Perverted Alchemist isnt Nod Your Head and Men in Black part of the second half?
Will Smith's music is alright.. It's just his later work felt weird.. I think he tried to be hard instead of just sticking with what he was doing.. Just change his sound a little to the modern sounds of Pop Rap and he would have still sold records.. Why do you think LL Cool J sold records for so long?? He always modernized his Pop Rap Records.. While still making Underground Hardcore Rap Records..
Oh hey Mr 96 :D
@@kenrickeasonWill Smith should have imitated the Elephunk Era of Black Eyed Peas. Let's Get It Started in here is a song Will could have featured on and used to promote his 2000s rap career.
'insecurity' is such a common killer in this series, right up there with Smells Like Teen Spirit
It really is. That’s an insightful take, ur absolutely right. Jewel,MC Hammer, Will, Katy, Liz Phair, Madonna. It just keeps happening.
@@stefanfilipovits21 Lauryn Hill, too. I think her insistence that her Unplugged songs were "real" was at least partially defensiveness over her struggle to finish new material. Kind of like "I have to like it, I haven't got anything else", only she couldn't bring herself to admit it.
They’re insecure
Don’t know what for.
@@Talisguy oh god how could I forget Lauryn.
@@evilira718 I think when you’re that famous it’s hard to find people you can really trust, so it’s difficult to tell which criticisms are valid and which aren’t. Plus, they have to be aware that (as this series shows) one bad project can tank an entire career. It makes sense that “you need to change with the times” sounds like good advice when your album sales have been going down.
Just saying, it would be FASCINATING if Will Smith in this day and age put out like a 4:44-style confessional record where he really just bears his whole soul out.
He won't do it, his obsessive control over his image won't allow him at all
the scientologists would kill and bury either it or him
Chamillionaire won a grammy and sold a ton of records without cursing. Only diference is that he didn't brag about it. Will is the type of dude to want praise for flushing the toilet and putting the seat down.
Chamillionaire honestly seems like such a chill dude. Took his one hit, made his money off it, faded out of the public eye gracefully.
@@malegria9641 a true rappers dream.
@@malegria9641 And it's not like he went into the poor house after either. Like for a while, Chamillionaire was the one signing Todd"s Cheques for a while due to him investing into stuff. Dunno what he's up to now, but I can't imagine he's flipping burgers or something.
@@NEEDbaconactually he started a tech/business/investment company and is now worth more than ALOT of rappers now
From what I’ve heard, Chamillionaire was rich before his hit came out.
Out of the many contradictions on this record; the video for Party Starter, his full-on Ludacris crunk club jam song, shows his crib transforming into a pumping nightclub, yet the only drinks that appear at the bar in this place are bottles of water.
That's his 'point' though.. We party 'clean' but harder than you kind of thing. (still shit just pointing that out.. Lol)
[activates galaxy brain] no no, it's not that will in that video was throwing a straight-edge party, he had those water bottles out so that guests could stay hydrated while they do *illegal* drugs, which is way cooler and more hardcore than boring old alcohol!
The best clubs I went to only made money off water.
Yeah, hydration is your friend when pillin'...
Good thing it wasn’t in the UK
Water (or at least tap water) is legally required to be freely available
@@jmurray1110 there is a reason the nightclub that basically invented rave culture went out of business
remember: if you're trying to re-establish cred, give a shout out to nickelodeon
Yep, always works. Because as we all know, Nickelodeon is truly the MOST gangsta cartoon channel! Aw; yeah!
@@shawnfields2369 ngl Spongebob has more street cred than Will Smith
@@thisisfyne I agree. SpongeBob is also a nice guy and more likeable than Will Smith too, because SpongeBob knows karate, and how to be responsible. While sure, a lot of us grew up with Big Willie, SpongeBob was always a better; and more iconic character who saved the entire undersea from an evil little plankton, and his evil, robotic wife too, and finally achieved his dream of being a manager. What's the Fresh Prince done since then? Slapped a comedian, and ruined his own reputation. It's as tragic as it is funny, honestly.
@@shawnfields2369gangsta as in one of its most popular producers/directors was also a child predator to all the child actors on the set? Yet, he was allowed to stay with the network for years.
@@alex_flamerThat makes total sense. The entire entertainment world is full of "people" who think they have to be leftists cos they're in entertainment cos the leftists told them that, and for literally no other reason. And they're big on abusing kids. And they know they can get away with it, cos they're all in the same camp. Which makes it "getting away with it" in much the same sense as "getting away with" breathing air: It's just what you do, cos it's all around you.
I've been around long enough (1965) to remember 50 years of liberals yelling "Don't exploit kids!" Weird, it's almost like leftists are hypocrites or something...
This feels like the love child of "Funky Headhunter" and "American Life". Another artist who felt trapped by the image they built for themselves and instead of actually trying to evolve, just decided to chase trends and be mad at their audience
And 'Unplugged' by Lauryn Hill. The artist is clearly going through stuff and needs help. You almost feel invasive for listening like it's too personal and the singer straight up isn't okay enough to know what should stay private. I admire the honesty and the raw emotion, but this doesn't sit right for me.
@@52wbending52 This album definitely is the equivalent of Lauryn’s Unplugged.
LL Cool J made Pop Rap Records for decades cause he always moved with the times.. Will Smith could have made more Pop Rap Records but he tried to hard to be something he wasn't.. I don't expect Will Smith to be like 2Pac(No Pun intended) I don't expect Will Smith to be like Nas, I don't expect Will Smith to be like Ice Cube and I don't expect Will Smith to be like Lil Wayne.. I expect Will Smith to be Will Smith.. I listen to all those Rap Artists and I don't expect nothing but what they bring to the table.. I have a dozen Will Smith songs and when I play them I expect Will Smith not Jay Z..
@@52wbending52 Lauryn Hill killed her own career.. She tried to be something she wasn't either.. When you listen to music it will automatically feel natural to you when you hear it..
@@52wbending52 complete with an out-of-nowhere gripe about bisexual girls
Between Passage, Witness and now this, I'm liking this new trend of sympathetic Trainwreckords where Todd seems to really care about the artist involved and want the best for them
With Phil Collins officially retired, there needs to be Trainwreckords: Calling All Stations. To show how Genesis couldn't work without Phil.
@@NJGuy1973 I'd actually really like an analysis on Genesis - they're definitely not forgotten, but I really haven't heard too many people mentioning them in the last decade - especially not as much as Phil Collins' or Peter Gabriel's solo careers.
