Skip to main content

West Philadelphia born and raised. On Wedneday, Will Smith returned to his hometown for a ceremony renaming one of the city’s streets in his honor. 

“This is amazing, this is amazing,” the Oscar and Grammy winner told a crowd at the March 26 event, where a portion of 59th Street near his old high school officially received the designation Will Smith Way.

Will Smith holding up a sign reading '59th Street/Will Smith Way'
Will Smith is seen during the Will Smith Way street renaming ceremony on March 26, 2025, in Philadelphia | MediaPunch/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

During the ceremony, Smith – who graduated from Overbrook High School in 1986 – recalled his younger years in Philly and the lessons he learned from his father, mother, and grandmother. 

“My father taught me that you don’t get anything without discipline and hard work,” Smith said (via YouTube). “You can’t make a life if you’re not willing to sacrifice.” 

“Nobody gets an easy ride,” he added. “That was one of the things that these streets of Philadelphia taught me: that there is nothing wrong with a hard day’s work.”  

Will Smith holding a microphone and wearing a letter jacket
Will Smith | MediaPunch/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

Smith also gave a shout-out to one of his high school teachers, Brenda Brown, who gave him the nickname “Prince Charming” when he was one of her students. He added the word “fresh” to the nickname, becoming the Fresh Prince.

“The name the Fresh Prince was coined in that building,” Smith said. 

Will Smith and Philly Mayor Cherelle Parker holding a key to the city plaque
Will Smith and Mayor of Philadelphia Cherelle Parker | MediaPunch/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

Smith, who received a key to the city from Mayor Cherelle Parker during the ceremony, promised that he’d be back in the City of Brotherly Love for this year’s Independence Day celebration. 

“Philly, I love you. I am yours, you are mine. I will see you during the Fourth of July,” he said, vowing that he’d try to bring some of his famous friends with him for the party.  

Will Smith, in a letter jacket, with Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker, in purple, both with arms raised
Will Smith and Cherelle Parker | MediaPunch/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images
Related

Tatyana Ali Felt Like Will Smith Didn’t Get the Credit He Deserved as a Rapper

Smith’s new album, Based on a True Story, is due out on Friday. It’s his first major music project since 2005’s Lost and Found. The album is also part of Smith’s comeback tour after his reputation took a hit in the wake of the 2022 Oscars. During the ceremony, Smith slapped host Chris Rock following the comedian’s joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. 

Based on a True story emerged as Smith took a step back from the public eye to process that incident. 

“The last three years, I really just took a good look and was just deeply honest and eye to eye and nose to nose with things like fear, things like anger and sadness and confusion,” he said at an event at The Hard Rock Cafe in Philadelphia (via Newsweek). 

“And then something magical happened,” he went on to say. “If you can imagine, you know, that I shoved anger down, right? And then when it was up, and then when I welcomed it up, it’s like there was a hole under the anger that opened up that was all of these great abundant assets, like poetry started coming out and creativity started coming out, and it was like a geyser of, you know, new energy and all of a sudden I could rap the way I always wanted to.”

For more news and exclusive interviews, follow Showbiz Cheat Sheet’s Instagram.

Best in News