Photo: Myles Loftin for L’Officiel
Willow Smithis following in her momJada Pinkett Smith’s rock footsteps.
The “Lipstick” artist, 20, recentlyopened up about the “intense racism and sexism"she saw her mom face as a kid, when she accompanied Jada on tour with her nu-metal band Wicked Wisdom as a kid. “My mom got so much hate,” Willow toldL’Officiel.
“It was intense racism and sexism, just packed on to the tens,” she continued. “People giving her death threats, throwing glass at her onstage. Some crazy stuff went down when she was touring with her band.”
As Willowembarks on her pop-punk erawith her recent singles “Lipstick” and “Transparent Soul,” she’s reminded of the adversity her mother faced from the same music community. “I got to see that hate firsthand,” she said. “It was so scary to me, and I think I internalized a little bit.”
Larry Marano/Getty
Willow recentlyreunited Wicked Wisdom, filling in for her mom as frontwoman, as she surprised Jada with a Mother’s Day performance.
“When I was, I wanna say about 3 or 4, I went on tour with my mom and her band Wicked Wisdom,” Willow said during the specialRed Table Talkepisode. “Wicked Wisdom was lit. This is the music that I grew up around. My mother was superwoman, she was a rock star, warrior and nurturer all in one. So unapologetically badass. She was a rock star, and I was living for Wicked Wisdom.”
Myles Loftin for L’Officiel
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With her upcoming albumLately I Feel Everything, featuring collabs with Travis Barker andher “idol” Avril Lavigne, Willow hopes to foray into heavy metal and ultimately bring more Black representation to the genre.
“I just wanted to fulfill that desire that I had ever since I was 10 or 12 of singing rock music, of being aBlack womansinging rock music,” she toldL’Officiel.
“Being a Black woman in the metal crowd is very, very different on top of the pressures that the music industry puts on you,” shesaidtoV Magazineearlier this month. “Now, it’s like an added pressure of the metal culture, the metal world, and just rock in general. I used to get bullied in school for listening to Paramore and My Chemical Romance.”
She continued, “Just through the music that I’m putting out right now and the representation that I can bring to the mix, I just hope that the Black girls who are listening to my music and listening to this album see that there’s more of us out there. It’s a real thing, you’re not alone. You’re not the only Black girl who wishes she could flip her hair to the side, and wear black eyeliner, you know what I mean?”
Hear Willow Smith take on rock withLately I Feel Everything, which drops July 16.
source: people.com
