Saturday, May 30, 2026

Will Smith Slaps Back to 2016 Kendrick Lamar With BET Performance of New Rap Song (Watch)

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Will Smith says “You Can Make It” even if you commit an act of violence on live TV and get booted by the Motion Picture Academy. He performed a new rap song on the BET Awards last night as part of his comeback campaign.

“You Can Make It” reminded me of Kendrick Lamar’s incendiary 2016 Grammy performance, which was much fresher and new at the time and even now. Everything about Will’s performance said “2016.” Maybe it a slap back to a more innocent time. (It also looked a little like used Kanye.)

With “Bad Boys Ride or Die” a hit, Will definitely feels like his punishment is over, and that he’s been vindicated. Whether or not that’s real, remains to be seen.

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Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman is the founder and editor-in-chief of Showbiz411. He wrote the FOX411 column on FoxNews.com from 1999 to 2009 and previously edited Fame magazine and wrote the "Intelligencer" column at New York magazine. His bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, Vogue, Details, and the Miami Herald. He is a voting member of the Critics Choice Awards (Film and Television branches), and his movie reviews are tracked by Rotten Tomatoes. is articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. With D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, he co-produced the 2002 documentary "Only the Strong Survive," which screened at Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

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