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Willard Christopher Smith, Jr., better known as simply Will Smith (or ‘The Fresh Prince’), is an American rapper and hip hop singer, as well as a highly successful actor and film producer.

Born 25^th September 1968 in West Philadelphia, Smith took an interest in hip hop music from a young age. In his late teens he teamed up with childhood friend Jeffrey Townes to form the hip hop group DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince. They were soon signed to Word Up Records and released their debut hit single Girls Ain’t Nothing but Trouble, followed by the album Rock the House, shortly before graduating from high school.

After signing to Jive Records, the group released their second album He’s the DJ, I’m the Rapper in March 1988. It reached the Top 5 on the Billboard 200, selling over three million copies in the US alone and produced the hits Summertime, Nightmare on My Street and the Grammy Award-winning Parents Just Don’t Understand. The group released a further three albums in the late 80s and early 90s – And in This Corner…, Homebase and Code Red – scoring hits with singles like I Think I Can Beat Mike Tyson, Ring My Bell and the UK number one hit Boom! Shake the Room, before Smith embarked on his solo career.

After appearing in the NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel Air and the hit films Independence Day and Men in Black, Smith released his debut solo album Big Willie Style in November 1997. It reached the Top 10 on the Billboard 200 and produced the international number one singles Men in Black and Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It, as well as the Hot 100 Top 20 hits Just the Two of Us and Miami.

Since then Will Smith has released a further three studio albums – Willennium, Born to Reign and Lost and Found – selling millions of copies worldwide and producing hits like Wild Wild West (ft. Dru Hill and Kool Moe Dee), Will 2K (ft. K-Ci), Black Suits Comin’ (Nod Ya Head) (ft. Christina Vidal) and Switch.