Will Smith Hated Being Called ‘Soft’ Due To His Rap Style

Will Smith has had an amazing film career, but his music career started it all. His time in music can never be put aside as it remains iconic. However, Will never liked people calling him soft for not cursing or killing anyone in his music.

The Fresh Prince appeared on Davis Letterman’s “My Next Guest Needs No Introduction” and opened up about his music career. The recording of this show took place before the infamous Oscars slap event. In the video, WIll said he “hated” being called “soft” because he didn’t curse in his songs.

Several topics were discussed in the sit-down interview with Letterman. Among them, Will Smith recalled his time as a member of the hip-hop duo, DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince. He talked about how hip-hop was back then and what getting into the charts meant for him.

The rap duo had a number of successful tracks after forming as a duo in 1984. Showcasing their success in the recording industry, their five studio albums all proved to be massive hits. They moved on and started talking about Will’s style of rap and their music as a duo.

Smith was asked if he faced any pressure to quit music. The Fresh Prince replied, “Not pressure as much as it was always that I was soft. I hated that, being called soft.” The “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” star consciously moved to avoid expletives in most of his discography. The actor said the reason he didn’t curse was because of something his grandma said to him when he was 12.

Being in hip-hop and not cussing in tracks could be one of the hardest things to pull off in the genre. As the culture and music have evolved the genre, the use of explicit words has been synonymous with hip-hop, but Will Smith chose otherwise.

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