Well, everybody has an opinion. The long-standing strife between the Rock and Smith families resurfaced this week when Tony Rock, brother of comedian Chris Rock, publicly criticized Will Smith’s latest album, Based On A True Story, calling it “trash.” The album, released in March, references the infamous 2022 Oscars incident, where Smith slapped Chris Rock onstage during the live broadcast.
Get this, Tony Rock didn’t hold back when asked about the project, telling TMZ, “Will Smith has an album out and it’s a piece of sht and he addresses the Oscars.”* He admitted he hadn’t listened to the album and had no plans to, but he dismissed it outright, accusing Smith of leveraging the controversy for attention.
“Everybody keeps telling me to stop talking about [The Oscars], but then he fking puts it on a song,” Tony said. “So that gives me leeway to talk about it again. Album’s trash. I’m just assuming. I haven’t listened to it. I refuse to listen to it. This album is probably shtty as f–k because I haven’t heard anything about it other than ‘Oh, he addresses your brother.’ If that’s the only selling point, that’s a shtty album.”
ICYMI, Smith’s album revisits the Oscars incident, with lyrics addressing the fallout. On “Int. Barbershop – Day,” he raps, “I heard he down bad, I heard he won the Oscar, but he had to give it back / And you know they only made him do that sht because he’s Black.”* Another track, “You Lookin For Me?” includes the lines, “Took a lot, I’m back on top, y’all gon’ have to get acclimated / Won’t stop, my sht still hot even though I won’t get nominated.”*
Well, many artists did not feel that collaborating with Smith would be trash. The album features artists like Big Sean, Russ, Joyner Lucas, Teyana Taylor, and Smith’s son, Jaden. Despite the star-studded lineup, Tony Rock remains unimpressed, standing firm in his criticism.