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Music

Please, Lords of the Earth, Grant Us a Renaissance in the Career of Will Smith

On the basis of this video—where Will Smith slides into a performance of "Summertime" with an unparalleled degree of smoothness—the Fresh Prince is destined to be the Craig David of 2016.

Nostalgia is a big business. It runs through the root of every 1950s themed American themed diner, the resurgence of 1980s and 1990s clothing brands, and every band that's based their career on the collective back catalogue of the Ramones and the Velvet Underground. Even the most en vogue television shows are propped up by the currency of nostalgia: from Stranger Things through to Mad Men. So it seems strange, or perhaps even admirable, or maybe just representative of his talent, for us to remember that Will Smith hasn't ever turned back toward a revival of The Fresh Prince, in terms of the television show and his music career, which gave birth to a wide range of hits.

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Of course we've seen Will perform some tracks from his golden back catalogue a few times now. Just last week he appeared at a Suicide Squad party in Miami" to perform "Miami". But it's this most recent performance from Stephen Colbert's Late Show that begs the question: Will Smith, why won't you make Will Smith great again? This is not a slight against his acting work. Seven Pounds was touching. Buckets of tears were shed at The Pursuit of Happyness. I Am Legend is a grand spectacle in how one man can pretty much carry an entire movie alone. But this is the world, and this is the internet, and as always: We Want More.

On the basis of this video—wherein Will Smith slides into a performance of "Summertime" with an unparalleled and tenacious degree of smoothness—the world deserves a Will Smith resurgence in much the same way that it witnessed a Craig David resurgence in 2015. Watch below and marvel at the ad-libs.