Willow Smith is not willing to let anybody stop her from making her music as she opened up about her music path and how being raised by a rocker mother has helped shaped her experience. Smith openly talked to Face Magazine about growing up behind the scenes of her mother’s gig with Wicked Wisdom, which was the 2000s metal band that was founded by Jada Pinkett Smith.
Reminiscing on moments of the years she spent with her mom on tour, she said: “They would take me to the back of the venue and I would just put my little horns up. There were specific moments when I felt like she was just performing to me. It felt so beautiful and so inspiring. I knew that that’s what I wanted to do with my life.”
Seeing her mother front the rock band prepared the 20-year-old singer for the sets of negativity that she will face from the older rock fans. In an interview with L’Officiel, Willow claimed that her mom “got so much hate.”
“It was intense racism and sexism, just packed onto the tens,” she added via online casino. “People giving her death threats, throwing glass at her onstage. Some crazy stuff went down when she was touring with her band. Obviously, she was scared. But she really showed me what ‘womaning up’ really was, by taking a stance and not being afraid of other people’s judgments and perceptions. I really wanted to just go within that place in myself and try something new, regardless of what my insecurities were.”
Believing a lot has changed, Willow continued: “even if it hasn’t, I’m just going to continue doing the work. That’s what I’m here for.”
“I wish I could understand [them], but because I’m not in their mindset, it’s kind of hard,” she added. “There’s a reason that me doing this must cause them pain, so I have compassion for that, but I’m not gonna change what I’m doing. I try not to look too deep into it because I don’t want to get attached to those negative emotions. There’s no reason for me to get attached to them. But I still don’t want to shy away from it.”
“Black people created rock music,” she continued. “But we have been so indoctrinated, so conditioned to believe that we only thrive in certain categories of creativity and entertainment. And that’s just not OK.”
That aside, the 20-year-old singer, who recorded Lipstick, is delighted for the fans to listen more to Lately I Feel Everything, a track that features both Avril Lavigne and Travis Barker.
“Travis and Avril know pop-punk more than anyone,” she shared via Australia online pokies. ”To see them be so proficient in their art was just so inspiring. Travis listened to “[t r a n s p a r e n t s o u l]” one time and played it perfectly. Like, that’s crazy! The fact that Avril can just do one idea and there’s no questions, that’s what we’re going to do, that’s the most fire… They’re just so in tune and they know it’s going to be great.”
