The wait is nearly over.
Will Smith returned to the studio for the first time in over a decade to record new music and sent his fans into a frenzy when he offered up a little teaser. The rapper and blockbuster movie star posted a short video of him rapping, and the clip has already been viewed more than 5 million times on Instagram and made Smith a trending topic on Twitter.
"Getting’ back in the studio. Just warmin’ up," Smith wrote on Wednesday.
In the clip, Smith, who got his start in rap as the Fresh Prince, says, "20 years of swag ya'll just witnessed / let me remind everybody who Will Smith is."
He goes on to rap about the millions he's made in Hollywood, offering up one of the most quoted lines, "If I throw my money up/[expletive] I'd probably kill a stripper."
This line right here: If I throw my money ?? up, I’ll probably kill a stripper. #WillSmith
— Niesha Stone (@ImNieshaStone) May 24, 2018
#WillSmith was Drake waaaaaaay before Drake. I cant believe i didnt realize this. pic.twitter.com/IMisoG1Y4g
— Fesquire (@Fesquire) May 23, 2018
There are references to Uncle Phil from his breakout sitcom "Fresh Prince of Bel Air," Smith's Muhammad Ali biopic and his summer blockbusters, and those darn divorce rumors that have dogged him and wife Jada Pinkett Smith.
"Stop the divorce rumors and mind your d--- business," he raps.
Coming from Smith, who is known for his clean lyrics, the curse words may come as a bit of surprise.
Then again, Smith, 49, is returning to a very different hip-hop industry than when he left. His last album, "Lost and Found," was released in 2005.
In a longer YouTube video that he also posted Wednesday, the star talked about why it took him so long to return to music.
"At my peak, I was doing a television show, a movie and an album every year," he says in the video. "So like, just churning out that kind of creativity. What happens is you get to a point where you get empty."
Now, he adds, "I'm excited. I'm reenergized. I'm creating wildly like I used to. I'm ready."
Smith is also set to release the official 2018 World Cup anthem he recorded with Colombia-based reggaeton star Nicky Jam and Kosovar pop singer Era Istrefi.