I would really like him to do a Trainwreckords on Pink Floyd after Waters left
@@NJGuy1973 I know Phil had to retire but it’s still so sad. He’s only 71 and his health continues to go downhill. 😢😭
@@cybertris6911 Aren't The Division Bell and A Momentary Lapse Of Reason like, massively successful and popular with the fans?
It is very hard to believe that when Will Smith sat down to write an album where he allowed himself to vent about stuff that got under his skin the only things he could come up with were petty crap, dumb rumors, his ex-wife being annoying, and that the black community didn't support him enough. To be very blunt he was a black man in Hollywood in the late 90's and 2000's he had to have seen a lot of messed-up shit and this is all he wants to complain about.
I don’t think he seen any messed up shit. He was a millionaire living in Hollywood tf
@@vaevictis_ he was raised in West Philly in a working-class family. he didn't become rich (his 1988-89 spending spree doesn't count since he blew all that money away and the IRS ended up garnishing most of it) until the later seasons of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air at the earliest. he's definitely seen some messed up shit early on (he's experienced most of Reagan's polices and their effects on the black community). maybe not as much anymore, but definitely enough to at least rile him up.
too bad Lost and Found is just him reciting r/atheism talking points, whining about club dancers not wearing enough clothes, and talking about how much people think he's the nice black man for white people
Very Madonnas American Life -vibes.
@@Malkmusianful I was responding to the statement of him being a black man in Hollywood seeing some messed up shit. Hollywood!! And he is a huge multimillion dollar celebrity and had a decent rap career even before his show took off! He just comes off as someone constantly trying to prove he is “hard” when he really doesn’t need to
@@vaevictis_ Unless he was actively ignoring it he definitely saw it (which is possible with how he handled the whole Aunt Viv situation and now admits it).
He's an a list star, there's little chance he wasn't privy to the terrible shit that goes on there. Esp as he has ties to Scientology.
I must say I didn't expect Will Smith to launch into a Richard Dawkins-esque spoken word piece about the hypocrisy of organized religion. It's not bad, but it's like if Taylor Swift stopped in the middle of a song and started ranting about gerrymandering.
@@frederickshaibani5655 OK, but imagine if she played a speech by an economist or a climate scientist over that song like Beyonce did with Flawless. Would it be better?
@@TheSongwritingCat I don't know why but that speech flowed nice into the song? It was pretty good and not jarring at all, or maybe I'm just a bey fanboy lol
Taylor should have included quotes from the play "Angels in America" in the second verse of "You Need To Calm Down."
Perhaps the image was beginning to chafe then. When people can't imagine him having a complex opinion, and his living depends upon maintaining it, no wonder he's not easy with it.
Shiet, Taylor's fanbase is gigantic and ravenous. Can we start having her sing about topical social and political issues? Wonder how many of her young fans would go out and vote against conservatives if she told them to? Follow up song describes in detail how to vote in local elections too.
The part at the end about Will Smith being on a TMI thing made me realize something about him. He has been a "star" for his entire adult life. He has been an A-lister for more time than he has not been. That has GOT to mess with your perception and emotions. But Will Smith's whole thing is "being cool". That's how he sells himself. It kind of feels like the movies and the music and all that is the only real outlet he might have had for being vulnerable, but outside of that he's like "nah that's acting". So yeah, this album would have been better if he could have just given it all in and really committed to it.
I never put that together before, you’re right. He was 22 when Fresh Prince of Bel-Air first started and was basically in or near the spotlight ever since.
Yeah and he made his professional debut at 18 years old with DJ Jazzy Jeff so that means for 35 years he has had this image that seemed stuck with him until recently.
@@VoidNull9222 And it wasn't like he wasn't already known when he started Fresh Prince. I'd known of him for at least a few years prior to that. Then again, I lived in Philly and it may just have seemed like he was a star already due to my location.
exactly. i actually kinda feel bad for him. he needs to get out of the spotlight, at least for a while.
@@OfficialROZWBRAZEL Definitely
"He made his own family-friendly image and now he's angry and lashing out that he used to be a fresh prince and now he's Carlton." Man is brutal!
he can rap, he can act, and if it come down to it he can slap
Ahh, the triple threat.
the true question we must ask ourselves is...
how can he slap?
That's good.
@James Cartwright I was on board with your comment until you used the word woke unironically... you had it, then you lost it
@James Cartwright yeah no, if you are gonna be stupid and racist you could do so somewhere else
he got an oscar because he probably bought it, like, fucker has influence and pull because of how much of a box office magnet he used to be all the way until that incident, and also the oscars love them shitty biopics for whatever reason, he just bought it with influence and money, that's it, is a tale older than the oscars themselves
I think it's pretty rich to hear Will firing shots like "Write one verse without a curse" cause genuinely one of the best rap songs I've heard is "If It Ain't Ruff" by N.W.A which has no swears but some of the best rhymes on Straight Outta Compton.
If you've got the talent, it doesn't matter if you swear or not.
Exactly
"Write one verse without a curse."
Em then writes an Academy Award winning song with two curse free verses.
Gangsta's Paradise is also a well-respected rap song without any profanity.
I'm definitely no expert, but wasn't early rap from the 80s generally a lot more tame in its lyrics anyway?
Reminds me of how most pioneer punk or metal records from the early days of the genres sound pretty soft and inoffensive to modern audiences. Genres evolve so much over time.
@@neckpeck2738yes early 80s rap was generally swear free (aside from a few slurs like in The Message). That comes from the original roots of hip hop being more from disco and those kinds of lyrics. Lyrics back then were incredibly simple and more viable for a family audience (I’d say radio, but back then it wasn’t really hitting that yet).
As someone who came of age in the Willennium era, Will's music career is always a very humbling and sad reminder of how much his public persona/image was almost inseparable from his work, to his own detriment. Most of his music was either about him bragging about himself or his squeaky clean image, which really revealed just how corny he could possibly be. This is like if Speech and early 2000s Bill Cosby got together and made a rap album.
I think he’s probably the corniest rapper ever. Least Hammer came close to being an actual emcee. Will definitely seemed like he only rapped cause everyone in his neighborhood was doing it. And he decided “what the heck? Lemme jump in it.”
HAHAHA What a dis. Accurate.
@@timmy841212 at least Summertime (nice pop rap song) and Parents just don’t understand are great, I’ll give him that.
