Propelled by the smash "Parents Just Don't Understand," DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince broke into the mainstream a year later with "He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper", one of the first hip hop LPs to achieve double-platinum status. Clean-cut, witty and easygoing, the duo's bubblegum approach was a stark contrast to the dominant, harder-edged rap sound of the period; viewed as a non-threatening alternative to their peers, they received the parental seal of approval, and their appeal spread across racial lines as well. And In This Corner... followed in 1989, and soon Hollywood began taking notice of Smith's success; in 1990, he was tapped to star in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, a sitcom for NBC. An immediate hit, it made Smith a household name, and continued in production through 1996.

Smith also continued his music career, and in 1991 DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince scored their biggest chart hit to date with the excellent "Summertime," from the album Homebase. The year following, he made his feature film debut in the drama Where the Day Takes You; in 1993, his supporting turn in Six Degrees of Separation was the subject of much critical acclaim. That same year, the final Jazzy Jeff/Fresh Prince record, Code Red, was released. In 1995, Smith co-starred in the action film Bad Boys, a major box office hit; it set the stage for his leading role in 1996's Independence Day, the summer's biggest smash. A year later, he starred in Men in Black, again the box-office champ of the summer season; recording for the first time under his given name, he also scored a smash with the movie's rap theme. Smith's debut solo LP, Big Willie Style, also appeared in 1997, sporting the hits "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It," "Just the Two of Us" and "Miami." 1999 brought “Wild Wild West” and the Platinum selling “Willenium.” Watch for Will to return later this year in Robert Redford’s film “The Legend of Bagger Vance.” He is currently in pre-production in Micheal Mann’s much anticipated “Ali.”