Will Smith explains his encounters with both The Notorious B.I.G. and Prince in the hours before their respective deaths. Speaking on the Broken Records Podcast in the episode uploaded on Tuesday (Feb. 18), the Philadelphia native called the experiences a “terrible jinx.”
“The night he got killed,” the Bad Boys star reflected after podcast host Justin Richmond inquired about a rumored meeting between Smith and the late Brooklyn rapper. “I don’t even want to say this out loud ’cause it’s like a terrible jinx. I met Biggie four hours before he got killed, and I talked to Prince eight hours before he died.”
LOS ANGELES, CA – MARCH 19: Musician Prince is seen on stage at the 36th NAACP Image Awards at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on March 19, 2005 in Los Angeles, California. Prince was honored with the Vanguard Award.
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He continued to detail his conversation with Prince, claiming the Minnesota legend had a business idea that included JAY-Z.
“I talked to Prince, and he called, and he was pitching, saying that me, 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,” he explained. “I don’t know what that says about me,” he added before jokingly declaring, “Don’t call me.”
This is not his first time referencing speaking with Prince the day before his tragic passing. According to Entertainment Weekly, on the day Prince’s death was announced in 2016, Smith shared a photo of the musician on Facebook, writing, “I am stunned and heartbroken. I just spoke with him last night.”
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 12: The crown worn by Notorious B.I.G. when photographed by Barron Claiborne as the King of New York is displayed during a preview at Sotheby’s for their Inaugural HIP HOP Auction on September 12, 2020 in New York City.
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The I Am Legend actor’s story regarding Notorious B.I.G. is different, however, as the conversation was their first and only interaction on the night Biggie was killed.
“The Biggie one made me cry,” Smith shared. “‘Cause it was stupid and just centered on Hip-Hop–for rapping. That one hurt me. It scared me, too… I’m not going there.”
Elsewhere in the discussion, the father of three discusses his musical journey as he prepares to release Based on a True Story, his first album in more than 20 years. Watch the full podcast episode below.
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