Will Smith Shades Chris Rock Oscars Slap In New Freestyle: “Expect Me on the Stage” [Video]

Will Smith is back in the spotlight, and he’s not holding back. On Apple Music’s “Fire in the Booth,” the multifaceted star cuts loose with a raw, tongue-in-cheek freestyle that seems aimed squarely at his old rival, Chris Rock. He doesn’t say the name, but the target is clear: “If you talking crazy out your face up on the stage and disrespect me on the stage, expect me on the stage.”

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Smith doesn’t stop there. He warns that some jokers talk big but can’t back it up: “Jokers dish it out, cry foul when it’s time to take it / City full of real ones, wasn’t raised to fake it.”

In the same candid mode, he revisits the Oscars slap during his Based on a True Story comeback album, which didn’t crack the Billboard 200. The barbershop‑styled opener, featuring DJ Jazzy Jeff and B. Simone, packs lines like, “I heard he won the Oscar but he had to give it back – and you know they only made him do that shit because he’s Black” and “He’s only still relevant because of his kids.”

And in the track “You Lookin’ For Me?” he touches on his personal life, rapping: “Personal life with my wife – mind your business, it’s complicated.”

Rock hasn’t yet responded to the freestyle, though he may do so in his next standup special.