What is Grandmaster Caz's net worth? Will Smith surprised by the legendary rapper during an interview, after the actor called him his inspiration

Actor Will Smith recently sang praises for the hip-hop icon Grandmaster Caz and deemed him an inspiration, especially for his Fresh Prince persona. He revealed it on the podcast Sway In the Morning over the weekend, where he appeared alongside his Bad Boys: Ride or Die co-star Martin Lawrence.

“I was a Melle Mel, in terms of my rap career. Before Melle Mel, it was Grandmaster Caz. My entire style, my everything… is based on Grandmaster Caz… The Fresh Prince, the character, everything was centered on Grandmaster Caz’s verse on ‘Yvette.’ I was like, ‘I want to rap like that,’” Will Smith shared.

The Men in Black star further recalled that it was a “long time ago” but acknowledged that he could never forget Caz’s influence on him. At this point, he began rapping the second verse from the iconic 1985 song Yvette and was surprised by Grandmaster himself, who entered from behind.

While the legendary rapper continued to rap, Will Smith stopped, let out a huge roar in excitement and shock, and embraced his idol, while the hosts dubbed it “What a moment!”

For those unaware, Grandmaster Caz, who began his hip-hop journey in the mid-1970s, has an estimated net worth of $3 million, as per Celebrity Net Worth.

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Grandmaster Caz earned a section of his fortune from emceeing and songwriting

Grandmaster Caz, whose real name is Curtis Brown, is a New York City rapper, DJ, songwriter, and emcee. He rose to fame in 1978 after joining the hip-hop group The Cold Crush Brothers and earning a part of his fortune by touring with them until he left in the mid-1980s.

Throughout his career, he released several hip-hop albums, including The Grandest of Them All (1992), You Need Stitches: The Tuff City Sessions 1982–1988 (2004), Rare & Unreleased Old School Hip Hop ’86–'87 (2006), and Mid Life Crisis (2008), among others, all of which were commercial successes.

Also nicknamed Casanova Fly, Caz earned a section of his wealth from deejaying and emceeing, and he was even part of the DJ crew Mighty Force alongside DJ Disco Whiz.

Currently, the majority of his fortune comes from being the celebrity tour guide for the New York City cultural sightseeing firm Hush Hip Hop Tours.

The 63-year-old Bronx native also serves as a board member of The Universal Federation for the Preservation of Hip Hop Culture, The Kennedy Center’s Hip Hop Council, and Windows of Hip Hop.

He also earns from his songwriting skills, which include the famous 1979 Big Bank Hank number Rapper’s Delight (part of The Sugarhill Gang’s hip-hop single) and the recent Ryan Lewis and Macklemore 2015 collab Downtown, where he was also the featured artist.

Caz is also the current CEO and President of the hip-hop record label GMC Entertainment Inc.

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Will Smith has called Grandmaster Caz his inspiration in the past as well

Will Smith appeared on Sway Calloway’s show on SiriusXM Shade45, where he was surprised by his idol, Grandmaster Caz, after he called him his inspiration.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the full, complete, and total inspiration for the Fresh Prince, Grandmaster Caz,” Will Smith introduced his hero before hugging him and joining him in rapping Yvette.

While the rest joined him to give the rap legend a standing ovation, Will Smith acknowledged the surprise and said, “That was good!” before continuing the celebration.

Notably, this is not the only time The Pursuit of Happiness star shared his appreciation for Casanova Fly. Earlier, in November 2021, during an interview with Spike Lee, he gave his idol a shout-out.

“He was one of hip-hop's first storytellers. Caz was witty, he was clever. His verses took you on a journey. You'd be on the edge of your seat listening to him rap, always wondering what was gonna happen next. Most of all, my dude knew how to land a punchline. I wanted to be just like Caz,” he explained.

He further hailed Caz as “singlehandedly, undeniably, the greatest influence of my hip-hop life” and as the “prototype” for the Fresh Prince role.