That what bothered me the most.. You don't have to brag about you being this way or that way.. The Music speaks for it's self.. You don't have to belittle other Rappers who do it differently than you or such.. I still enjoy Will Smith's music like I still enjoy Kenya West's music but today they are both Narcissists people..
@@timmy841212 define an Emcee in your terms if you’re thinking Hammer was any better than Will Smith
Always a good day when there's a new Trainwreckords
Amen
@@jtlovescodelyoko ba dumm tss
I debated clicking when I read the name, but had to when I realized it was about _this_ album.
It's funny that I've come to prefer One Hit Wonderland and Trainwreckords to Todd's pop song reviews.
Amen
I've loved Todd's videos for a long time, but recently I've really come to appreciate how he's matured as a Critic, and even moreso as a Documentarian
Got away from channel awesome lol
Todd's acting skills have improved a ton over the years, but there are so many expressive moments in this video, especially 12:27. Even as a shadow, I could tell exactly every emotion he had.
Todd's output since 2021 has been his best imo
Honestly he is a MASTERFUL physical actor and comedian. I can only imagine how much he contorts his face and his voice in order to communicate some of the stuff he does.
he’s such an icon to me- over the years he’s continually improved consistently. He’s timeless, he’s one of the rare internet personalities who has been doing the same bit for ages and still feels fresh and classic.
@@CarlsCozyCorner I always love actors/performers like that. The type that somehow without a face or voice can get across so much emotion through exaggerating everything else.
@@witchflowers6942 It's literally only him and Ashens
“what? why not?” might be my favorite todd line delivery of all time. something about him trying not to laugh and the genuine confusion coming through
It's crazy how much DNA is shared between this album and other Trainwreckords. Funky Headhunter with Will trying to pull off something he's not able to, Lauryn's overhonesty and preachiness, the Robin Thicke feature. It may not be an outright bomb or anything, but it fits neatly into the Trainwreckords discography.
It has the loss of public respect of st anger, the “trying to build credibility after being seen as soft” connection to Passage, and the attempts to cash in on the sound of the time of 0304
I’m guessing you’ve already seen this but if you can find it, Lindsay Ellis did a collab with Rap Critic a really long time ago called “Will Smith was a rapper once…” and Rap Critic hits on this topic. I’m paraphrasing but he essentially says that when gangsta rap became more prominent, “kid friendly” rappers like Will Smith and MC Hammer had to adapt to the harder image or get left behind. Then after Biggie and Tupac were killed, rap relaxed on that “hard” edge and went more for the classic and crisp look, which Will fit into well, and that’s when we got “Men In Black”, “Gettin’ Jiggy wit It” and “Miami”
Also it's similar to Arrested Development where not only did they both constantly throw shade at gansta rap but they both did during an acceptance speech at an award show.
@@stevencoffin328 Will got so preachy on this album, he started sounding like Speech
You can also make a connection with Billy Idol and the experimentation of new songs and sounds.
“More petty grievances than a Mean Girl burn book! Will Smith gets pissy with it!” Gold!
All I have to say is: As someone born in 2001, I had no idea Will Smith's rap career was like, an actual thing, and not a weird side gig like Shaq's.
It's genuinely impossible to overstate how huge Will Smith was up to the mid 90s. I think it helped that he got big in TV, then in movies, which bouyed along his rap career for quite a while. Like, his soundtrack work was broadly received even as his rap albums were falling off.
Fresh prince and DJ Jazzy Jeff was a thing back then 😆
Kobe and John Cena rapped as well, and both were pretty damn good too
@@andersonwang1746 Wasn't Fresh Prince his rap name before the show? He had his rap hits and then made the decision to take the rap persona and make a family-friendly show?
it's important to note that Will was a rap icon _before_ he _ever_ was an actor. The whole draw of 'Fresh Prince' was that it was a sitcom starring a rapper and that was a weird novel thing. "Girls Ain't Nothing But Trouble" came out in 1987 and Fresh Prince started airing in 1990.
Man, you can say a lot of things about this album but you can’t say it’s boring. The Spider-Man track had me dead
Patton Oswalt once talked about working behind the scenes at some award show and saw Will Smith come in with his huge entourage. Patton saw Smith alone for a very brief time before the show and he looked completely miserable. The weight of having to keep up appearances was unbearable. This plus his bizarre turn with After Earth can’t make me too surprised by the slap.
Guess he was trying hard not to snap and he did at the biggest moment of his career.
It's so insane how much people are obsessing over it, it's almost like people never believed Will Smith was actually human or something? He's got his limits and his frustrations, and if someone attacks his loved ones then he's going to consider fighting back. That's just how people are, and celebrities are just as flawed as the rest of us. A lot of times, they have even more weird flaws to deal with.
What I'm really angry at is the Oscar reaction to it. They brought the hammer down on a man trying to stand up for his wife harder than they brought it down on actual known rapists and abusers who are mostly still getting away with it.
Will Smith's crime was never the slap. It was always that he "ruined" their special show, and THAT is unforgivable.
@@dracocrusher Ruined it, by slapping Chris Rock. It's splitting hairs.
@@ar-yj8lb Chris Rock has been making nasty "jokes" about Jada, specifically her hair, for a really long time. It was the final straw for Will Smith. At a really bad time -- but those things never happen at a "good" time. Will Smith is not a "the best revenge is served cold" kind of person, which is too bad, because if he were, everything would have turned out better for him and worse for Chris Rock.
@@nerianasims1849 Oh pplease . Chris Rock made fun of everyone for years . It's what he was known for . If 50 Cent can take him joking about him getting shot , then Jada can take a GI Jane joke
For those surprised that Will went from a family-friendly pop rapper who went for harder, party songs and diss tracks when he could’ve changed his original sound slightly, remember: this is the same man who turned down playing Neo in The Matrix to be in Wild Wild West.
Also, if anything, this reminds me of MC Hammer’s The Funky Headhunter. Both of them appealed mostly to kids and families with their original music, but went into a more adult-oriented, hardcore sound when their musical popularities declined. And yet all it did was show their artistic flaws even more and led to their downfall. And in both cases, they didn’t even need to alter their sound that much, because pop rap was still a thing, even if it evolved somewhat.
The albums are definitely similar in their intent,but I think their actual content is different. MC Hammer just comes off as a phony doofus trying too hard. Will comes off as a quite bitter guy that changes with the times almost like he is forced to.
