Will Smith recalled how much the late Quincy Jones supported him in nearly every aspect of his life shortly after the iconic musician's death.
On Wednesday, November 27, the accomplished artist and actor sat down with Tracy Bethea of 95.7 Hallelujah FM. During their conversation, Bethea brought up the touching message Smith wrote about Jones the day his death was announced to the world. In it, he described him as the "true definition of a mentor, a father and a friend." He doubled down on that comment by revealing how Jones was there during key moments of his personal life and career.
"You gonna have me on your show crying," Smith began. "Quincy grabbed me at a time in my life that was a real fork in the road. Quincy, he showed me how I want to be in this business. He just always made himself completely available to help me and to teach me... He's a model of how I want to be. You talk about legacy. I want mine to be like Quincy's."
Elsewhere in their conversation, Smith also opened up about his new song "You Can Make It" featuring Fridayy & Sunday Service Choir and his upcoming gospel album. He debuted the record during a massive performance at the 2024 BET Awards with special guest Kirk Franklin over the summer. He recalls how he was raised in the church by his grandmother, however, he never truly considered taking his music in the gospel direction until a few years ago.
"As you can imagine, I've done a lot of soul-searching," Smith said. "It's just what came out of me in this new season of my life... I was raised deeply in the church. It's where I got my first taste of performing and being able to fill people with the spirit... With this particular single, it wasn't like I was trying to make a gospel song. I was full with that energy, with that spirit and it's what came out naturally. The idea that you can make it is just what my heart wanted to say to the world."
Smith also said he felt like "a new artist" when he started the project, but now he's moving in the right direction. The Grammy award-winning rapper is still piecing the album together but he revealed that he had a studio session with Christian rapper Lecrae and experimented with sounds similar to CeCe Winans.
Watch the entire interview below.