Will Smith’s decades-long legacy as one of rap’s foremost pioneers will likely always be too essential to ignore, despite the fact that he is perhaps better known for his film work than his music these days. With the Verzuz series paying homage to and honoring many of the legends of the past, Sway Calloway of XM Radio checked up with the former Fresh Prince on Sway In The Morning to see whether he had any plans to participate in a battle.
Surprisingly, Will said that he had considered appearing — and had even chosen a prospective opponent in LL Cool J — but that he had been too preoccupied with writing and marketing his next book to set a date. Despite being able to draw on cultural mainstays like “Parents Just Don’t Understand,” “Summertime,” “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It,” and “Men In Black,” Will insisted that despite both rappers’ 20-plus years of successes, “L is going to body me” in a one-to-hit duel.
Co-host Heather B, on the other hand, predicted a Will Smith triumph in one case. “What’s rad about Will, though, is that he and L were out when it was all about the DJ and the rapper,” she pointed out. “Everyone has their own DJ,” Will agreed, “so don’t let [DJ Jazzy] Jeff on the turntables.”
