Since the beginning of the year, rumors have swirled around NBC rebooting its iconic sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The original was literally built around Will Smith, then a bubbling celebrity and rapper with his partner DJ Jazzy Jeff. With TMZ reporting that folks in charge have registered new trademarks around Fresh Prince characters, it’s looking like the rumors could soon become reality.
But what celebrity or rapper could possibly match the charisma and undeniability that Will Smith originally brought to the role? According to Smith’s former partner in crime, DJ Jazzy Jeff, the right choice would be Chance the Rapper.
“I think Chance [The Rapper] would be a really good Fresh Prince,” Jeff told HipHop DX. “Cause Chance always seems to have a lighthearted demeanor. He’s got a serious side to him but Chance is always smiling. Chance is always trying to do something really positive. I think Chance would be a really good Fresh Prince.”
Jeff also added that Chance is a “trailblazer” in the same way Smith was.
This week, Chance appeared on Pitchfork’s “In Sight Out” conversation series at Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art, where he addressed questions about new music, collaborating with Kanye and Childish Gambino, as well as the Fresh Prince rumors. Unfortunately, in the latter case, Chance stated unequivocally that he wouldn’t reprise the Fresh Prince role for a reboot.
He did add, however, that he’d write some music for the project, should it come to fruition.
"I'm not playing the ******* Fresh Prince, I love Will Smith, I wouldn't do that" @chancetherapper buuut he is willing to write some music for a reboot!
— The TRiiBE (@TheTRiiBE) March 6, 2018
TMZ has also hinted the Fresh Prince reboot might instead follow in the footsteps of the Boy Meets World reboot by switching the main role to a female character. In other words, it’d be The Fresh Princess of Bel-Air.
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Smith himself has also hinted on his Instagram page the possibility of the show becoming an animated series.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BehDh3anodP/?utm_source=ig_embed
