When the name “Willow Smith” comes up in conversation, the immediate response is, “like…whip my hair?” But for one moment, forget the pop star beginnings of Willow, the obvious trajectory she seemed to be on, following in the steps of other sons and daughters of famously talented parents. Record deals, tabloids, modeling and acting careers, the makings of glamorous Hollywood babies.
Now, in 2015, Willow makes her way into this treacherous foray, with a surprise release of her album Ardipithecus on December 11. Named after the first hominid bones found on the planet, Smith wrote fourteen of the fifteen tracks, and produced ten of them herself.
After the album release, it is evident that fiften-year-old Smith has grown into a girl far from your typical teenager. Living in LA, she and her brother are homeschooled, and producing their own albums. Recent interviews reveal personalities far from your typical “children of the rich and famous.”
For Smith, the transformation from a young, Rihanna-inspired pop star into a precocious, indie fifteen-year-old who sings spacey, chilled out tunes about Gaia and expanding consciousness seems to have gone severely unnoticed.
So what is this album all about? 47. Indigo. Fellow LightEaters. Quantum Physics. The non-linear nature of time and ancient Yogic texts. These are the interests of Smith and her brother. These kids are just beginning to find their voices.
These kids are part of a millennium that is synthesizing observations about the universe that are a little more complex than typical. They are then showing it to the world, through making this music.
Their philosophy is somewhat cultish and part of the same mysticism that seems to be subtly present in the work of younger musical artists, like the Pro Era hip hop collective and poetic lyrics of Frank Ocean.
Is it a response to the inauthenticity of the “hipster” movement?
As for the album itself, Ardipithecus is full of a kind of soul-searching angst that makes it irresistible, in some ways, but leaves the listener vying for some kind of organization to the freestyle.
There is something about Willow that is intriguing, though. Something about the sounds, the beats, that keeps you listening, and makes you feel really inspired. You can hear influences from her self-proclaimed favorites, Radiohead and Girlpool, and a legitimate intention to capture her inspiration, in her sound.
There is real potential and talent waiting for the sophistication that comes with time, practice, and experimenting with the kind of creativity that both Smiths certainly have. Song for song, it can be taxing to listen end to end. There are not real melodies to hold onto, and some of the more interesting parts of the album sometime feel like a great idea that was never fully realized. There is something irresistible about a love song dedicated to Adventure Time’s Marceline The Vampire Queen. In the funky beats of Wait a Minute, a love song where Willow seems to hold onto a distinct tone of her voice that she developed through the album.
Other highlights are Waves of Nature, and the last track, Why Don’t You Cry. Besides being the most accessible to the average listener, the synths and beats are tighter and fit together more smoothly, and the lyrics and melody flow in a way that lets you feel like you are along for the ride, rather than scrambling along, trying to catch up, as is the case on some of the more experimental tracks.
Willow Smith’s latest is definitely one to take some time to listen to! It is absolutely worth it.