Artist Profile
Name: Willard Carroll Smith Jr.
Born: 25th September 1968
Place of Birth: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Occupation: Actor, Producer, Rapper and Songwriter
Genre: Hip Hop/Mainstream Rap
Will Smith is one of the most recognizable artists within the Pop Rap genre. He gained notoriety in the 1997 when he released his debut solo album 'Big Willie Style' This album is considered one of the most influential albums for the genre as it was one of the first Rap albums to uses softer lyrics and lighter beats. This album paved the way for artists like Drake and Kanye West in the genre who unlike their Rap predecessors come from a middle class background and don't talk about 'escaping the hood'.
The clothing that Will Smith wears in his music videos will often me the latest fashion if not it probably soon will have been as he and the genre itself were considered the trendsetters of the time. Often his clothing was outrageous and wouldn't be worn on a daily basis but was instead used to make a statement.
Many of the themes of Will Smith's songs are used today, For example the song 'Gettin' Jiggy Wit It' is as the title describes about having sex. He talks about the extravagant lifestyle he lives in his music songs such as 'Miami' and 'Summertime'. All of these themes are extremely relevant to the modern genre and are often the key themes in the song. Although the artist is one of the earlier artists within the genre we are still able to see the relevance he has to it and the evolution the genre has made to become one of the forerunners in the modern music industry
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