At the top of the poster expected in Paléo on Wednesday evening, Will Smith played with the public between Old School rap of his beginnings, generics of humanist films and chatter. The American star star and cinema did not really convince despite the visual and pyrotechnic artifices of his show.
A colored ghetto blaster drawn in background image, eight dancers in red and yellow basketball jerseys accompany the expected entry on the scene and all Smith smiles. At midnight on Wednesday on the big stage of Paléo, the 56-year-old American actor and singer immediately plays her Old School hip-hop to recall his rapper’s origins whose flow without character did not mark the story.
Japs and red cap with the image of the Philadelphia Phillies and Assorted Baseball team, supported by a bass player, a keyboard, a percussionist and choirs, he embraced on four classics of the 1990s with the very pop remiring tube “Gettin ‘Jiggy Wit It”, “Miami” with very art deco visuals of the city and a rhythmic finish Afro-Cuban, “Boom! Shake the Room” which ends in Medley historic standards of American rap including the “Jump around” by House of Pain and “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” with smoke and more electronic sequence.
A translator on stage
A translator already summoned once on stage by Will Smith to tell us tautologically that the time was at Old School hip-hop explains that the actor-singer banished from the Oscars for a slap to Chris Rock would better see us to make the cry of our animal Totem spiritual to introduce the soul of “It’s not unusual” (1965) “The Prince of Bel-Air” (1990-1996) and sees an ultra choreographed final on stage.
After this rather effective first part, the rest becomes more talkative, chopped and embarrassing, like Macklemore the day before. From the tribute with a violinist draws to the late James Avery, the uncle Phil in “the prince of Bel-Air”, “a father for me and a whole generation” according to Will Smith and through the mouth of his useless translator, to the Humanist Prêtha-Prêcha where Will Smith enjoins the public to take himself in their arms because “everyone crosses a difficult situation.”
![The American rapper Will Smith on the big stage of the Paléo Festival, on July 23, 2025. [KEYSTONE - CYRIL ZINGARO]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw== "The American rapper Will Smith on the big stage of the Paléo Festival, on July 23, 2025. [KEYSTONE - CYRIL ZINGARO]")
Generics of movies
Follows the recent, anecdotal and more pop “you can make it” on which he turns into a telenovela actor to make hearts with his hands, before chaining the cinema sequence through the big musical strings of “bad boys” (resumed to Inner Circle), “Wild Wild West” and a more successful “Men in Black” Paléo volunteers in black costumes and glasses like the hero Will Smith.
If the rapper obviously took pleasure in his visit to Paléo after his visit to the Gurten de Bern and a Geneva getaway with the practice of the Alps horn, his show of entering more than a singer-rail, filled with fireworks and a sawtooth, will not remain in the annals.
>> To consult also, our file for monitoring the 48th edition of the Paléo Festival: Le come (Men in) back de la star hollywoodienne Will Smith
Olivier Horner
