Will Smith Reveals ‘Magical’ Breakthrough He Got After Oscars Slap

Will Smith revealed a “magical” breakthrough he got following his infamous Oscars slap during an appearance on SiriusXM’s Sway in the Morning.

Exactly three years ago, the The Fresh Prince of Bel Air star hit Chris Rock at the 94th Academy Awards following a joke the comedian made about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. After the incident, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences banned him from the ceremony as well as “any Academy events or programs” for 10 years, the Academy said in a statement at the time.

On Wednesday, Smith spoke out about his upcoming album titled Based on a True Story in an interview with Sway Calloway and Heather B in front of a live audience at The Hard Rock Cafe in Philadelphia.

“Based on a True Story, when I hear that title, for me it eliminates the actor, you know, the film person, you know, and it gets straight to the poet, the MC,” Calloway said. “And when I listen to this project, I hear Will Smith, the MC.”

“Yeah, for sure,” Smith said.

When asked if he had “any distractions” while making the album, Smith launched into a lengthy reply while hinting at his Oscars slap.

“No. So you know, so what happened, I really—the last couple of years I really went internal, you know, and I did some deep, like, inward searching and really isolation,” the Men in Black star said. “I was spending more time by myself in the past three years than ever in my life.”

Smith added that while social media showed “the best parts” of himself, there were other aspects that he “pushed down.”

“The last three years, I really just took a good look and was just deeply honest and eye to eye and nose to nose with things like fear, things like anger and sadness and confusion,” he explained. “I really just took a good look at myself and decided not to run. I decided not to medicate, decided not to avoid, I’m gonna be here with these feelings.”

“And then something magical happened,” the Philadelphia native said. “If you can imagine, you know, that I shoved anger down, right? And then when it was up, and then when I welcomed it up, it’s like there was a hole under the anger that opened up that was all of these great abundant assets, like poetry started coming out and creativity started coming out, and it was like a geyser of, you know, new energy and all of a sudden I could rap the way I always wanted to.”

Smith said that by “cutting” parts of himself that he “didn’t like” or “didn’t represent my family properly,” a “wave of new creativity” and “new ideas” came to him.

“I got a whole new creative energy. And it’s even an exploration for me. Like, I go in the booth sometimes, I don’t even know what I’m gonna say.”

Based on a True Story is Smith’s first album in 20 years following Lost and Found‘s release in 2005. His newest music will drop on Friday and feature guest artists like Teyana Taylor, Big Sean, his son Jaden Smith and more. Last week, he announced his Based on a True Story Tour.

“I’M GOING ON TOUR THIS SUMMER!! We’re hitting up UK & Europe to bring U all the hits, some new joints, and a few surprises ;-),” the Bad Boys star said on March 17. “All these years, I’ve NEVER done a headline tour and I can’t wait to see you guys!!”

In an interview with the Associated Press earlier this week, Smith was asked whether he was going to appeal the Academy’s ban. “I am looking to be the best human I can possibly be,” he simply said. “And I’m going to take what I get with that.”

Newsweek reached out to Smith’s representative via email for comment.