I mean, hindsight is 20/20 crystal clear but I imagine at the time The Matrix looked like a weird niche film for sci fi nerds (and remember that nerd cultural dominance was definitely NOT a thing back in 1999) whereas Wild Wild West was a big Hollywood blockbuster financed to the gills (it had over triple the budget of The Matrix) with a bunch of important names connected to it and based on a classic TV property (which movie remakes of were hot shit back then, and one that was a hit could make an actor's career).
Anyways Keanu is a far better pick for Neo than Will would have been.
@Perverted Alchemist Good comparison
@@GhostSound2 well, considering Funky Headhunter had Hammer dissing Run-DMC, A Tribe Called Quest, and RedMan, there was quite a lot of bitterness on that album too.
Was about to comment the same type of Funky Headhunter comparison.
Honestly, I kind of dig how neurotic this record is lol. So used to hypermasculine rap posturing that it's... interesting to hear this fractured, anxious, narcissistic but also kinda self-deprecating lyrical content. It's not comfortable listening but at least it's not boring?
It's like saint anger. That's how it feels to me.
Same. I wish I made that is a sentiment that I've felt as a creative myself, and seeing Will actually struggle with thoughts like that among the other topics on the record (Like being put o the pedestal of the "good black man") is really interesting.
Yeah, it’s what makes this record hard to look away from. Using hip hop swagger to convey a shocking degree of insecurity, grievance, hypersensitivity, and validation-craving.
It's like if Drake was rapping about being on Degrassi, but over the same exact kinds of boisterus, huge beats as his competition in the late bling era.
@@USALeonHeartThat's my exact issue here. I could never think of how to word before the production feeling weird.
"Will Smith gets pissy with it" actually made me start laughing so hard it turned into a full on coughing fit.
This is a great video. I've noticed with so many Trainwreckords, the artists either:
1.) Try something new that doesn't work or is so different that it alienates their fanbases or
2.) Complain about their fame and how miserable they are, sometimes intertwining it with the politics of the day, which never goes over well.
This series puts into perspective what artists should NOT do if they want to further their career. Can't get enough of this series.
Don't forget
3) Made a concept album about a dark cyberpunkish future where music is banned or something and the lead singer is the hero who saves the world through the power of rock.
And I know that's incredibly specific, but that is why it is very weird that it happened twice ("Killroy Was Here" and "Cyberpunk").
@@wolphintv 4. An indie artist that got a hit song out of nowhere now has to prove that they can be a mainstream artist with their next album
Except that good artists CAN pull these off-a good example of both back to back is Radiohead’s OK Computer, which was the result of feeling negative and miserable and sick of touring and discouraged by what they witnessed around them on tour, then Kid A, which alienated a lot of people and plenty of hate before it was recognized as a classic. More recently, Billie Eilish’s last record definitely falls under #2, and she’s going strong as ever.
I’d argue that where artists usually go wrong there is simply failing to be relatable or make their audience care. Billie talks about craving pity or wanting attention, but in a way that feels self aware and wise, and inspires listeners to self-reflect, whereas Will Smith’s vulnerability comes off as self-centered, spoiled, and at worst, insensitive to his audience.
@@kylanbowden6125 Yh 2 can be done very well, Eminem’s most successful albums are the ones where he’s talking about his success and how miserable his life is.
"Mr. Nice Guy" reminded me of "Funstyle"
I worked in a movie theater when MEN IN BLACK 2 came out.
So I had to spend an entire summer cleaning the theater while "Nod Ya Head" blared over the end credits.
What stuck out to me though was Will Smith promoting the single on MTV Spring Break.
First off, there's no choreography he could muster to make "Nod Ya Head" look cool. It just didn't work.
Second, I remember him being interviewed onstage in front of the crowd and saying "I refuse to lose. Whatever it takes to master my craft, I'll do it."
And people applauded, but it gave me pause. I thought, "There's more to life than winning all the time, Will. There's no shame in failure if you tried your hardest."
I think I viewed Will Smith differently after that. I viewed him as someone who sacrificed his own happiness out of a pathological obsession with being the best.
After hearing about Jada, this comment hits hard.
@@marcen12Unlike Will.
Bill Cosby openly criticized other comics, including Eddie Murphy, about using profanity in their sets. In fact, there are hundreds of examples of people being staunchly against the thing they actually are, but are desperately trying to hide.
I'm disappointed he didn't go full Unplugged 2.0. Some of these tracks sound like they would have made great bookends to twelve-minute monologues about being real.
'Even Letterman likes my music.' The nail in the coffin for any rapper.
Dave himself would respond to that with "well good luck when they let you back into the country..."
Hearing this record makes me realize that Donald Glover did almost the exact same thing, keeping up a lighthearted image as a star before completely nuking it with a bitter, darkly comedic record. The only difference was that Donald kept his signature self-awareness with him into his music career, made the choice to make music in a more palatable style when he started tackling his personal issues, and even had a name change to solidify his artistic change. Childish Gambino is undeniable proof you can be an actor and a pop rapper without losing your dignity and still have the respect of even the snottiest critics and rap listeners.
Camp hasn’t aged super well but Because the Internet deserves to be recognized as a masterpiece. It holds up astoundingly well, I think it’s the best thing he’s ever made
And Donald Glover wasn't the biggest thing ever at when he did transition in to that side, will smith already cemented his image
Really though, how do you go from being Troy on Community to making This is America
@@Z_Viper08 Easy. Transition was smooth because of Atlanta.
@@Z_Viper08 Troy took that boat around the world and was scarred
Please, Todd, do an episode on Eminem’s “Encore.” Yes, his career continued to thrive, but that album was the definitive end of his glory years, with nothing he’s released since topping those first three Aftermath albums. And with everything Em was going through behind the scenes, combined with the massive difference in quality between the album’s best and worst songs, I feel like it would make a compelling subject for one of your video essays.
I second this
It is kind of amazing that the album that gave us Mockingbird and Like Toy Soldiers also gave us Ass LIke That and Just Lose It.
I've been waiting on an Encore trainwreckord for some time!
Didn't Todd consider MMLP2 a genuine comeback?
I think that he’s been too successful for it to count as a Trainwreckord. No previous Trainwreckord artist has had nearly as much success after their “disaster album” as Em. It would be awesome to see Todd analyze Encore, but I feel like it just doesn’t fit with the “Trainwreckord” series
PSA: Taking a swing at Wendy Williams is never a waste of time, as long as you keep it to just words (and not death threats). It will always be seen as punching up.
If he punched Wendy Williams, he would have pissed people off...then they would watch her show and realized why NO ONE did it sooner.
