Will Smith wears the crown of a Grammy Award winning musician, Golden Globe
nominated actor, television executive producer and creator of a sitcom. He is America's
own, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His life is an American triumph. In the following
paragraphs his triumph will be celebrated.
During his early adolescence, Smith fell in love with hip hop and started writing rhymes.
At the age of 16, he met and befriended a dee-jay named Jeff Townes. They formed a
rap duo and called themselves, D.J. Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. Smith worked on
records after school in Townes' basement. Smith rhymes were mild. His rhymes did not
have any profanity. His dedication and work in Town's basement paid off immensely.
The work he did after school in a friend's basement earned him national popularity and
produced a certified gold (selling more than 500,000 copies) selling album, entitled Rock
this House, 1987. The follow up album called, He's the D.J., I'm the Rapper, was
certified triple platinum (selling 3 million copies), 1988. It had a single called, Parents
Just don't Understand, that earned Smith a Grammy Award. His success in music made
him a millionaire before his 20th birthday. After graduating high school with good grades
and high SAT scores, Smith decided not to pursue college. It was very good for him at
this time. It is the opinion of this author that Smith was able to afford a rich, high
maintenance lifestyle, complete with brand new cars, an expensive home and expensive
clothing. However, it did not stay that way.
Smith had a setback. He nearly went bankrupt in his early 20's. The IRS (Internal
Revenue Service) charged a tax dept for an estimated two million dollars, against him.
They garnished his income and confiscated many of his possessions. He was near
bankruptcy in 1990.
Smith responded to this setback by starring in a television sitcom called, "The Fresh
Prince of Bel-Air." The show has won Image and Ascap Awards as well as been
nominated for Emmy and Golden Globe Awards. It aired 148 episodes over a six season
run. Later it became syndicated, and continues to run it's reruns on various television
networks including Nickelodeon. Smith's money woes were soon erased based on his
earnings from this sitcom. Riding the wave of success from the sitcom, Smith began
starring in movies and launched a solo rap career.
Today, Smith is recognized as a major force at the box office. He has been the leading
man of mega hits such as "Independence Day," "Men in Black," "Bad Boys,"
"I am Legend" and "Hancock." While becoming a box office hit, he also started a solo
rap career which produced many successful albums achieving platinum and gold selling
status; most notably "Big Willie Style," 1997. He has been a devoted husband since
marrying Jada Pinkett in 1997, and a supportive father of three children. Smith has led
a life worthy to be called an American triumph. One of the best parts of his triumph is
that it all started from rap music with his willingness to make positive, feel good music
without any profanity.
July 6, 2008
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Will Smith
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