Easily the best thing that Will has done since he was known as The Fresh Prince. Some of the reviewers state that you aren't a true rap fan if you say this a good album, but that is just silly - I listen to Public Enemy, Busta Rhymes, The Roots, Eminem and tons of underground rap and this album is easily just as good - better than the trash 50 Cent put out last month (worst sophmore album of all time??) and easily better than Encore. A harder sound, more like building on the sound of Code Red. Jazzy Jeff is a refreshing sound on several of these tracks. Highly recommended - for fans of mainstraim rap (eminem, 50 cent) as well as underground (Qwel, Sage Francis). Will appeals to everyone.

I have long since been a hip hop fan. From the time when Rapper's Delight came to the main stage and rocked us for the first time, I have been hooked. I've lived through the changes in the music I love, the good and the bad. I have seen the beefs, the coalitions, the one-hit-wonders, the violence, the deaths, the co-opting, the bad rappers making good and the good rappers getting bad press. I've seen this "thing of ours" grow up. But growing up does not necessarily mean maturing, and there is a distinct difference. Anyone can grow up. It's the mere state of not dying. Maturing takes takes skill. Learning from the past and translating it into something that can be used positively for anyone involved in that particular life. Where am I going with this?

Will Smith has put out an album that I feel is warranted of a mature status. I mean this in the most positive terms.

We all know he was never a gangster MC from the very begining. Anyone one of us who actually appreciate this genre of music can attest to the fact that he was not a negative role model from the get-go! He has always been about the story telling and the party vibe (the family party vibe) in his music. That is what made him big with us. He was safe and still funky at the same time while groups like NWA was F***ing the police, as if they represented the reality of ALL blacks in the country! I know ALL of these crunked-up-gangsta-cussing rappers, and I make a DISTINCT and purposeful separation between the two, were boppin' thier high top fades and shaking their Jordache jean-wearing asses to his music back in the day. And a clown like Eminem (I call him Dre'-enim) (I also allude back to the COOPTING issue)has NO BUSINESS saying ANYTHING about a pioneer of this game! He was the FIRST to be on the television doing his thing with his OWN SHOW! Eight Mile was okay, I will admit. But Will Smith was the one who made Hip Hop palatable to the masses enought to be on prime time! Or in the movies for that matter!

In this album he showed his (...)! And he needed to! If the dissin' was as bad as he let on, the perpetrators need to listen closely and heed the word. Leave the legends alone!

I especially appreciate the fact that I CAN PLAY THIS MUSIC AROUND MY KIDS! I love Hip Hop! In almost all of its forms! And I do mean ALMOST! I do believe that there should be a variety of music. Hip Hop, just like any other form of media, has different shades of reality. Not all music can or should be suitable for kids. Movies are a great example of this.

But C'mon people! 99% of the music I love can't be, or better yet, should not be, played around children! There was a time when you used to turn the music on in the house on a Saturday morning while you were cleaning up and groove with your family! Can't do that with Hip Hop these days! You can, but you shouldn't.

This album is his best yet! Not the greatest Hip Hop album of all time! But definitely better than 99% of the garbage that's out there now!

And Wendy Williams, you spin records! You don't make them! When you make something that's worth any kind of national attention, then MAYBE you can say something. Quit riding other people's backs to make a name for yourself. Leech!

Thank goodness Will Smith took some time off from music. He really needed it after his last outing, "Born To Reign". This new album finds Will back in fine form and ready to give the rap world a run for it's money. While he's no 50-Cent or Eminem, Will can definitely rap, and rap about very intellectually challenging subjects. The highlight of the whole album is Miss Holy Roller, a song that Will wrote in response to a friend's hypocrisy regarding religion. Will also provides us with his reactions to the 9-11 tragedy, and how it has effected him, his family, and the world around him. Don't get wrong, there are quite a few club jams on here too, but all in all, this is a very emotional record. If you are looking for a passionate rapper who believes in his rhymes, Will Smith (and this album especially) is for you!

OK, so I've been reading the reviews and there are definately mixed feelings about the album. What one person says is good about the album, another says sucks. So I decided I needed to throw my opinion into the mix. I've been a Will Smith rap fan for years. Started with "Code Red", loved "Big Willy Style". I will admit that "Willenium" and "Born to Reign" were not that good. The last two had a one or two hits, but overall not something I could listen to over and over again. I absolutely think that "Lost and Found" is a huge improvement over his last two albums. I don't know if I would put it up there with Big Willy Style because that had more party songs on it, which I liked, but Lost and Found is great in another way. It does have a few party songs on it, but Lost and Found is an intelligent album. That is what I love about it. Will makes real songs that you can relate to. They all have a good beat, and are all good to listen to. Overall the biggest impression I got of this album is that this is a good album because it is intelligent.

I just bought the new 50 cent CD two weeks ago, and I think it was a disappointment compared to his first album. I would definately say that this Will Smith album is better than that. I definately am into hardcore rap such as 50 cent, but I really appreciate and think that Will Smith is just as gifted lyrically if not better than guys like 50 cent. To sum it up, Lost and Found is Will Smith succesfully making another good CD. It is worth the 13 or 14 dollars you will spend on it. It is a good CD no matter what anyone says.

I hold a lot of respect for rapper turned actor turned actor/rapper Will Smith. He is one of the few celebrities out there who isn't afraid to be himself. He isn't preachy about issues or has a personal vendetta to prove. He is just a guy from Philly who hit it big and now has a little more money (okay, A LOT more money) to spend. Still nice guy, still cocky as hell, still the guy who loves to get the party started. He doesn't let anyone or anything change him, and that is respectable. "Lost and Found" is Will Smith's newest album after a few more movie blockbusters and a few more rap album busts (the last good album from him was "Big Willie Style")

If you are going to pick up this album to recall the goofy and humorous rap songs of his rap duo "DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince", you're in for a big letdown. Also if you are going to pick this up in hopes of another 50 Cent/Ludacris/Eminem style album, you'll be disappointed. Smith has his own style, a dance-pop meets hip/hop that the whole family can listen to AND enjoy (and I mean everyone). The best part about it is that it has an addictive flow and doesn't sound preachy or slow, like most music for the whole family today does. As usual, Smith keeps it clean and appropriate, his agenda isn't about sex/drugs/bling, but instead his family, starting the party, making it big, and the haters who have tried to bring him down for being "too nice." Smith is easy on the cussing as usual, besides the occassional "damn" or "hell", and he can still get you moving with his solid selection of samples and cuts that he loads the album with.

If you are looking for a breath of fresh air from the "pop rap" trash that is being produced in mass quanities, pick up "Lost and Found".