Will Smith is a pioneer in the hip-hop community. Don’t get me wrong, you won’t hear me blasting “Parent’s Just Don’t Understand” out of the jeep anytime soon and I certainly don’t agree with his claim in a Source magazine interview a few years ago.. he stated that he was the greatest rapper alive.. period.. with a straight face.. Haha hahha ha haha hahaaha . Yeah he was one of the first rappers to get suckled by the MTV crowd, but the pioneering efforts I’m talking about are those related to film and TV.

When he teamed up with Quincy Jones to produce The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, a show that highlighted his B-Boy-lite persona, he was leading the way for the rapper turned actor parade.

Following behind him, marching down that street, drawing crowds by the millions, was Martin Lawrence. He wasn’t a rapper but he benefited from the popularity of rap and truly got his big break from Russell Simmons. You Go Girl, Shanaynay You aint got no job maynnnnn All Martin classics. Too bad his ego blew up and ruined the show.

It was during the time that problems began to bubble behind the scenes of the Martin set that he joined with Will Smith to make Bad Boys. It was a nice combination. Will Smith, already on his way to becoming a Hollywood sweetheart, smoothed out Martin’s rawer edge. It was like sweet and sour pork.. or chicken.. Whatever floats your boat. Will Smith can command twenty million a film now and is nominated for a Best Actor award in this year’s Academy Awards. Both of which confirm his status as a superstar. Martin hit bank with Big Momma’s House but he’s been in a couple of movies that should have been sent straight to cable.. “What’s The Worst That Could Happen?” “Black Knight.”

Well here comes Will Smith, swooping down with his new Ali toned physique to save the day. Slated for a summer 2003 release date, Columbia Pictures announced last week that Bad Boys 2 is going into production. Martin Lawrence and Will Smith will reteam with producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Michael Bay to make sure the same energy from the 95’ original is in the sequel. It was rumored the film would be titled Bad Boys Around the World, but they’ve settled for the simpler Bad Boys 2. Columbia Pictures chairman Amy Pascal was all hyped about the project, saying, “It feels good. We’re very, very excited.” Let me see.. Will gets 20 mil and Martin about 12 or 15.. Columbia will make that back in the first week.