In a statement about hip-hop’s five-decade anniversary celebration, the segment’s curator’s Questlove stated that Will Smith had to drop out of a surprise appearance at the Grammy Awards on Sunday (2.05.)
During the show, Questlove (born Ahmir Khalib Thompson) and his band The Roots took part in a collaborative performance celebrating the 50 years of hip-hop alongside Nelly, Missy Elliott, Queen Latifah, LL Cool J, Busta Rhymes, Run-DMC, and Will’s former performing partner DJ Jazzy Jeff, among others.
During the red carpet portion of the event, Questlove stated:
“I’ll give the spoiler alert away. Will Smith was part of the festivities tonight, but they started shooting Bad Boys 4 this week.” “There were a lot of preliminary shots that he had to do, so we had to lose Will.” adding that getting Smith involved was “a shot in the dark” because he is “always shooting movies”.
Had it happened, the performance would’ve marked the former rapper/now actor’s first awards show appearance since he infamously slapped Chris Rock during the 2022 Oscars after the presenter made a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith. As it turned out, Chris was presenting the award for Best Documentary, which was awarded to Questlove following the shocking moment.
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Author: Saul Goode
Photo: Tais Melillo