WILL SMITH
Lost And Found (Interscope)
Reviewed by John Sekerka

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Hey hey it's the not so fresh Prince of Bel-Air with another light rap platter to show his homeys he's a man for all seasons. A bit of silliness (using the Spiderman theme as a starter) and some innocuous, comedic banter make for a perfect Walkman stroll down the yellow hip hop road. Just when the slagging quotient is about to go off the map, the unthinkable happens. Smith gets his shit together, forgetting his extreme Hollywood makeover, remembering street life, and starts rapping from the heart on "Tell Me Why." Mary J. Blige coos along as Smith dishes out despondent questions which have no answers. Good stuff, but alas it is track seven, and may be too late to save the record. And no, I'm not being nice just cuz Smith is all pumped after filming Ali, and could turn my lights out ... nu - uh.

© 2005 - John Sekerka