Lost and Found (Will Smith album)

Infobox Album
Name = Lost and Found
Type = Studio
Artist = Will Smith


Released = Start date|2005|3|29
Recorded = 2004
Genre = Hip hop
Length = 60:27
Label = Interscope Records
Producer = COP, DJ Jazzy Jeff, DJ Twinz, Eleet Beats, Freshmen, G-One, Hotrunner "TL", Troy Johnson, Kwamé "K1 Mil", Polow da Don, Omarr Rambert, Park Jin-Young, Jae Staxx
Reviews = * Allmusic rating|3|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:stk9ikzdbb79 2005]
* BBC rating|3|5 [http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_4390000/newsid_4391000/4391069.stm 2005]
* Entertainment.ie rating|3|5 [http://entertainment.ie/album-review/Will-Smith---Lost-and-Found/3813.htm 2005]
* "Entertainment Weekly" (B+) [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1046358,00.html 2005]
* "The Guardian" rating|2|5 [http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2005/mar/25/popandrock1 2005]
* "The Independent" rating|4|5 [http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-will-smith-529802.html 2005]
* PopMatters rating|7|10 [http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/s/smithwill-lostandfound.shtml 2005]
* "Rolling Stone" rating|2|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/willsmith/albums/album/7207927/review/7234916/lost_and_found 2005]
* "USA Today" rating|2|4 [http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/reviews/2005-04-11-listen-up_x.htm 2005]
* "The Village Voice" (Negative) [http://www.villagevoice.com/2005-05-03/music/signifying-nada/ 2005]
Last album = "Greatest Hits" (2002)
This album = "Lost & Found" (2005)
Next album =

"Lost and Found" is the first studio album by Will Smith on Interscope Records after several releases with Columbia. This is his first new release since "Born To Reign" in 2002 (which featured the Men in Black 2 song "Black Suits Comin' (Nod Ya Head)"), he released a Greatest Hits CD the same year. Released in early 2005, the album features the hit single "Switch". Guest artists on the album include Mary J. Blige, Snoop Dogg, Ludacris and long-time partner DJ Jazzy Jeff. The title comes from how he felt he was "lost" since he's put rap primarily on hold to do films, and "found" because he's back again. The album cover features Smith with a street sign saying West Philly & Hollywood in reference to his Philadelphia roots and current Hollywood life as a superstar.

The album is consistent in its critiques of the perceived state of hip hop, and the album has gained some notoriety because of a track entitled "Mr. Nice Guy", in which he takes slight shots at those who have criticized him in the past, namely Wendy Williams, Larry Elder, and Eminem.

The first track "Here He Comes" features Will rapping about his return to rap & versatility (a common theme), sampling the classic "Spider-Man" theme song from the 1980s cartoon. Other tracks include "If U Can't Dance (Slide)" which includes the "Women equate dance with sex" line that appears in Smith's movie "Hitch"; along with a song about a real life stalker ("Loretta") while "Ms. Holy Roller" deals with his view that extremist Christians are just as bad as the extremists who committed the terrorist bombings of 9/11, as well as aspects of his own faith and his ex-wife's conversion to Christianity. Both the title track & "I Wish I Made That/Swagga" deal with Smith commenting on current hip-hop. "I Wish I Made That/Swagga" is really two short songs, with the first half ("I Wish I Made That") talking about critiques of him not being "black enough" and black radio not playing his music despite high record sales. It references recent rap hits including Jay-Z's "Dirt Off Your Shoulder", Terror Squad's "Lean Back", Snoop Dogg's (who is a guest artist on "Pump Ya Brakes") "Drop It Like It's Hot" as well as Smith's own 1991 hit "Summertime" from his DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince days. The second half (aka "Swagga") is about his return to rap ("I got my swagga [swagger] back"). In "Lost & Found" he speaks how he doesn't do the standard "sex, drugs and violence" songs as found in popular gangsta rap and the similarities and stereotypes of current hip-hop. This also contains only very light language, such as occasional use of the word "damn", but never any "explicit" curse words, which is very common in the modern hip-hop genre.

"(Yup) truck wit rims (check) throw back jersey (check)/champagne bottles (check) lot's of models (check)/Damn that's the list for 90 percent of y'all videos and songs/Am I wrong?"

The track "Tell Me Why" is one of Will's most emotional, touching and dark tracks, it tells about senseless violence, about how hate is unable to defeat love on this earth.

"Mmmmm, souls are captured/Dreams are stolen, hearts are broken/Evil blatantly rewarded/Hate surrenders, Love exalted/Hope elated, negativity is shorted"

"Please what am I supposed to say to my kids when they say 'Why?'"

The song "Tell Me Why" was originally planned to be Will's second single but producers of "Party Starter" started mixing a new version for the song already.

"Lost and Found" was certified Gold by the RIAA on July 6, 2005.

Track listing

Charts

Trivia

* The track "Party Starter" was also written with rapper Ludacris.
* The iTunes release of the album does not contain track 16, "Switch (Reggae Remix)".
* "Tell Me Why" is the first time Will has said "fuck" on a song. However, it is blanked out. In the line, "And why the ---- can't love seem to defeat hate?"

External links

* [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0007QS4IC Amazon.com page]
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