Willow Smith: Listen To Her New Rock Song Featuring Travis Barker
Willow Smith has officially ventured into the rock realm, and her new song features Blink-182’s Travis Barker on the drums.
Last night, she dropped a music video on her YouTube channel featuring a song called “t r a n s p a r e n t s o u l” from a forthcoming unnamed album.
Some noteworthy lyrics of the 20-year-old’s song:
I don’t f—in know if it’s a lie or it’s a fact
All your little fake friends will sell your secrets for some cash
Smile in my face then put your cig out on my back
If you ever see me just get to runnin like the flashI knew a boy just like you
He’s a snake just like you
Such a fake just like you
But I can see the truthTransparent soul
I can see right through just so you know
The “t r a n s p a r e n t s o u l” video shows Smith adorned in all-black attire, including large combat boots, an O-ring belt, zipper cargo pants and a spiked collar choker.
“I am so grateful for this tune because it was created in such an introspective time [during the first couple months of quarantine],” Smith said in a statement, People magazine reports. “It was the song that proved to me that I needed to let go of the insecurities I had about making a project of this genre.”
She nailed the rock essence in her music video, using a fish-eye lens and having security cameras surrounding her in a white room added to the vibe.
Smith’s next album is set to be released this summer, the media outlet said. The upcoming project is set to follow the singer’s previous projects, including her 2020 EP Rise with Jahnavi Harrison and LP The Anxiety with Tyler Cole, her 2019 self-titled album, 2017’s The 1st and 2015’s Ardipithecus.
Per People, Smith said that “t r a n s p a r e n t s o u l” was inspired by a quote she had read from Radhanath Swami, a Hindu guru. The quote reads: “It is said that a saintly person is so pure that he or she acts like a spotless mirror. When we come in the presence of such a mirror-like soul, we can see both the beauty and ugliness of our inner life.”
Smith said, “I read that quote, and it really spoke to me. And that’s kind of how the idea of this song came to be.”
Smith also noted that listening to Avril Lavigne and My Chemical Romance inspired her new musical direction, which is one she said she didn’t think she “had the voice to sing.”
“That was insanely inspiring. I always felt like I wanted to do it, but for some reason was really insecure and felt like I couldn’t,” she explained. “And so when COVID hit and quarantine started, I just kind of needed something new — everything was slowing down, and I wanted to try something that I had never tried before.”
Willow’s mom Jada Pinkett Smith was in a metal band formed in 2002, called Wicked Wisdom. Perhaps her mom gave her that extra boost of confidence that she could pull off making rock music as well.
Check out Wicked Wisdom performing their song “Bleed All Over Me” on an episode of The Tonight Show With Jay Leno from 2006 here.
