Willennium: Запись и признание альбома Уилла Смита

A Touch of Jazz, The Studio (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
The Hacienda, The Mix Room (Los Angeles)
The Hit Factory, Right Track, Quad, Maw (New York City)
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Hip hop Additional recording took place in Los Angeles, California at The Hacienda and The Mix Room, and in New York City, New York at The Hit Factory, Right Track Studios, Quad Studios.

The release of Willennium was preceded by the single "Wild Wild West" in May 1999, originally released on Wild Wild West: Music Inspired by the Motion Picture. The title track to the film of the same name was a commercial success, reaching the top ten on singles charts around the world, and topping the US Billboard Hot 100 as Smith's second US number one. "Will 2K" was released as the album's second single in November, and reached the top three in Australia and the United Kingdom. Nathan Rabin of The A. V. Club goes as far as to claim that on the album Smith "takes the offensive, lashing out against critics who've labeled him a soft sell out", and points out that some of the lyrics level criticism against the gangsta rap genre. A review by the magazine NME categorised songs on the album into two categories: first, "partied up, pumped up, knock out rap records", and second, "schmaltzy songs about brotherly love and stuff". The Harvard Crimson's Carla Mastraccio notes the "clever satire of pop culture" in "Freakin' It", and the overall relatability of the simple lyrics on the album, while Steve Jones of USA Today identifies themes of family and loyalty in the lyrics.

Willennium earned Smith recognition at a number of music industry awards ceremonies. At the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards, the music video for "Wild Wild West" received nominations for the Video of the Year, Best Video from a Film and Best Choreography awards. Smith won the award for Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist at the 27th American Music Awards in January 2000, which he had lost the previous year to Eric Clapton, and he also received a nomination for Best International Male at the 2000 Brit Awards held in March. After winning the award twice in a row in 1998 and 1999, Smith was nominated again for the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance at the 2000 ceremony for "Wild Wild West", but lost out to Eminem's debut single "My Name Is". At the 2001 Grammy Awards, "Will 2K" received a nomination for the Best Music Video, Short Form award, but lost out to the video for "Learn to Fly" by Foo Fighters. At the 2000 Kids' Choice Awards, Smith received the awards for Favorite Male Singer, Favorite Song and Favorite Song from a Movie (both for "Wild Wild West").