Will Smith returned to music Friday with the release of his new album “Based on a True Story,” ending a 20-year hiatus. In the opening track, “Int. Barbershop — Day,” featuring DJ Jazzy Jeff and B. Simone, Smith directly addresses his controversial 2022 Oscars slap involving Chris Rock.

The track starts with gossip about Smith, stating, “Will Smith is canceled. Who the f— Will Smith think he is? … I ain’t never gone forgive him for that stuff he did.” Smith then raps candidly about the incident, referencing false rumors that he had to return his Oscar: “I heard he down bad / I heard he won the Oscar, but had to give it back / And you know they only made him do that s*** because he’s Black.” He further defends his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, rhyming, “You wish you had a Jada Pinkett next to you / Him and Jada both crazy, girl, what you talking ‘bout / You better keep his wife’s name out of your mouth.”

Smith resigned from the Academy on April 1, 2022, shortly after the incident, forfeiting his voting privileges. Though banned from attending Oscar ceremonies for ten years, Smith remains eligible for future nominations and awards. He never had to surrender his Best Actor Oscar, which he won for his role in “King Richard.”

On the album’s second track, “You Lookin’ for Me?,” Smith confidently highlights his comeback, declaring, “Took a lot / I’m back on top / Y’all gon’ have to get acclimated / Won’t stop my s*** still hot even though I won’t get nominated.”

The infamous “slap heard around the world” happened three years ago at the 94th Academy Awards, when Rock joked about Pinkett Smith, who was bald at the time due to alopecia, starring in “G.I. Jane 2.” Smith stormed the stage, slapped Rock, and shouted, “Keep my wife’s name out of your f—ing mouth!” Pinkett Smith publicly discussed her alopecia diagnosis in 2018. Ridley Scott’s original “G.I. Jane,” released in 1997, starred Demi Moore as a Navy recruit who shaves her head during training.