@@marcen12 What's on her show? I've never listened in and don't know much about her
@@dusty2080 Good. Think of it as Jerry Springer for a different audience. She punches down on people just because.
@@dusty2080 She's basically a black Lucy van Pelt from Peanuts/Regina George from Mean Girls who never grew up and got her own talk show.
It's just as mind numbingly cruel as it sounds to watch
@@AFanOfCinema At least Lucy and Regina have likability.
Todd makes a surprising number of Mean Girls references in his reviews. I’ve been noticing it for years. I like to imagine he’s secretly as much of a Mean Girls fanatic as I am
I don't think he's trying to keep it a secret!
Honestly, I don't know why anyone would try to keep it secret at this point. Mean Girls is a classic
Aren't we all?
Secretly?
MEAN GIRLS is a widely-acknowledged classic comedy of the 00s.
This is like somebody saying they're into this artist most people don't know named Adele.
Will Smith, to me, feels like a very self-conscious person. He's open about himself but he also seems to care a lot about what others think of him. It's not to the point where he's confrontational (well, not until recent at least), but it is clear that he isn't afraid to get emotional even when it might not paint him in the best light. It's kinda like the Kanye situation, except when Kanye is being open, it paints him as increasingly unhinged and petty, whereas with Will, it's just a lot more pitiable.
@@frederickshaibani5655 especially as a Scientologist.
@@frederickshaibani5655 wow who knew celebrities were so complex it’s honestly fascinating
@@nicwinsteadart5330 Will is a Scientologist?
@@Makiaveli01 everyone did. They’re people
@@pm0913 for real lmao wtf was that comment
I can't believe that you did not mention how Will obviously failed to explain 9/11 to his son, as Jaden was spreading conspiracy theories on his album SYRE...
No one listened to SYRE to notice or care
The reason it didn't become a major controversy is that almost nobody listened to the album or even knew it existed. Can't get offended if you don't hear it.
A lot of blck rapper are 9/11 truthers. It’s very prevalent even after the Bush Years.
@@cenobitecenobite7380 “Why did Bush knock down the Towers?” - Jadakiss on “Why” (2004)
@@timmy841212 Those conspiracies are dumb af but believe I yell those lyrics like I mean them, that song slapsss
Honestly i'm really glad Todd didn't take half this video to give a deep dive talk about the slap.
Will Smith's whole "too cool to curse" gimmick is giving me some strong Arrested Development (not the show) vibes.
Except Arrested Development still uses the N-word.
Granted, it as an insult than a term of endearment because they hate gangsta rap but still...
@@DrZuluGaming"Well I don't know what I _expected..."_
The best encapsulation of this record being a bad idea is those shots in the "Party Starter" music video where Will's trying to sing about being the cool, hip party dude, but he turns around and his shelves are filled with _water_ instead of alcohol or even soda.
Molly is a hell of a drug
And the bit where he tells the chick she isn't wearing enough clothes? Seems like a weird time to channel his inner 1888 Kansas Librarian.
It was the first party where the Coat Check Girl gives you a coat.
"When I was a kid, Will Smith was the single coolest human being I could possibly imagine"
That is SO true if you were a kid/teenager in the 90's.
Agreed.
I was 12-13 when Independence Day and Men in Black hit and that quote is accurate.
So does anyone actually know how old Todd is?
I had a dude in my high school class that was still trying to be Will Smith in 2003 and on. And it actually worked for him. The power of reruns.
As an 00’s kid this was true in my household too
I do think this happened. He wrote some songs for hitch and then realized he wanted to make an album for himself. It was the transition for him to be more open and personal but this album felt a bit more like an initiatial tantrum. One where you're finally trying being honest with yourself but not knowing where to vent or how much
Which, as a creative person, I get. Sometimes emotional diarrhea like that helps get it out of your system. But I'd never imagine releasing it to the public. Not because I'm afraid to be raw, but because it's self-centered in nature and I don't want my art to be all about me.
Man. The MIB theme still goes insane to this day. That slap bassline hits harder than ever.
Then got a recommendation
4 a song you'll love:
Patrice Rushen - Forget Me Nots
The three beat intro followed by Will Smith's "Woo!" It gets me hyped every single time.
@@samuelstensgaard4828The Men in Black II theme slapped when I was a kid but as an adult that theme was terrible. The 1st Men in Black still holds up and is very good in 2023.
@@RenaldyCalixte Always; no matter what Will Smith does. Can't agree more; dude.
2:29 I don't think the value of "Trainwreckords" lies in its strict adherence to the "rules" of what deserves to be on the list. I watch this series to rediscover lost bygones of pop music and learn about the failures of the industry as a whole. You do such a good job of that, so I don't really care about what technically classifies as a true trainwreckord. Also I understand that this was a rhetorical question in the video.
Just my two cents.
"slim called me out but was I bothered? Yes, yes I was." I had to pause the video this made me laugh so hard.
A year later, finding out Will slapped Chris while he and Jada were ALREADY separated and him still calling her his wife as if they're still a close and happy couple is... certainly interesting.
Eh not really. Its all about image, pride. Appearances, not necessarily defending his wife for love or anything
@@leaffinite2001but it’s weird for him to do. Like to me, it feels controlling, bc he didn’t need to do any of that. Normally you’d just keep quiet about it instead of lying
@VultureSkins is it controlling? Was he stopping jada from publicizing their separation, or was it a mutual decision? Have they even talked about that?
Idk. I think it makes sense that they wouldnt want to be publicly messy... and that if they are pretending to still be a happy couple, will might, being already emotionally rocky, overshoot and do something silly like slapping chris rock
Me learning from a teainwreckords vid that they're divorced...
@@CalliopeFive they divorced? i thought they had an open relationship or something.
Although this album would have eventually been featured as a Trainwreckord, we can thank the slap heard around the world for accelerating things and so here we are.
As someone whose too young to even really imagine Will Smith as a musician this entire episode felt like a really weird trip.
This sentence makes me feel so old.
@@bels3873 Lol, sorry about that. But as one of the youngins it is my job to make you feel that way. It's nothing personal
Per Snake in MGS2, we need to pass the torch and show the zoomers and alphas things that they weren't around to experience
@@Tirgo69 Also per Snake, will you come back later as a really old guy and convince the young'uns not to throw their life away?
