Did Will Smith Just Call Upon Christ at the BET Awards?
By Movieguide® Contributor
Will Smith brought faith to the BET Awards last weekend as he performed his new Gospel-infused song “You Can Make It” while making room for Kirk Franklin to deliver a spoken-word sermon.
Smith released the song on June 28 in collaboration with Fridayy and Sunday Service Choir. In Smith’s first verse, he highlights the trials that come in life and how they can make people feel like they have no hope. His second verse, however, lifts up the way that people grow through adversity.
“The darker the hell you gotta endure/The brighter the heaven you get to enjoy/The harder the fall, the higher you soar/God opens a window when the devil closes the door” Smith raps in the second verse. “Believe me, the tried to bleed Will Smith/In the rearview, I see adversity was the gift/To lift me higher gifts requires faith/So dry your eyes and then you’ll find the way.”
Though the actor has an impressive track record in the music industry — with four Grammy wins under his belt — he has been out of the music game for nearly 20 years, with his last full-length album, “Lost and Found” releasing in 2005. “You Can Make It,” however, marks Smith’s return to music, which he has been teasing all year. Though he has featured on other artist’s songs in the past, his new song marks his first leading single in over five years.
“Through some of my darkest moments, music has always been there for me — to lift me and help me grow,” Smith wrote before the release of “You Can Make It.” “It’s my humble with that it can do the same for you and bring you all the joy and light you deserve.”
While Smith’s inclusion of faith in “You Can Make It” may surprise some of his fans, as he isn’t necessarily known for his faith, the actor has been candid about his relationship with God in the past, crediting his success in entertainment to the Lord.
“You can’t get where I get if you don’t love the Lord,” Smith told DeVon Franklin in 2021. “You don’t get to sit how I sit, move how I move if you don’t love the Lord. You’d be seeing a whole lot of other repercussions.”
Smith has also portrayed faith on the big screen through his Oscar-winning performance in KING RICHARD. The movie was nominated for two Teddy Bear Awards®, including the Epiphany Prize® for Most Inspiring Movie and Best Movie for Mature Audiences.
Movieguide® previously reported:
Actor Will Smith is currently promoting his upcoming movie KING RICHARD, where he stars as tennis pros Venus and Serena Williams’ father and coach. In addition to talking about the film, Smith also discussed the role faith has played in his own life.
The movie follows the family as the Williams sisters rise to fame in the professional tennis world, showing the hardships they faced and the courage they showed in their pursuit of greatness.
In an interview with Movieguide® Award winner DeVon Franklin, the star was asked if he, like his character Richard Dove Williams Jr., was a man of faith.
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