We all know the iconic theme song for “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” right? The track was one of the reasons the popular 90s television show was beloved by all who watched it.
But did you know that the song almost didn’t exist?
In the latest episode of the new Vice docuseries “Black Comedy in America,” Will Smith shared how the original opening of the song was not quite as beloved, especially by the composer and executive producer of the show Quincy Jones.
Smith recalled on the docuseries that even though Jones was “one of the greatest theme songwriters ever,” the opening to “Fresh Prince” was not something he could get behind.
“So he [Quincy] presented a theme song and I hated it,” said Smith. “So I got to [DJ Jazzy] Jeff and go like, ‘Dude, this is the song that Quincy wants…’ Jeff was like, ‘Yo, we should record what it should be.’ So Jeff had his equipment in his hotel room and we worked it out and we made a demo that basically tells the story of the show.”
Clarifying that he was nervous about telling Jones that he didn’t like his version of the theme song, Smith added, “I went to Quincy and I was like, ‘Hey Q… Can you take a listen to this?’ So I played it for him and he listened. He said, ‘That’s good. Mine’s a piece of shit.’”
In the docuseries, Smith also shared that despite winning the first-ever rap Grammy in 1989, his entertainment career did not quite take off like he thought it would, since he owed a lot of money to the IRS.
After selling the few valuable items he had, Smith was left with only $4,000. But the advice that he got from his then-girlfriend is what catapulted him to Hollywood stardom.
She advised that he get to the “The Arsenio Hall Show” and simply hang out backstage. Smith said that he would be there “all day, every day,” which eventually resulted in him meeting then-music exec Benny Medina who was creating the concept for “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.”