Will Smith’s BET Awards Gospel Act Draws Kanye West Comparisons: 'Someone Should Come Up & Slap Will'

Will Smith raised eyebrows with his unexpected rap performance, which was reminiscent of Kanye West and generated a lot of chatter among online BET Awards viewers.

With the latest installment of his Bad Boy series, Bad Boys: Ride or Die, hitting theaters, fans eagerly anticipated his musical debut at the 2024 BET Awards on Sunday evening.

Upon eagerly anticipating the release of Fresh Prince's latest music, fans watching the BET Awards wasted no time taking to the internet to share their comments about Smith's new song and performance at the ceremony.

Many fans noted a striking resemblance between the musical style of Smith's latest song debut and that of West. This similarity is attributed to Will's collaboration with the Sunday Service choir, which is known for its work with the "Donda" rapper.

@JessLiLucifer said on X, formerly Twitter, "Will smith... lmfaooo. Is this new music?! Lmfaoooooo. Will smith over here trying to be the new Kanye. Please stop. Get me off this floor."

@BlaaqGold also wrote, "That will smith felt like some old Kanye."

"What is this Will Smith redemption song? Is like Book of Eli, meets I can't stand the rain, meets Kanye West, meets Kirk Franklin..... I'm confusion," @Oh_OnThaTLCTip quipped, while @only1Reem_A tweeted, "Will smith was giving Kanye Ultralight beam."

According to @LifeParadice, "WillSmith performance ,,,, mom said that look like some Kanye West stuff."

@tuhkyjuh asked, "Did will smith buy the IP to Sunday service from Kanye? I'm here for it."

@444wale said, "wait this song will smith is performing sounds like a kanye throwaway from JIK era," while @tonyciccarone wrote, "Someone should come up and slap Will Smith, pretending with this gospel stuff Give us Kanye."

This year's BET Awards took place in Los Angeles, hosted by the talented Taraji P. Henson at the Peacock venue.

Smith debuted his latest original song, "You Can Make It," at the awards show, marking his first release since the 2017 hit EDM single "Get Lit."

Smith's latest track was released recently and singer-songwriter Fridayy joined in the celebration. The empowering lyrics found in his new song have garnered notable praise, with some lines go, "Walking through the valley of the shadow of death."

"And when you think you've got nothing left, keep going."

Tags

Will Smith, Kanye West