After her first album with pop-punk tendencies, lately I feel EVERYTHING (2021), Willow is preparing to release her second rock-oriented album this Friday, the 7th. Called Coping Mechanism , the album should be an evolution of the sound that Will Smith 's daughter explored in her previous project.
In an interview with Metal Hammer , the young singer spoke about the bands that inspire her and how that has helped her redefine her sound over the years. “Rock has always been inspiring to me. Since I was born I’ve felt inspired by Deftones , Lamb of God and Crowbar ,” she commented.
“But I think that when you start working on something very new, your mind is still developing in many ways. After that, you grow and understand that you need to dedicate yourself in a way that you might not have considered before.”
Willow began her music career at age 10 with the pop hit "Whip My Hair." Lately I Feel Everything was her fifth studio album, and at the time, the singer spoke extensively about the lack of representation of Black women in rock and how she intended to change that.
In a new interview with Metal Hammer , Willow revisited the topic and highlighted her mother, Jada Pinkett-Smith , as a major personal influence in rock, since Jada was the vocalist for the nu metal band Wicked Wisdom . "The first artist who inspired me was my mother. She was the first rock artist I saw perform up close," she said.
“I think the reason why most people who listen to this kind of music are older, white men is because they were the gatekeepers of metal for a long time. [Currently] new people of color are coming in to say that it shouldn’t be like that. Rock is for everyone and I’m going to bring my people into this space and we’re going to enjoy it like we always do. I hope the white guys enjoy it too,” he concludes.
Check out “maybe it's my fault”, one of the tracks that will be on Coping Mechanism :
