Video: Willow Smith Fronts Reunited Wicked Wisdom as Mother’s Day Gift for Jada Pinkett Smith
Most years for Mother’s Day as a kid I got my mom some flowers, maybe a CD, and perhaps made her a card if I was feeling particularly inspired.
Willow Smith, progeny of actors Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, has made us all look bad on Mother’s Days now and forever.
As a gift to her mom, who fronted the metal band Wicked Wisdom in the early ’00s, Willow reunited the group — who haven’t played live since 2006 — for a surprise performance of the band’s song “Bleed All Over Me.” The 20-year-old Willow, who has recently displayed her own proclivity for metal, fronted the band in a Mastodon shirt, bringing her mother, who sang along as she watched, to tears. Original Wicked Wisdom guitarist Pocket Honore and bassist Taylor Graves joined.
The performance took place on Red Table Talk, the talk show starring Willow, Jada, and Jada’s mother, Adrienne Banfield-Norris.
To introduce the performance, Willow gave her mom and Wicked Wisdom a touching tribute, recalling being out on the road with them on Ozzfest:
“So when I was, I want to say about three or four, I went on tour with my mom and her band Wicked Wisdom. Wicked Wisdom was lit. [chuckles] This is the music that I grew up around. My mother was superwoman. She was a rock star. She was a warrior and a nurturer all in one. So unapologetically badass. I remember being on the tour bus with Jaden when I was six or seven, and we got the opportunity to clean the bus. That was one of the most, like, purely exciting experiences. I was my mom’s biggest fan. Every night, I wanted to ride on the security guard’s shoulders and watch her perform. She was a rock star, and I was living for Wicked Wisdom. I felt like it was only right for me to pay homage to a time in her life because she showed me what womaning up really is about, so for Mother’s Day, I’m about to reunite with some of my mom’s old band members to do one of my favorite songs by my mom, which is called ‘Bleed All Over Me.’ She’s gonna be floored. I’m really excited about it. You guys!”
“Bleed All Over Me” comes at 32:45 in the video below. I’m not crying… you’re crying!
