Page 21 - Will Smith: A Biography of a Rapper Turned Movie Star

Getting Paid to Party
21
That was the boost Will needed. He put his energies into
writing music and making demonstration, or demo, tapes to
bring to Word Up. But there are just twenty-four hours in a
day, and Will was having trouble juggling both music and
school. When one of Will’s teachers told his mother that
Will’s grades were just barely good enough to get into
college, his parents laid down the law: Rap was a fine hobby
for weekends, but school was his first priority. They wanted
him to be well rested every morning to face the school day.
Will did not always do what his parents wished. One
evening, Will Sr. informed his son that his help would be
needed the next morning. Will would have to be awake and
alert at six a.m. Disregarding his dad, Will Jr. spent the night
working at a gig and arrived home just fifteen minutes
before he was supposed to be ready to go to work.
Will’s father took him to the job site as scheduled. In the
flooded basement of a delicatessen, Will was responsible for
holding a flashlight so his father could see. Will’s father was
working with electrical wires, so being able to see clearly
was a safety issue, too.
Suddenly Will was jolted by a piercing scream. He had
fallen asleep and dropped the flashlight. The next thing he
saw was his father’s hair standing on end and smoke coming
from his fingertips. His father’s immediate reaction was to
punch his son in the chest. Will said he felt that punch every
day for the next ten years. After that frightening mishap, he
stopped staying out so late and paid more attention to his
schoolwork and getting enough sleep.