Will Smith's musical performance at the BET Awards was a long time coming.
The Hollywood star reminded us of his hip-hop pedigree with an affecting performance of You Can Make It, an ode to resilience, performed with singer Kirk Franklin and Kanye West’s Sunday Service Choir.
Everything about it was seemingly crafted to create a viral talking point. There was emotional actress Taraji P Henson introducing “my brother Smith” and then the rapper appearing in the middle of a ring of fire.
The spectacle formed part of Smith’s comeback following the infamous slap incident with comedian Chris Rock at the 2022 Academy Awards.
On the big screen, all appears forgiven with Bad Boys 4: Ride or Die already becoming the second-biggest instalment in the action-comedy franchise with more than $330 million taken in the box-office.
While returning to a popular role is not much of a creative stretch for Smith, re-entering the hip-hop fray with a new album is a different matter altogether.
You Can Only Make It is his second single in 19 years – a time frame nearly half as long as the genre itself and a period during which generations of hip-hop acts and styles have come and gone. With the genre also traditionally eschewing towards relatively younger artists and fresher sounds, does Smith face irrelevance when new his album, Dance in Your Darkest Moments, arrives later in the year?
A change of heart
Over the past two decades music seems to have been a hobby for Smith.
It was something done while shooting in exotic locations, such as a 2019 Budapest concert while filming Gemini Man in Hungary. Or on family holidays, like when teaming up with long-term collaborator DJ Jazzy Jeff for an impromptu Dubai New Year's Eve gig in 2013.
That leisurely impulse began to change in 2020, a year marking the 30th anniversary of Smith’s star-making sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
Speaking to The National a month before the pandemic arrived to upend the music industry, DJ Jazzy Jeff said plans were in the motion for the duo to go on tour.
It took a bigger anniversary for Smith to make a rare American musical appearance, having joined fellow veterans Queen Latifah, Public Enemy and Common in A Grammy Salute to 50 Years of Hip-Hop in 2023.
The telecast was followed five days later by a headline set at Riyadh’s Soundstorm festival in front of 50,000 people. In its review The National praised the committed performance, stating that Smith rediscovered “some of that purity of purpose that propelled him to stardom”.
Hip-hop is now embracing nostalgia. It is doing so through lucrative tours by veteran acts like 50 Cent and Snoop Dogg and by the building of a museum dedicated to the genre in New York.
But Smith's star power doesn't come from hip-hop. It comes from Hollywood. When hip-hop began taking over the charts, Smith began taking over the box office. The breezy yet saccharine music increasingly served as a platform to promote his films and associated works.
In 1997, Smith recorded the hit theme song for the film Men in Black, a move propelling his debut solo album Big Willie Style to big sales. Smith repeated the trick for 1999 film Wild Wild West and Men in Black II in 2002.
Over the next two decades, Smith took on more ambitious acting roles in films such as The Pursuit of Happyness (2006) and Collateral Beauty (2015), but his music faded away. It seemed to have served its purpose.
It was a development not lost on the hip-hop community, but it remained largely ambivalent about Smith’s Hollywood success. The exception was Eminem, whose early songs like 1999's Get U Mad and 2000 hit The Real Slim Shady offered withering criticism of Smith’s persona and sound.
This year marks the 35th anniversary of Smith's most significant contribution to the hop-hop genre. At the 1989 Grammy Awards ceremony, the Best Rap Album and Best Rap Performance were introduced. They were both won by DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince.
Following the Grammy's decision to not include the Best Rap Performance as part of its telecast, Smith boycotted the ceremony. It was a move that set the scene for the Grammy’s troubled history with hip-hop.
But over recent years the genre has increasingly been respected by the Grammys, and that is partly down to Smith’s actions. It remains to be seen if hip-hop will be there to embrace its once absent hero.
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
6 UNDERGROUND
Director: Michael Bay
Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Adria Arjona, Dave Franco
2.5 / 5 stars
Gifts exchanged
- King Charles - replica of President Eisenhower Sword
- Queen Camilla - Tiffany & Co vintage 18-carat gold, diamond and ruby flower brooch
- Donald Trump - hand-bound leather book with Declaration of Independence
- Melania Trump - personalised Anya Hindmarch handbag
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
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Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
SANCTIONED
- Kirill Shamalov, Russia's youngest billionaire and previously married to Putin's daughter Katarina
- Petr Fradkov, head of recently sanctioned Promsvyazbank and son of former head of Russian Foreign Intelligence, the FSB.
- Denis Bortnikov, Deputy President of Russia's largest bank VTB. He is the son of Alexander Bortnikov, head of the FSB which was responsible for the poisoning of political activist Alexey Navalny in August 2020 with banned chemical agent novichok.
- Yury Slyusar, director of United Aircraft Corporation, a major aircraft manufacturer for the Russian military.
- Elena Aleksandrovna Georgieva, chair of the board of Novikombank, a state-owned defence conglomerate.
'Of Love & War'
Lynsey Addario, Penguin Press
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FIXTURES
All kick-off times 10.45pm UAE ( 4 GMT) unless stated
Tuesday
Sevilla v Maribor
Spartak Moscow v Liverpool
Manchester City v Shakhtar Donetsk
Napoli v Feyenoord
Besiktas v RB Leipzig
Monaco v Porto
Apoel Nicosia v Tottenham Hotspur
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid
Wednesday
Basel v Benfica
CSKA Moscow Manchester United
Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich
Anderlecht v Celtic
Qarabag v Roma (8pm)
Atletico Madrid v Chelsea
Juventus v Olympiakos
Sporting Lisbon v Barcelona
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
Titanium Escrow profile
Started: December 2016
Founder: Ibrahim Kamalmaz
Based: UAE
Sector: Finance / legal
Size: 3 employees, pre-revenue
Stage: Early stage
Investors: Founder's friends and Family
BRAZIL SQUAD
Alisson (Liverpool), Daniel Fuzato (Roma), Ederson (Man City); Alex Sandro (Juventus), Danilo (Juventus), Eder Militao (Real Madrid), Emerson (Real Betis), Felipe (Atletico Madrid), Marquinhos (PSG), Renan Lodi (Atletico Madrid), Thiago Silva (PSG); Arthur (Barcelona), Casemiro (Real Madrid), Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa), Fabinho (Liverpool), Lucas Paqueta (AC Milan), Philippe Coutinho (Bayern Munich); David Neres (Ajax), Gabriel Jesus (Man City), Richarlison (Everton), Roberto Firmino (Liverpool), Rodrygo (Real Madrid), Willian (Chelsea).
Match info
Deccan Gladiators 87-8
Asif Khan 25, Dwayne Bravo 2-16
Maratha Arabians 89-2
Chadwick Walton 51 not out
Arabians won the final by eight wickets
