Will Smith discovers surprising Welsh connections

BBC News

a day ago

Hollywood star and rapper Will Smith has dropped the mic for Wales after discovering some surprising Welsh connections. "I'm Welsh," declared the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air actor after finding out Bryn Mawr, a suburb of Philadelphia where his mum still has a home, was named by Welsh Quaker settlers in the late 17th Century.They established a community in the west of the city and many Welsh place names remain, including one where the Grammy-award winning artist was raised. "That might be my new name. Welsh Smith. I'm gonna be Welsh Smith," he told Lucy Owen on BBC Radio Wales.
Smith also grew up in nearby Wynnefield - named after a Welsh physician, Dr Thomas Wynne. The star was stunned to learn of the connections.
Bryn Mawr means big hill in Welsh, and he added: "Big Will lives in big hill. This is crazy." Smith performs at Cardiff Castle on 25 August, just a few days after Welsh legend Sir Tom Jones.Smith called him "magnificent", remembering a cameo appearance from Sir Tom in his hit 90s sitcom the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
In 1993 he appeared as a guardian angel to Carlton, a cousin and friend to Smith's character. Smith said Sir Tom had an "iconic energy" that everybody wishes they had."When he walked on to the set it was one of the most amazing things," he said. "Carlton's character loves Sir Tom. "When he walked out, you get that thing when the audience recognises what is happening, it was one of the classic moments on the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. "It was beautiful."Smith hinted he would be paying tribute to Sir Tom during his Cardiff gig."Yeah, there's a part in my show where we celebrate his connection to the Fresh Prince of Bel Air."
Smith has just released his first full-length album in 20 years, called Based on a True Story. He said the last few years for him had been about "introspection and growth", something reflected in his lyrics.It is three years since Smith hit the headlines after slapping comic Chris Rock on stage at the Oscars for making a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. He later apologised.
Writing the new album, he said, led to him "looking deeper at the reality of who and what I am"."I let myself talk from places and write from places and create from places within me that I've been scared of... places that have been repressed and I call the energies, the despicable prisoners," he said. "You know, those parts of myself that are not necessarily for Instagram. Those spaces that aren't necessarily for the BBC."Smith said he will be performing a mix of his new and old material in the UK. In the Welsh capital, with his newly-discovered connections to the country, fans might even hear the Fresh Prince speak a little of the language. Welsh Smith as he is calling himself, has been trying to learn a few phrases.