I'm 18 and I knew about his music, but trying to imagine Will Smith as a contemporary musician back then is a bit of a trip, to be honest, so you're kinda right
I've come to really love Trainwreckords for a lot of reasons but especially because it shows off how insightful Todd can be, he pours SO much research into these videos (and boy does it show) and in doing so, develops a really clear picture of these artists and their art and has a lot of valuable commentary to offer
I wonder how much Will Smith felt or still feels like Sidney Poitier. That kind of reputation and expectation to be the 'good' black man who isn't threatening or angry, and subsequently is suffocated by the 'ideal black man' mask despite personal struggles and marital troubles. That line about being the nice guy who is on par with a white man really hits me as coming straight from 'Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.' Like in order to be on par with white men and white audiences he has to be so family friendly and so careful about his image. No wonder he fucking cracked under all the pressure. I don't think white American audiences ever wanted to see Will Smith as a real person, so we didn't pay attention until we couldn't look away.
Yess I think you described it perfectly
So true
This 💯
I don’t know much about Sidney Poitier, did he ever speak about what you’re referring to? I’ve always enjoyed him as an actor but had no idea about this pressure
So.... ain't nobody gonna make the "Six Degrees" joke?
11:01
"...he can rap, he can act, and if it comes down to it, he can *scrap!* , Hey there, here comes Big Will again!"
Will really out here warning us years in advance didn't he lmao
Your point about Will Smith being fun was spot on. I don't begrudge him for trying to be "hard" or "deep" but he was so elite at making fun pop music why go away from that? He had fared soooooo much better and looked back on more fondly than pretty much any pop rapper from the 90's. Even with the Eminem diss, he was never a joke on the level of MC Hammer, who was actually a real gangsta who disguised himself as an easily digested radio friendly rapper, or Puffy, who was an easily digested radio friendly rapper who disguised himself as a real gangsta. Will Smith was just fun dude and should have leaned more into that even in the changing times of 2005. Even when he didn't have "street" cred, he always had the "old school" cred on top of the fact that he's probably one of the richest rappers of all time. I don't want to tell him how to live, but Will Smith should have been happy just being being the fun guy. There are worse things than being the unthreatening, nice guy who's a mediocre rapper, namely being the salty dude too much in his own feelings taking himself way too seriously and is a mediocre rapper.
He loved making the fun pop music but he also loved being a true rapper because he was a true rapper from the 80s. He just wanted to be able to have the freedom to also be taken seriously as a rapper whenever he tried to showcase it.
No offence, but your sentence about Puffy kind of aged like milk.
This album was actually my first exposure to Will Smith's music (as a REALLY young kid I saw bits of Fresh Prince a few times), with ""Switch" appearing on one of the first music CDs I got when I was 5 (Now 19). I still have a soft spot for that song tbh.
It’s not bad tbf
FIRST 15 MINUTES: Getting big "Funky Headhunter" vibes from this album.
LAST 15 MINUTES: Man, Will Smith had issues. And his issues had issues.
Getting emo with it.
Fame can do a number on your state of mind. It can also uniquely exacerbate and mutate preexisting issues.
@@rommix0 will smith was out before juice. Stupid comment
So Will won't say fuck, but he will rap about killing his ex-wife...
The MPAA must have gotten involved in his writing process
It’s the “as long as it doesn’t get us above PG” strategy.
@@typacsk They should.
That's hard I'm not gonna lie
He chose the wrong thing to copy from Eminem
In another universe Will Smith and Andre 3000 collaborated, are dropping straight fire and have been doing so for years.
And that would’ve worked
Would Will have guest starred in Class of 3000 in this universe?
As weird as it sounds: I kind of remember reading an interview in a German rap magazine back in the day. It was fascinating (obviously, cause why would I remember it otherwise), because Will talked about how personal this record war... and how he told his manager to cancel all movie offers, because he wanted to go on a club tour, even though he was fully aware, that this would lose him money...
So yes, aside from these 2 obvious Hitch Songs, this is really about Will Smith opening up about personal issues... and paying his dues as a rapper.
"If you told me before the Oscars that someone was gonna get out of their seat and smack a presenter, I'd have picked Liza Minnelli before I guessed Will Smith!" This is an all-time Todd line, good golly gosh.
honestly, I kinda love hearing him sing about his heatred for bible thumpers. It's something I've never heard in a rap and it's so weird and funny and personal. this wasn't a hot topic he wanted to share his opinion on, and hearing this album makes me feel how genuine his corniness is. which makes him seem like a very likeable person, this is him, and if he embraced it and had fun, I think we would all have fun.
Although he might have hated it cause of him being a sometimes in and sometimes out Scientologist.
honestly it's kind of shocking as far as hip-hop content goes. Black American culture is _very_ tied to churchgoing.
I prefer Shaggy's "Church Heathen"
Still a bit of a corny track from a corny rapper, but I found myself agreeing with Shaggy more, and just enjoying the song a whole lot more.
The second hand embarrassment is real. For me anyway. It’s just, real dad, purple dinosaur energy.
There's this amazing rapper, Aesop Rock, he was raised catholic and as an adult he put out quite a few songs against organized religion. This theme is very close to him. Check out Holy Smokes , Save Yourself, Supercell.
So many Trainwreckords subjects have been family friendly acts chafing against the fact that they aren't as cool or commercially popular as the edgier side of culture of the time. Hammer, The Carpenters, Arrested Development, and now Will. Some of them, like Hammer, try to be edgier and fail. Some of them, like Arrested Development and The Carpenters, staunchly refuse, saying "I shouldn't have to be violent to be popular or to be taken seriously". Will Smith is rapping about 9/11, ripping off Luda and 50, and contemplating the murder of his ex wife all while bitching and moaning about how black radio only plays gangsta shit... and also sampling spider-man. What tone are you going for Will?
The irony about Hammer is that he was that type of dude. He was respected in the streets. There's a hilarious Redman interview on Vlad TV talking about their beef.
Also, I didn't notice this at first, but "Lost and Found" the title track is a straight up rip off of Eminem. It sounds just like "Business" from The Eminem Show.
The answer? Yes.
All of them and none of them.
Your criticisms are spot on. Except the one about him getting Robin Thicke on the album because he "couldn't afford" Justin Timberlake 😳 This is early 2000's Will Smith. That man could've afforded to have Elvis exhumed, reanimated & featured on the song. The only possible answers are that he was/is super thrifty with his bread, or JT straight up turned his ass down. Imo of course.
Wasn't Justin Timberlake also super popular in early 2000s? If there's anyone who could be out of Will's price range at the time in the music world it would be him.
