De La Soul Almost Starred In 'The Fresh Prince': '[We] Could Have Been Will Smith'

De La Soul have revealed that they almost starred in The Fresh Prince of Bel Air ahead of Will Smith.

Posdnuos and Maseo were speaking on their new Apple Music show Art Official Intelligence Radio with De La Soul when they made the revelation.

With guest Queen Latifah, the duo talked about nearly being involved with the hit sitcom, which ran from 1990 to 1996 and established Smith as a Hollywood star.

Posdnuos said: “A lot of people don’t know, yo, the Fresh Prince thing was offered to us.”

He added: “They want us to do this? Russell [Simmons] was like, ‘Yo, y’all need to try out. Go out there.’ We was like, ‘Nah. We do rap and stuff.’ Honestly, we were scared. Seriously, we were scared.”

“And shit, I could have been Will Smith. I could have got married to Jada. Damn,” he joked.

Latifah then softened the blow by chiming in: “You definitely could have. But I think you good where you at right now. I think you good.”

Art Official Intelligence Radio with De La Soul is a special five-episode series honoring the 35th anniversary of their debut album 3 Feet High and Rising.

It will feature the now duo talking about life in the iconic rap group, sharing unreleased demos and chatting to famous faces such as Common, Questlove, Tyler, The Creator, Dave Chappelle and Talib Kweli.

Starting Tuesday (March 5), new episodes of the show will air Tuesdays and Thursdays on Apple Music 1 at 11 a.m. PT.

Despite the death of David “Trugoy The Dove” Jolicoeur last year, Posdnuos and Maseo continue to keep De La alive, with their music finally arriving on streaming services last March.

The Long Island natives are also working on a number of new projects, including a third installment in their Art Official Intelligence series and a Gangsta Grillz mixtape with DJ Drama.

Prior to Trugoy’s passing, it was reported they were making an album produced entirely by DJ Premier and Pete Rock.

Posdnuos recently paid tribute to Trugoy on the first anniversary of his death.

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“I feel conflicted posting this on this date,” he said on Instagram. “Dave disliked when people were publicly remembered on the day they were lost….The day they transitioned but I’m sure he also respected how people chose to remember those they love and have lost.”

He continued: “So on this day I will stand alongside all the people who cherish him as well as kept @wearedelasoul in their prayers but to be clear I miss him in the physical everyday, rep for him everyday & will talk to someone about him everyday.#Thankyou #Dave”

Trugoy died at the age of 54 on February 12, 2023. No cause of death was announced but he had been suffering from heart failure.