Willow Smith Released a Pop-Punk Song, Looks Metal as F*ck

Metalheads who were of age during the Ozzfest era likely recall that actor Will Smith’s wife, the actress Jada Pinkett Smith, once made a serious go of it in the metal world with her own band, Wicked Wisdom. The group was wholly rejected by metalheads, and in hindsight I’m forced to wonder whether that was simply because folks viewed her as a disingenuous celebrity metal tourist (the way many folks still can’t stand when the likes of Chris Brown or Kim Kardashian wear metal merch) or whether sexism and/or racism played a role. Probably a little of all three, if I’m being honest.

Now, Will and Jada’s 20-year-old progeny, Willow, has proven for the second time today that the apple rarely falls far from the tree, and that times have changed: she’s released a brand new song called “Transparent Soul” and, from what I’ve seen, it’s being received way more warmly. I’d best describe the song as halfway between pop-punk, with an assist from Blink-182’s Travis Barker on drums, and ’80s post-punk, but her aesthetic in the music video is full-on metal, with spikes and leather galore. Music fans might also remember the pseudo-metal hat tip from Willow’s first foray into music as a 10-year-old a decade ago, “Whip My Hair.”

In any case, the song’s not bad. I can’t say I’d normally listen to this kind of music and it’s not going to be in constant rotation in my car or anything, but as an exercise in “oh hey wow would you look at that? pretty cool.” it scratches the itch. Give it a listen below.