“[Will Smith] could’ve afforded to have Elvis exhumed, reanimated, & featured on the song”
…there’s a sentence I didn’t know I needed!
This was Will’s MC Hammer’s “ Funky Headhunter” phase.
I didn’t even know this album existed until today . Thanks for the upload
incorrect, he had a funky headhunter phase during the same time with "Code Red" in 1993. There, he proudly proclaims "many have died tryna stop my show."
lost and found is too authentic to be a funky headhunter
the editing around 19:50 is amazing
I've been watching a large amount of various Trainwreckords episodes recently, which has lead to the music in my head being an uncanny mashup of the "heeey" from Switch here, Intuition by Jewel, Mr. Roboto by Styx, the chorus of the Spin Doctors' Big Fat Funky Booty for crying out loud and Hollywood by Madonna, which is...quite the experience to say the least
Someone needs to make this mashup
@@daishoryujin95 Neil Cicierega, hear our prayers...
Same, but I keep getting a mash-up of "MAYBE YOU'LL MOVE OVA!", "Peñis colada", and "Driving schoooooooool"
The mashup we didn't know we needed, but now want more than anything
**donk donk donk donk**
INVISIBLE KIIIIIIID
The Slap Heard Around The World did reveal a lot about Will, but it also got people looking deeper into Will’s transformation. For example: this album.
Personally, I am not shocked about the slap. I am actually shocked it took so long for the general public to observe Will Smith's declining mental health considering the fact he and his family are scientologists.
@Perverted Alchemist To be short on the Oscar's 2022 slap, I'll just be quick and say Chris Rock's joke is quite tame and NOT worthy of a deck across the face.
@@Thomasmemoryscentral For real. By the look on Chris Rock's face during the whole thing he absolutely knew that too.
@@Thomasmemoryscentral As with most things involving rich people beefings, the only response I have to the slap is "LOL, Lmao"
Be real everybody: If he didn't retaliate, he would have been laughed and mocked, if he retaliated (which he did) he would have been seen as violent.
Chris Rock should apologize. Just don't go there with your jokes, man!
Embarrassing admission: I never knew that Will Smith had ghost writers on his songs until Todd brought it up.
that crusades and 9/11 line was so bad it circled back around to being hilarious
When I found out he was a Scientologist (or adjacent), it gave me a chuckle
Compared to Will, the guy from "I Wish I Was A Little Bit Taller" comes off as happy and satisfied with himself.
Skee-lo
The song is called I Wish
Ouch…now THAT’S an insult…reading this makes me feel like Chris Rock at the Oscars
"Nobody's making money off a CD ever again."
That's fine. Pretty much no artist ever made money off a CD before.
Yeah right, during the 2000, a lot of one hit wonders make thousands because people were buying their album for that one song
@@peterDcontact Artists don't make money off music sales. Record companies do.
@@peterDcontact TLC sold 10 million records and a majority of their money went back to their record company. Music isn’t as lucrative as it seems. A majority of artists have to do other things in order to break even such as fashion, perfume, make up, producing etc.
KPop artists/labels make money off CDs - but they include entire packages like photo books and cards, posters, etc.
@@lightonsnow1 TLC also had a famously all-time bad record deal. They only got like 7% of revenue from albums sold (typical industry standard is 15%) & they signed away the rights to the actual name "TLC" (which they had to buy back 1 letter at a time).
An artist *can* make money off albums sold, they just need a fair percentage & can't let themselves get a bad deal on their advance (or waste their advance, which happens a lot when bands are dysfunctional). It's still a system weighted in the record company's favor, but a lot of musicians mismanage their own finances & keep dumb people around them.
The thing that kept popping into my head listening to this was how much Will Smith was reminding me of Bojack Horseman 😐
Will Smith has always been a charismatic actor who can deliver the dramatic chops to receive accolades. He's also always come across as an extreme ego-maniac with deep seated issues.
There is actually a video that goes into how he got Jada and yeah Will is narcissistic to the core!!!
*"deep-seated"
@@adamlane6453 It's seated? Jesus Christ, I've thought it was seeded this entire time. How embarrassing for me.
@@neutralman9124 i used to think the same thing. It's OK, pal. We all have room personal growth.
@@timmy841212 What’s the video I’d like to watch it
Actually Will Smith did tried to have a comeback as an EDM artist. He released his single "Get Lit" to virtually no attention in 2017. He even performed it live on a Croatian beach festival. It sounds like a very bleak rip-off of Diplo or Skrillex.
"WILL SMITH IS GETTING LIT!"
Say what? LOL
No attention? Fantano called it one of the worst songs of 2017.
I think he's just gotten really into producing music over the past few years. Beatmaking is pretty much completely accessible to anyone with a working computer now, and he seemed to have just picked it up in his spare time. I don't think he was completely serious about it.
a 49 year old using the word "lit" in 2017 just won't work out for him. He could've called it anything else and it might have gotten some airtime
That spider man opening track is reason enough for trainwreckors to be my favorite series on TH-cam. Great episode 💕
Thank you for letting it known unto the people younger than 30 that Will Smith had a music career once
I’m 28 and I BARELY remember that welcome to Miami song
@@krusher181 I'm 28 and remember Miami and Switch
I'm 22 and the only song from him I remember is the man in black song from the first movie
I used to see his videos on BET’s Rap City and Yo! MTV Raps when I was a tyke lol I really thought his name was The Fresh Prince too. 😂 But I’m 38 so lol
I was legit introduced to Will Smith's music career by that Eminem bar
I think what's worth acknowledging more about this album (about which I may be biased, because it's the only Will Smith record I actually enjoy listening to) is that many of the things that Todd seems to find hard to enjoy because they are bitter, envious or judgmental are exactly the reasons I think it's worthy of at least a little appreciation. It is, at least to me, kinda obvious that Will is having a moment; and it's worth noting that not only is sourness or envy perfectly normal to show up in art, but they're some of the best parts of some entire artists' most popular oeuvres. I think I really enjoyed that Will was willing to be in a lot of places really vulnerably catty - for instance, I read 'I Wish I Made That' as him admitting that he feels like he *can't keep up* artistically and would be able to make up for it by being hard, and really does feel envy that the songs he cites *are actual bangers he thinks he can't write at the level at*, and makes it all the more humanly interesting for being on the same record as the title track, because at least he's willing to admit some desire to grow in the same space as that judgment and doubt.
