When Smith rapped, in his “Fresh Prince of Bel-air” theme song, about growing up in Philly and getting into “one little fight” with a local kid, there was actually some truth to that story. The main difference was that the fight wasn’t so “little” though. In fact, according to Will it was SERIOUS and he got his a$$ whooped in the worst way. It changed the way he viewed life, for the REST of his life.
What Happened
It happened when Will transferred from a predominantly Caucasian school, to a mostly African American school in Philly and it was somewhat of a culture shock for him. So he nervously decided to walk into the school like he was “King Jaffe” from “Coming to America” or something:
“I went to a catholic school up to 8th grade, with all White kids and probably two or three Black kids… And then I went to my neighborhood high school in 9th grade, that was 99% Black kids. So, the first day I walked into 9th grade, I walked into the lunchroom…and it was like 500 kids. … To this day I don’t know why I did this, I’m sure it was because I was nervous…and I have a thing with fear, I don’t like being scared. … So…I walked in, I looked around, and I said ‘Excuse me, can I have y’all attention please?!!…[pointing to himself] He’s here!…He’s here right now, thank you! Thank you!'”
One kid decided to check him on his arrogant attention seeking introduction:
Will said there was “this one dude” mean muggin’ him the whole time and ultimately told him, “Man, don’t nobody give a f*ck that you here. “I said ‘Hey, just give me ten minutes, your girl gon’ care.'”
Then it got ugly:
“As I was walking up the stairs, he cracked me in the side of my head with the [combination] lock and I went down, I was out, I’on remember nothing. I still got the lump on my head…”
His Deep Regret
After regaining consciousness, Will learned that one cannot walk into foreign situations acting like he runs the place. He also learned how the power of his words/actions can negatively affect another person. When the police and his Pops showed up to the school, Will was sitting in the principal’s office, telling them what happened. Next thing he knew, he’s watching that kid get hauled off in handcuffs and into the back of a police car:
“I couldn’t believe it had escalated to a kid being removed from school. And I was laying in bed that night, just feeling like SH*T. And I had the recognition that I had caused this kid to throw his life away. …He was kicked out of school and I never knew what happened to him, but I have a sense that it didn’t go well. And I felt a DEEP sense of regret and a deep sense that I had caused an emotion in a person that made them do that.
That feeling of regret, turned into a sort of FEAR of how much power I had. And I was like, ‘Everything I say and do has THAT kind of effect on other human beings?!’ And in that moment, I decided that I would never walk into a room and do ANYTHNG, other than inspire, uplift, and enlighten people to be the greater versions of themselves. And I would never do ANYTHING that would cause people to rile up the darkest, dirtiest parts of people. …That night, I made that promise to myself and I made that promise to God. And it’s something that has completely shaped how I approach people, how I approach moments, how I walk into rooms, how I deal with every human being on this earth.”
Smith’s Apology
Will then apologized to the kid he sent to jail back then:
“To him and to his family, I want to send my deepest apologies and I hope my words and my…sincerity reach you. And I HOPE your life has gone well for you.”
Damn, we live and we learn.
