Album: Will Smith

Lost and Found, INTERSCOPE

As with many rappers, Smith's favourite subject here is himself - but unlike most, he ponders his situation with a certain depth and intelligence. Why, he wonders in "I Wish I Made That", won't black radio play him? Maybe he might be considered "black enough" if he robbed a bank? Of course, he's too squeaky-clean for that, but the jibes from hardcore exponents have stung him to bite back on tracks such as "Mr Niceguy" and "Lost and Found", in which he defends his old-school style: "Why should I try to sound like y'all sound?/ That's what's wrong with the rap game/ It's like a circus with a bunch of clowns/ A bunch of cliques I'd probably rap circles around". Of such foul-mouthed gangsta slackers, he enquires, "Did you take time to think about the seeds you're sowing?" But it's not just Smith's colleagues who feel the lash of his tongue. "Ms Holy Roller" is a critique of a born-again Christian who "Can't wait to tell/ If I don't believe what you believe, I'm goin' to hell", swelling to a ferocious indictment of right-wing fundamentalism, more powerful for coming from a committed Christian. With surprisingly sympathetic pieces elsewhere about a stalker ("Loretta") and the difficulty of explaining death to children ("Tell Me Why"), Lost and Found finds the fun-lovin' Fresh Prince finally becoming one of the more mature and thoughtful figures in hip-hop.