Stanisland Magazine

Stale Prince: The squeaky-clean rapper records hip-hop’s equivalent of drink driving

Last updated: 22nd June 2025

My first thought was: What is he doing? Now, kudos for trying to step up in a contemporary scene, but the execution is forced and classic Smith, which is – not very good.

If he continued to craft music tailored to a scene made for him, then perhaps we could offer praise to a song that lacks in several areas. The track is a standalone single recorded as a prelude to the Grammy Award and Oscar-Winning rapper’s upcoming world tour.

What Pretty Girls Sounds Like

It’s an upbeat track with a low-punch bassline produced by OmArr, Lexoskeleton, and Kastelo, who, to their credit, have done all they can to accommodate the Fresh Prince’s cadence and flow. But that’s not necessarily the issue at play here; the problem is his vocalisations. How Smith writes is the snag: each verse feels like it was penned before he heard the beat, leading to a forced execution. Instead of hip-hop, we get Macarena pop.

READ MORE: New Will Smith ‘Based on a True Story’ is a Staggering Fail

The video begins with the Philadelphia rapper sitting in a therapist’s office discussing his “problem” before launching into the rap version of Jaguar Motors’ reboot, a cheese fest of ‘please, just stop’.

This is one of the few times I love the fact that music is shorter. Perhaps you will listen to this track if it’s playing in the background when you’re shopping for groceries, or your thumb slips.

Are these snarky takes on a lacklustre effort? Yes. Yes, they are. But I am not the only one who feels this way; one commenter on YouTube said: “Will Smith making music in 2025 is a recession indicator.” Another jokingly claimed: “S/O Will Smith for pioneering a new subgenre “UncRap”. Truly an innovator.” The track even made it onto Reddit’s sub, Cringe.

The Verdict

No. This is one of those songs you listen to once and then forget about. There’s proof in the pudding when it comes to Will Smith—you can tell when he is authentic and when he is not being true to himself: this is one of those times. The track might be called Pretty Girls, but it is a very ugly song.

How to Hear it

You can stream it at your own risk on all platforms, including Apple, Spotify and YouTube Music.