My first introduction toWillow Smithis her voice.
Then, she pauses and runs it again with the emphasis on slightly different words or syllables.
Occasionally, the character that Willow slips into is a version of herself: the boss.
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Its all very serious and meticulous.
Willow is at work.
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Kinks Lab ear cuff.
Charlotte Chesnais ear cuff.
Im not sure what to expect when the door to the closet-size booth opens.
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But what I see is a young, fresh-faced woman wrapped in a blanket.
She immediately asks about my flight and goes in for a hug.
This woman could be any of my younger cousins.
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For a minute, Ive got whiplash.
Shes taken off her work persona so quickly.
This is the voice that few people get to hear.
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So, she is really good at the work thing.
She uses words like devotion and expansion to describe what she is seeking in her career.
She has shed the youthful persona of her teens and settled into womanhood.
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After that moment, I [thought],Damn, I need to start practicing more.
I need to start really sharpening my musicianship.
Its a lot of jazz, and that comes out in the new music.
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I’m settling into more of who I am.
Willow had to find the boss in her voice to make this genre shift happen.
Everyone wanted me to make another rock album.
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I just always do the thing that everyone thinks is a bad idea.
That’s the life of an artist.
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She recalls when she made the decision to be a singer.
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Soon after, she announced her plans to her parents.
As you might expect, the adults were a little skeptical of an eight-year-olds big dream.
As a young kid, I’m up on my cloud.
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I thought they were being such Debbie Downers.
They’re acting so serious.
And I [thought], What?
It was so easy.
I just made a song.
She would eventually discover that maybe Mr. and Mrs. Downer had a point.
(Being the only daughter of Will Smith andJada Pinkett Smithis a privilege that cuts both ways.)
The songs, the staging, the tour stops were all planned out by others.
It was as if she was handed a manual, How to Be a Pop Star 101.
And her job was just to read along.
I didn’t write the songs, she says of her first albums.
I didn’t produce the music.
And now I [think] I need to write the songs.
I need to produce the music.
If I’m not doing that, what’s the use of this?
Its a creative right that she had to fight for.
I’ve always been afraid of being perceived as difficult, she says.
In this society, a woman who knows what she wants is always perceived as being difficult.
I’m not being difficult, I just know what I want.
And I’m willing to sacrifice the chillness of the moment for trying to get to that goal.
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Collaboration, I’m starting to realize, is how you make the best art.
And I’m afraid of somebody trying to micromanage my idea, which I’ve experienced a lot.
Growing up, she was given the freedom to explore dying her hair andshaving her head.
And I completely agree with her because it helped me figure out who I am.
When I allude to the fact that she often represents traditional beauty standards, Willow balks.
I represent certain parts of traditional beauty, but then there are other parts that I don’t represent.
My legs are never shaved.
I always have hairy-ass armpits like, I’m brown, my hair is nappy.
That’s why I think I straddle a very interesting position in the beauty standard world.
I ask if she was scarred by the words, I whip my hair back and forth.
I was totally scarred.
But so manyBlack girls and womenwere inspired by that.
We are inspiring each other.
And I’m inspiring them because I’m paying attention to them.
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She had to take time away, a calculated retreat if you will.
There was a time where it was really, really dark, she says.
I was trying to run away from it in every single way that I could.
People would [ask], Are you Willow Smith?
And I’d be like, No.
I would just bold-face lie.
I didn’t make music for years.
I needed to figure out who I am.
In 2012, Willow shaved her head for the first time.
And when you shave it off, you’re kind of naked.
You’re kind of like, you better be new now.
It is making music, reading and meditation, and being with my animals.
It echoed with rebukes.You’re never going to be good enough.
Everyone only thinks you’re special because of all the things that they’ve seen from your parents.
No one really cares about you.
You’re a fraud.Each thought had its own sting.
I’m wrongly internalizing the negativity from the outside.
That voice also drives her work ethic.
Given her lineage, Willow is what some would call anepo baby.
Yes, there are doors that have opened because she has Smith as a last name.
However, after some deliberation, we both agree that she doesnt quite fit the bill.
First off, because her determination and creative output are not exactly consistent with nepo babyhood.
Say what you like, but Willow doesnt coast.
That has driven me to work really hard to attempt to prove them wrong.
But nowadays, I don’t need to prove shit to anybody."
And I love being Black.
And I love being Black.
She still has brown skin.
This connection is one that we share.
There’s no, whatever.
Be very respectful [with] the way that you speak.
I respect that because there’s not a lot of that these days.
As meaningful as that sense of connection might be, Willow still describes herself as a solo traveler.
I’ve always been kind of a loner, she says.
Am I just going to be alone?
I’ve always had a different mind.
How do you think this is going to go?
And she would always say, You’ll find your tribe.
I actually don’t feel alone.
I want it to change how they think, and I want it to make them love themselves more.
The most powerful message Willow sends isnt something she says.
Its something her latest tattoo conveys.
Because you need both, she says.
When it comes to emotional things, you have to accept it.
Dissent is like revolt, fighting back.
But acceptance is a beautiful medicine.
