Still Fresh 21 years on! Will Smith performs Fresh Prince of Bel Air rap and Summertime at delighted Gabrielle Union's birthday party

By Iona Kirby
PUBLISHED:01:21 GMT, 29 October 2012| UPDATED:07:43 GMT, 29 October 2012

Keeping in touch: Will, seen in Hollywood on October 15 and Gabrielle, seen two days earlier in New York, appear to have remained close

He may be an extremely successful Hollywood A-lister but Will Smith hasn’t forgotten his roots.
The 44-year-old gave his pal Gabrielle Union a birthday surprise when he rapped at a party she threw to celebrate turning 40 on Saturday night.
Will grabbed the microphone alongside rapper Doug E. Fresh and the pair put on quite the show for the excited crowd.
Scroll down to watch Will's rap

What a treat: Will Smith surprised everyone at Gabrielle Union's birthday party on Saturday when he grabbed the microphone and started rapping

The Seven Pounds star performed his song Summertime followed by the famous rap for The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, the 1991 show in which he found fame.
Before whipping out the old classics, Will wowed the party attendees with an impressive freestyle rap.
He couldn’t stop smiling and it certainly proved to be a great present for the birthday girl.
Bring It On actress Gabrielle, who turns 40 on Monday, rushed over to give Will a hug to say thank you.
The pair starred together in 2003 action comedy movie Bad Boys II and appear to have maintained a close friendship ever since.

Still got it: Will performed the Fresh Prince of Bel Air rap and Summertime alongside rapper Doug E. Fresh (R)

Best present ever: Gabrielle couldn't hide her delight at the birthday surprise as she celebrated turning 40

Will has been providing his loyal fans with plenty of blasts from the past of late.
In May he performed the Fresh Prince of Bel Air rap on The Graham Norton Show, with Take That frontman Gary Barlow joining in on the keyboard.
He also recorded a remix of Summertime back in August.
And after a ten year wait and a good deal of award nominations, Will this year returned to his role as alien-fighting Agent J in the third instalment of Men In Black.
Meanwhile Will’s wife Jada Pinkett-Smith – who married him in 1997 – recently praised Will as the best husband ever and admits she couldn't be happier with her family.

Thank you: Gabrielle was clearly thrilled with the performance as she rushed over to give Will a hug

Old friends: Will and Gabrielle starred together in the 2003 movie Bady Boys II

Old friends: Will and Gabrielle starred together in the 2003 movie Bad Boys II

Jada - who has two children, Jaden, 14, and 11-year-old Willow, with Will - said: ‘There are no negatives being married to Will Smith! I swear Will has to be one of the most outstanding fathers.
'Not only just loving him, and him being my husband, but when I look at how he loves his children, I go, “Thank you! I made such a good choice.” I hit the jackpot with that one.’
Jada also says being married to Will has helped her grow as well as understand the importance of letting him be his own person.

She explained: ‘Part of being in a partnership is that you have to support the spirit of it. Being in a partnership like that has forced me to become bigger and to grow, and to allow him to grow and be all that he's meant to be on this planet.’