Will Smith pays an emotional tribute to Fresh Prince of Bel-Air producer Quincy Jones who died at 91

Will Smith has paid an emotional tribute to his ‘mentor’, music mogul Quincy Jones, following his tragic death at the age of 91.

The 56-year-old singer – who rapped about his clone in his latest song – started working on that Instagram to mourn his close friend who died of unknown causes on Sunday surrounded by his family.

On Monday, the actor shared a monochrome throwback photo of himself hugging the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air producer while on the set of the hit 1990 sitcom.

He wrote in the caption, “Quincy Jones is the true definition of a mentor, a father and a friend. He pointed out the greatest parts of myself.

‘He defended me. He fed me. He encouraged me. He inspired me. He checked on me when necessary. He let me use his wings until mine were strong enough to fly.”

He wrote in the caption, “Quincy Jones is the true definition of a mentor, a father and a friend. He pointed out the greatest parts of myself.”

The duo had been close friends for more than 35 years when Jones infamously arranged Will’s audition for Fresh Prince in 1989.

Jones also portrayed the taxi driver featured in the show’s opening theme song and also guest-starred in an episode of the NBC series.

Smith’s emotional post was felt in the hearts of his 70 million followers, racking up nearly 350,000 likes and hundreds of comments from grieving fans.

One of the top comments read: “The vision that Quincy Jones had to cast you to play The Fresh Prince isn’t talked about enough. With that one step, he launched one of the biggest careers in Hollywood. RIP to the Legend.”

Another sound and wrote: ‘Quincy gave so much to the culture.. he was the great Maestro to the soundtrack of our lives.. prayers for his family and friends.’

Rapper Ludacris commented on a crown and king emojis.

The music titan – who has collaborated with artists such as Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra and Ray Charles – were confirmed dead by his publicist Arnold Robinson in the early hours of November 4.

Jones is survived by his family and actress daughter Rashida Jones, who played Karen Filippelli on The Office.

She said in a statement: “Tonight, it is with full but broken hearts that we share the news of the passing of our father and brother Quincy Jones.

“And while this is an incredible loss for our family, we celebrate the amazing life he lived and know there will never be another like him.”

‘He defended me. He fed me. He encouraged me. He inspired me. He checked on me when necessary. He let me use his wings until mine were strong enough to fly,” the actor wrote; seen in August 2024

The duo had been close friends for more than 35 years when Jones infamously arranged Will’s audition for Fresh Prince in 1989; seen in October 1990

Jones also portrayed the taxi driver featured in the show’s opening theme song and also guest-starred in an episode of the NBC series; Kadeem Hardison, Will Smith and Quincy Jones seen in 1990

Quincy Jones with his Hollywood actress daughter Rashida Jones, who played Karen Filippelli on The Office; seen in January 2020

Lionel Richie and Quincy Jones during the ‘We Are The World 25 Years for Haiti’ recording session at Jim Henson Studios in Hollywood in February 2010

Quincy Jones at the 1994 Grammy Awards with Michael Jackson

Jones rose to the top of show business when he became one of the first black executives to thrive in Hollywood and amass an extraordinary musical catalog.

He toured with Count Basie and Lionel Hampton, arranged records for Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald and composed soundtracks for Roots and In The Heat Of The Night.

Jones organized then-President Bill Clinton’s first inaugural celebration and oversaw the all-star recording of We Are The World in 1985 for famine relief in Africa.

Lionel Richie, who co-wrote We Are the World and was one of the singers on the charity record, would call Jones “the master orchestrator.”