Yo, Holmes, to Bel-Air! Will Smith debuted his Super Bowl commercial on Wednesday (Feb. 9) to celebrate the upcoming premiere the Fresh Prince reboot with a new version of the show’s iconic theme song.
The actor kicks things off over FaceTime with help from a young beatboxer, rapping, “Now this is a story all about how …” before being joined by a parade of multicultural musicians, rappers and average Joes, including an accordion player, a young Black man dancing in an airport, an Indian tuba player and more.
“In West Philadelphia born and raised/ On the playground is where I spent most of my days/ When a couple of guys who were up to no good/ Started making trouble in the neighborhood/ I got in one little fight and my mom got scared/ And said, ‘You’re moving with your auntie and uncle in Bel-Air,” the song continues as a female rapper, a flautist, two different dance crews and a mariachi band take turns delivering the lyrics.
Titled Bel-Air, the reboot of Smith’s hit ’90s sitcom is set to premiere the same day as the Super Bowl — on Sunday (Feb. 13) — exclusively on Peacock. The show stars newcomer Jabari Banks as a young Will, with Adrian Holmes, Cassandra Freeman, Olly Sholotan, Coco Jones, Akira Akbar, Jimmy Akingbola, Jordan L. Jones and Simone Joy Jones rounding out the principal cast. In addition, Karreuche Tran will appear in a recurring role as a character named Ivy.
The original Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ran for six seasons on NBC from 1990 to 1996, and catapulted Smith from successful rapper to A-list superstar. Bel-Air, meanwhile, has already scored a two-season commitment from NBC’s streaming service.
On Tuesday (Feb. 8), Smith’s latest film, King Richard, nabbed six nominations at the upcoming 2022 Academy Awards — including a best actor nod for the star as well as Beyoncé‘s first-ever Oscar nomination for best original song.
Watch Smith recreate the Fresh Prince theme song just in time for the Super Bowl below.
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Tagged: Culture, entertainment blog, music blog, Super Bowl, TV/Film