Will Smith, a man who was submerged deep into the ocean of controversies after his decision to slap comedian Chris Rock who was hosting the ceremony for the 94th Academy Awards. This impulsive action would later come to bite him in the back as the entire Hollywood industry and people on the internet alike started to shun the actor one by one until he was left at a point beyond redemption. Thus, a great actor had to suffer a downfall.
But putting the present state of affairs aside, there was a time when the whole world was a fan of the great actor, and not only due to his acting talent, but also the sick rhymes he used to sing as a Hip-Hop artist. The legendary career of 10 years of making hot music soon became the doorway through which the actor later stepped into the Hollywood industry, and his father had a very big hand in making that happen.
How Will Smith’s Father Shaped His Hip-Hop Career
Everyone knows Will Smith for his legendary acting career in the Hollywood industry, and only a few know the early days of his career which started as him being a Hip-Hop artist and a world-renowned one at that, having made a total of 5 studio albums as a music-producing duo with DJ Jazzy Jeff that reached the top 20 of the Billboard Top 100 charts in the 80s and 90s.
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But all of this started way back in his childhood days when his dad used to be the boss around them. In his memoir, the Gemini Man star revealed that when he was a child, he used to work day and night for his father, doing hard manual labor like creating concrete and laying bricks for walls. He said that all that he learned about perseverance and all the life lessons that he learned from his father were so helpful in his life that they made him the man he was revered as in Hollywood. He said:
“One day, Harry and I were in a particularly stank mood. We were dragging our feet and grumbling, “impossible this” and “ridiculous that.” “Why’d we have to build a wall for, anyway? This isimpossible. It’s never gonna get done.” Daddio overheard us, threw down his tools, andmarched over to where we were yapping. He snatched a brick out of my hand and held it up in front of us. “Stop thinking about the damn wall!” he said. “There is no wall. There are only bricks. Your job is to lay this brick perfectly. Then move on to the next brick. Then lay that brick perfectly. Then the next one. Don’t be worrying about no wall. Your only concern is one brick.” He walked back into the shop. Harry and I looked at each other, shook our heads- This dude’s a kook – and went back to mixing. Some of the most impactful lessons I’ve ever received, I’ve had to learn in spite of myself. I resisted them, I denied them, but ultimately the weight of their truth became unavoidable. My father’s brick wall was one of those lessons. The days dragged on, and as much as I hated to admit it, I started to see what he was talking about. When I focused on the wall, the job felt impossible. Never-ending. But when I focused on one brick, everything got easy, I knew I could lay one damn brick well.”
This one line from his father helped young Will Smith understand the importance of taking life one step at a time, something that he used to create himself from nothing.
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What’s Next For Will Smith?
After the Oscar Award Ceremony debacle that Smith found himself in, he had to pay the price in the form of backlash and disapproval from the public and media. But redemption came in the form of the 2022 film Emancipation, where we saw his legendary acting skills in their full uninterrupted glory. The return of Smith after surviving so much backlash is a feat of its own, only proving the point that sometimes people slip up, but that doesn’t mean they stay down forever.
Emancipation, streaming exclusively on Apple TV+
Source: Will By Will Smith (Will Smith’s Autobiography)
