Friday, July 4, 2008

Hancock Expected To Gross $100 Mil; Will Smith, Jazzy Jeff Reunite

By Ismael AbduSalaam
With his new movie set to be another summer blockbuster, rapper/actor Will Smith surprised audience members at the Hancock premier party earlier this week, by reuniting with long-time collaborator DJ Jazzy Jeff.

The duo showed no rustiness from years apart, as they started their set with their Hip-Hop classic, “Summertime.”

Harking back to his early shows in seminal places like Union Square, the former Fresh Prince utilized his trademark call and response interaction with the crowd, as he fashioned additional rhymes over 50 Cent's “In the Club.”


While the crowd was mostly full of reserved movie goers, there were a few knowledgeable Hip-Hop fans in attendance.

As Smith tried to make an exit, the fans chanted loudly for the duo to perform “Brand New Funk,” off their Grammy winning and multi-platinum sophomore album He’s the DJ, I’m the Rapper.

The group obliged, and Smith had no problem delivering the rapid-fire rhymes of his youth.

Jazzy Jeff, who has become a highly sought after party DJ and producer since the group’s amicable split, had no problems re-creating the frenetic scratches of the classic record, to close out the performance.

As a group, DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince have 5 albums together: three gold, one platinum and one multi-platinum.

The duo is planning a summer tour together in conjunction with the Hancock film, which debuted on July 2.

Hancock is predicated to gross $70 to $80 million this July 4 weekend.

Counting projected ticket sales from the 3,695 theaters that screened the movie late Tuesday night (July 1), other analysts are predicting a total North American gross of over $100 million dollars.

Smith’s previous opening weekend best was I Am Legend, which grossed $77.2 million last December.

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