I don't mean to say any of that to think you are being too harsh at all - I think you're actually being legitimately kind, and it would be improper to imply otherwise - but I feel like there is still more kindness to spare for acknowledging that doubt on a track-by-track basis as well.
And his next song...Damn I suck and shouldn't even be up here...nah. Beck pulled it off with Loser but that's a hard sell and takes mad skills he didn't have.
I think the main problem with this album is that all the songs have exactly one theme, and it's that Will Smith is having his Madonna/Katy Perry moment where he's entirely uncomfortable with everything he did before and he resents that the identity he created for himself is now a chain that binds him. Like he tried very hard to create this identity, and then wasn't happy that he couldn't just change that identity on a whim. He's a controlling dude, deep down, but in his case it's about controlling his image and the perception of himself.
I was tired of people’s takes on The Slap the second it happened. That said, Will Smith cannot sell being hardcore. I think that’s the actual reason people are so shocked.
It's annoying for me that it distracts a lot of people from Troy Kotsur's Historic win as the First Deaf Actor to earn an Academy Award.
MC Hammer all over again
@@eamonndeane587 or distracts people from how the academy got Megan and a bunch of reggaeton stars to sing we don’t talk about Bruno instead of THE ACTUAL CAST!
Frankly, the fact that people are flipping their lid so much more over Will Smith reacting to literal decades of goading from Chris Rock over, oh, IDK, Alec Baldwin literally killing someone is some patently racist shit. What a mountain out of a molehill.
Also things that matter significantly more like the guy who burned himself to death on the steps of the Capitol to protest climate disaster and the media’s pretending he did it for no reason or it was a weird accident.
When I heard about the, uh, _percussive incident_ , I was a bit 'oh my' but not completely shocked. Ever since After Earth I had an impression of WIll being a worn down, bitter and angry man. Knowing what I know about his activities in Scientology, the 'schools' he helped make and all the harm he did to his kids with it, I already knew he was broken.
Will has been broken for a long time. Just like functioning adicts, he can still create, but he is not whole nor okay.
Never heard about these schools
@@StudioScarecrow Google Applied Scholastics. They were for marks to get them into scientology without knowing they were dealing with the ''''church''''. Kind of like WISE for businesses that tricked a business into becoming involved under the guise of some super special business system.
Never heard about the Scientology
@@DoveAlexa oh wow, that is fucked
Wait, WHAT?! He's a Scientologist?!
That's even worse than slapping Chris Rock
I think Will's "actor" problems leaked through to his music way more in this record. This is mostly evident in the diss tracks which feel a lot more like you're reading a twitter feud between catty showbiz divas than a battle rapper firing off at his haters.
trainwrecords is my favourite series by any youtuber ever, you always know they will be good episodes
This and best of the worst from redlettermedia are my go to's
Is your username a Mother 3 reference?
A list of various Trainwreckords Todd hasn’t covered for those interested in researching some spectacular career-killing failures for themselves:
The Monkees - “Head” - Jack Nicholson and a collapse into irony
The Smashing Pumpkins - “Machina/The Machines of God” - Over-wrought and half-baked
Pink Floyd - “The Final Cut” - Roger Waters kills his own band with his ego
Kurtis Blow - “Kingdom Blow” - Desperately trying to be cool
Kiss - “Music from The Elder” - Orchestral concept album from f*cking Kiss
The Velvet Underground - “Squeeze” - Capitalize on Lou Reed’s sudden popularity by using his band’s name to release an album without him
Lou Reed - “Berlin” - An amazing concept album that single-handedly destroyed any chance he had of remaining commercially successful
Genesis - “…Calling All Stations…” - A Genesis album without Peter Gabriel or Phil Collins???
Bob Dylan - “Saved” - Bob Dylan makes Christian Rock
The Zombies - “New World” - An album that failed because there were too many bands claiming to be The Zombies.
New Order - “Republic” - An album so successful it crushed the band beneath it.
Neil Young - “Trans” - Neil Young modernizes for the 80s
The Doors - “Other Voices” - A Doors album without Jim Morrison. Ew.
The Heads - “No Talking, Just Head” - The name of this band is not Talking Heads, listen and you’ll know why.
Vanilla Ice - “Mind Blowin’” - Vanilla Ice tries to prove he’s a G.
Milli Vanilli - “The Moment of Truth” - No fake singers on this one, unfortunately
Limp Bizkit - “Results May Vary” - An album that managed to kill its own genre
Janet Jackson - “20 Y.O” - A sub-par album, Jermaine Dupri, the nip-slip, and Janet’s industry blacklisting culminate in Janet Jackson being tragically erased from popular culture.
The Cars - “Door to Door” - The good times don’t roll and that isn’t what they needed…
Common - “Universal Mind Control” - A completely unnecessary and unwarranted change in direction.
If you have any others let me know!
I want to see that Doors one (coupled with Full Circle as well), and Calling All Stations
The final Talking Heads album Naked would be an interesting one.
MC Skat Kat’s album would be one.
@@thecinematicmind i’d prefer if he did the heads (where the non-david byrne members tried to replace the lead singer with no one)
Some good ones (I actually really like The Final Cut but I also like Waters' solo work).
One thought is that Trans is also very heavily about his physically disabled son and caring for him, as well as hope that the world in the future would be more accepting and acommadating for him. Not that the album isn't bad, it's kind of unlistenable, it's just hard to really dig into it without touching extensively on some heavy subject matter.
A couple of other thoughts:
Rush - Vapor Trails - Rush gets in on the "loudness war" nobody, not even the band, likes the result
Lou Reed - Metal Machine Music - It's considered groundbreaking now, that doesn't mean it's considered good
Slipknot - All Hope is Gone - A band already stretched to their limits makes their most commerically beloved album, breakdowns ensue
Vanilla Ice - Mind Blowin' - Dread it, run from it, gangsta Vanilla Ice waits for you all the same
Black Flag - What The... - I could talk about a lack of Rollins or it being released almost three decades after their last good release, but just google the album cover.
“Will Smith gets pissy with it” is the best tagline on this show
Snoop will literally attach himself to anything . Its simultaneously hilarious and frustrating at the same time
No joke on Anthony Fantanos best and worst list of the decade Snoop was on the best album of the decade and the Worst album of the decade.
@@chrisr1091 yeah he was on that Corey feldman record too lol
Never forget wiggle.
Even collabed with big time rush
Remember when he decided to be Snoop Lion for like 2 years?
Always thought of this as Will Smith’s “Funky Head Hunter”, minus the Monster can in his Speedo during his lead track video