"I don't know what that says about me" — Will Smith says he spoke to Prince and Biggie Smalls hours before they were killed

2025 marks Will Smith’s return to music with his fifth studio album, and the Fresh Prince is doing a decent job at promoting it.

Recently, Smith made an appearance on the Broken Record podcast. On the podcast, the I Am Legend star talked about his upcoming project, Quincy Jones, being broke before The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and more. By the end of the interview, Smith also revealed a weird coincidence that happened to him in real life.

When asked by the interviewer, Justin Richmond, Will Smith told the interviewer how he met Biggie Smalls “the night he got killed.” Smith recalled how he spoke to Biggie and Prince hours before their deaths.

“I don’t even want to say this out loud, because it’s like a terrible jinx. I met Biggie, you know, four hours before he got killed. And I talked to Prince, eight hours before he died.”

Smith narrated how Prince (who passed away in April 2016) had called him about starting an entertainment company in partnership with Jay-Z.

“I talked to Prince, and he called, and he was pitching… He was saying that me [Will Smith], him and Jay-Z should start an entertainment company. And he said he had talked to Jay, and he wanted to do it. And we talked that night, and in the morning, he was gone. I don’t know what that says about me.”

Smith also yelled jokingly,

“Don’t call me, don’t call me.”

Smith then briefly mentioned the Notorious B.I.G. before the conclusion of his interview.

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Will Smith cried after Biggie's death in 1997

The East Coast hip-hop icon Christopher “Biggie” Wallace was shot dead in 1997. Will Smith, who had met Biggie Smalls four hours before his death, recounted,

“The Biggie one made me cry, ‘cause it was… It was like stupid, you know, and it was, like, just centered on hip-hop, like for rapping, you know. And that one hurt me. It scared me too, you know.”

At the time of the Notorious B.I.G.’s death, Smith was already a well-established actor. He had appeared in Independence Day, Bad Boys, and all six seasons of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Later that year, he dropped his first solo album, Big Willie Style.

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Will Smith’s fifth studio album, Based on a True Story, will be released in March 2025

After an almost 20-year gap, Will Smith is dropping a new studio album titled Based on a True Story. His previous album, Lost and Found, was released in 2005. At the same time, Smith released a single, Beautiful Scars, with Big Sean in January of this year.

Spilling beans about Based on a True Story, Will Smith told Justin Richmond of the Broken Record podcast,

“I have written so much stuff in the last two years, I couldn’t get it into one. So, rather than, you know, trying to jam it into one project, I am doing it like a television show. So, I am releasing it in seasons. So, I have three seasons, so, I am not calling it an album, I am calling it Season 1 of ‘Based on a True Story.’”

Smith further revealed the titles of two seasons of his project,

“Season 1 is called Raven the Wasteland and this story does have a point [laughs]. And Season 2 is a Quincy Jones quote. Season 2 is called ‘The Gift of Madness.’”

Will recalled Quincy Jones’ quote, who once proclaimed Michael Jackson, Oprah Winfrey, and Smith have the “gift of madness.” Smith further revealed,

“He said, ‘They believe that impossible things can happen.’ And he said, ‘That is an absolute necessity for the kind of success that they have achieved.’”

Will Smith has made multiple public appearances in the past few weeks. He was seen beside his kids, Jayden and Willow, at the 67th Grammys. He also streamed live with Félix “xQc” Lengyel a few days back.