Will Smith Tells David Letterman He 'Hated' Being Called 'Soft' As A Rapper

Will Smith opened up about his career as a rapper during his appearance on Netflix's new season of "My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman."

The 53-year-old actor, who began his career as a rapper in the 1980s, revealed that he was considered a "soft" rapper because he never used cuss words. Smith went on to share that his grandmother, Gigi, told him once, "truly intelligent people do not have to use words like these to express themselves."

"That was really our major distinguishing quality at the time," Smith told the host David Letterman. "It was comedy, it was punchlines, it was fun. We stood out in a really good way. We sort of had our own lane."

Letterman questioned the actor if he felt any "pressure" while leaving his music career because gangsta rap genre was rising at that time.

"Not pressure as much as it was always that I was soft. I hated that, being called soft," Smith admitted, adding that his grandmother advised him not to feature any bad language in his music. He was 12 at that time.

Smith dropped five music albums with DJ Jazzy Jeff from 1987 to 1993, such as "Rock the House" and "Code Red."

The actor was the second guest on "My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman," which is currently in its fourth season. Singer Billie Eilish was the first guest on the show.

Netflix announced earlier this month that fans will also get to watch guests like Cardi B, Ryan Reynolds, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Kevin Durant. This season consists of a total of six parts.

In the previous seasons of the show, Letterman interviewed celebrities like Robert Downey Jr., Dave Chappelle, Kim Kardashian, Barack Obama, George Clooney, Kanye West, Jay Z and Lizzo.

The interview doesn't mention the infamous Oscars incident, as this appearance was filmed prior to the Oscars, so there was no discussion about it.

The actor also spoke about consuming a hallucinogenic drug once that made him feel all his money, house and career were flying away.

"When I came out of it, I realized that anything that happens in my life, I can handle it," he said. "I can handle any person I lose, I can handle anything that goes wrong in my life, I can handle anything in my marriage. I can handle anything that this life has to offer me."

On the work front, Smith will be next seen in the movies like "Emancipation," "The Council," "Fast and Loose" and "Bad Boys 4."