There comes a point in every musician's career when he or she faces a crucial decision: Should I try something new? Some artists are continuously reinventing their music and their images with great success. Other artists - say, Will Smith, perhaps - seem to have a more difficult time pulling this off.
Smith's latest release, "Lost and Found," which hits store shelves today, is a great example of the type of gamble artists take when they try new sounds. The only problem is that the disc is the perfect model for when gambling might not have been the best idea.
Who is Will Smith, anyway? As a larger-than-life artist, this guy is more than just a rapper and actor. He's a household name, and a pop culture icon of our times. He's our Fresh Prince, the studly movie hero, the goofy rapper. The guy who helped us all get jiggy with it and celebrate Miami.
But it's not so clear who Will Smith is on "Lost and Found." The jiggy sound is replaced with gritty, edgy music and lyrics. Smith sure ain't playing Mr. Nice Guy anymore - just tune into the song by that name, where he responds to Eminem calling out Will's squeaky clean image on Em's single "The Real Slim Shady."
"I'm a nice guy, why ya'll harassing me?" Smith retorts in his song, repeating the key line: "Sometimes ya'll mistake nice for soft."
You're right, Big Will, and you're anything but soft on this album. You've come a long way (nearly a dozen albums!) since you first found fame with DJ Jazzy Jeff, but one would think you'd have cemented your style by now.
Instead, your new rough-and-tough attitude sounds more like a front than the real deal. It's unoriginal and completely not believable.
Take "Here He Comes," which opens the album with a sad attempt at establishing the tough-guy mindset. It's nothing more than a knockoff of a superhero cartoon theme song and it doesn't do the job Will probably wanted it to do. The disappointing club anthem "Party Starter" follows, and "I Wish I Made That/Swagga" fails to impress by directly lifting from Terror Squad's "Lean Back" and Snoop Dogg's "Drop It Like It's Hot."
Not surprisingly, the most successful songs on the record are those on which Smith loses the attitude. "Switch," the album's first single, is a bouncy number sure to pack dance floors, and Snoop's slick guest spot on "Pump Ya Brakes" makes for a sexy, chill little track. Mary J. Blige sits in on "Tell Me Why," lending some great vocals to a meditation on life's harsh realities, including the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Pity that the song comes a bit late and probably lost some of its intended impact during the interim.
Unfortunately, the bad songs on "Lost and Found" outnumber the good ones. Smith definitely chose the right title for his album, because he seems to have lost his direction. Now all he needs to do is figure out the "found" part - by finding himself.
Suggested listening: While practicing your fake "tough guy" faces in the mirror.
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