Soundbites: The fact that there are people who are just learning that 'Jaden Smith's dad Will' was a musician makes me feel old

Rap duo DJ Jazzy Jeff (Jeff Townes) and the Fresh Prince (Will Smith). Photo / Getty Images

Before there was Genie in 2019's new Aladdin movie, Deadshot in Suicide Squad, Agent James Darrell Edwards in the Men in Black franchise, Mike Lowrey in Bad Boys' series and even before The Fresh Prince of Bell Air, there was DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince.

Did you know there are people out there who had no idea of this information and rather refer to the actor and hip-hop star as Jaden Smith's dad?

I've overheard a conversation about this topic. A Millennial I can only assume was born in the early 2000s was shocked to learn that Will Smith started his career as a rapper when she made a comment about Jaden's dad jumping on stage to rap with him.

I'm assuming that conversation was prompted by Will joining Jaden on stage at Coachella about four weeks ago.

I can understand a 10-year-old not knowing Will Smith beyond his acting but not an adult.

I'm obviously a lot older than these people but this seriously blows my mind - but probably more so that I'm in denial about just how old I'm getting and less about the fact people haven't come across Will's music in their adult lives just yet.

To be fair, Will's music is unlikely to be something played by young ones today. His Getting Jiggy Wit It; Switch; Men in Black and Wild Wild West tracks have a very late 90s and early 2000s sound to them. And his earlier stuff with DJ Jazzy Jeff, who he joined forces with in the late 80s, such as Summertime; Ring My Bell and Boom! Shake the Room were very early 90s sounding.

He has had loads of success as a rapper and I bet there aren't many, if any (shout out to Scribe) who can claim that same success without using profanities and derogatory terms as Will did.

Jaden is a star in his own right so it makes sense that youngens know who he is first.

At 20 he's a rapper, singer, songwriter and actor, whose first movie role was alongside his father in The Pursuit of Happyness. He has modelled for a Louis Vuitton campaign and has performed with massive stars for more than 10 years - more recently, he was in New Zealand performing as the support act for Post Malone.

While he's got a string of releases, one of his more common for anyone unsure if they've heard anything of his material, is probably Icon. However, anyone in their 30s doubting Jaden's credentials should just stop and admit you're in denial that the young ones are coming up - as Jaden has been doing so for some time.

One of my favourite things about Jaden through is his passion for the environment. He is the co-founder of Just Water after noticing so much plastic being used around the world and the detriment it was having on the environment. Just Water is spring water that is packaged in a paper-based bottle with a sugar cane cap. The company admits it's not a perfect solution but it's a step in the right direction in Jaden's bid to eliminate plastic.

No matter which Smith you're more familiar with, it seems the older ones in the family are the ones increasing their audience across the generations. Will having joined Jaden on the Coachella stage will have showcased himself to a new, younger audience and we can't forget Will's wife/Jaden's mother/actress Jada Pinkett-Smith, regaining popularity with her Facebook series Red Table Talk, which no doubt became more well-known with the youth of today when Jordyn Woods told her side of the Kardashian situation story earlier this year. But, that's a whole other non-music-related issue for another day.