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It features only three tracks — hence its title — including a song with SZA called "9." Following the success of her first single, Willow dropped "Fireball" with Nicki Minaj. "[Nicki Minaj] has so much energy, and working with her was like just [a] spark," she told Ryan Seacrest of the collab. Instead, Willow experimented with several lone singles like "21st Century Girl." The young performer also busied herself with showcasing her unique style at the BET Awards and KCAs alike. Willow Camille Reign Smith arrived on Halloween night in the year 2000, to father Will Smith and mother Jada Pinkett Smith.
Taking a break from music and dodging controversy
In fact according to Willow’s own recollection, Will was so “harsh at certain times” that it took her “a couple of years” to forgive him. But ultimately she did come to the realization that such advisors were in fact more knowledgeable of the game than she was. Meanwhile as Big Willy himself recalls, ‘his entire family rejected the direction of his leadership’ back during the Whip My Hair days. “Whip My Hair” performed even more impressively across the pond as far as music listings go.
Release history
It topped the UK R&B Chart and fell just a spot short of replicating the feat on the UK Singles Chart proper. It also achieved silver status in England and around the world charted in 15 countries. But more to the point is this dance being symbolic of the overall message of the piece. And that message, most simply explained, is based on Willow advising listeners not to be afraid to be themselves. “I just wanted to fulfill that desire that I had ever since I was 10 or 12 of singing rock music, of being a Black woman singing rock music,” she said. Smith also opened up about what a dream come true it is for her, as a Black woman, to perform rock music.
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Born and raised in Los Angeles, Willow is the youngest of three children and has always gravitated towards the spotlight. In a 2007 chat with Collider, Will Smith revealed that Willow was inspired to act at just 6 years old after seeing her brother Jaden's first performance on the big screen. "I think a big part of it is probably Jaden. After 'The Pursuit of Happyness' and she saw what Jaden did, she thought, 'I want that.'" However, her father admits that despite the talent that runs in the family, Willow's charisma and confidence is all Willow. "You kind of don't work with Willow, you work for Willow," the Oscar winner joked.
Chart performance
The singer recalled touring with her mom's nu-metal band, Wicked Wisdom, for years as a child. Though Pinkett Smith, 49, sometimes faced intense racism as a Black woman fronting a hard rock band, she modeled for her daughter a powerful way to handle detractors. Though "Whip My Hair" later grew to be a source of embarrassment for her, the singer, 20, told L'Officiel magazine she now embraces the song's important self-love message. "For so long, I wanted to condemn that time of my life and forget it, just kind of push it under the rug,” said Smith. “I really regretted it." With that, Willow set to work on "COPINGMECHANISM," a rock album about love and loss.
Remembering Willow Smith's Iconic Song “Whip My Hair” - INTO
Remembering Willow Smith's Iconic Song “Whip My Hair”.
Posted: Tue, 23 Aug 2022 07:00:00 GMT [source]
I was super young, and I had a dream, but all I really wanted to do was sing and I didn’t equate that with all the business and the stress that ended up coming with it. This same year, Willow also found time to collaborate with "Superbad" star Michael Cera on a standalone track called "twentyfortyeight 2.0." Smith first shaved her head at 11 years old in 2012, two years after "Whip My Hair" first dropped. She previously had her head shaved last March, while she spent 24 hours in a glass room as part of a performance art installation at the Geffen Contemporary at the Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles. We all know that Willow Smith's been wearing her head in a close-cropped buzz cut recently — and that she even convinced mother Jada Pinkett-Smith to do the same — but apparently, the process of getting said haircut was way cooler than we ever could have imagined.
The first time Willow actually performed this tune live was also on a talk show, that being The Ellen DeGeneres Show. The first person to actually tease this track or more specifically publicize the fact that Willow was coming out with music is recognized as her mom, established Hollywood actress Jada Pinkett-Smith. And she did so during an episode of a talk show entitled Lopez Tonight that aired a few months prior. The official visual to this song was directed by a tenured professional who goes by the name of Ray Kay. The clip was filmed in Los Angeles, which is where Willow was born and with said city being her base of operations. And the video went on to receive a couple of nominations in 2011 at the NAACP Images Awards and the BET Awards.
“Whip My Hair” by Willow
"Just wanting to perform coping mechanism more and more and spread this wonderful, beautiful album that personally I feel like is some of my best work," she told SPIN when asked about her 2023 goals. "I just want everyone to hear it and I want to inspire people all around the world." Since then, she's realized "Whip My Hair" fits right in — at least thematically — with the the pop-punk songs that appear on her upcoming album, "Lately I Feel Everything," available July 16. And coming in second place would be another of her solo tracks, 2016’s “Wait a Minute!
With five experimental albums of different genres under her belt and a sixth in the works, (not including her collaborative project with Tyler Cole, multiple stand-alone singles and four EPs...), Willow is a talented chameleon. Her latest record, "COPINGMECHANISM," has revealed an even edgier side of the singer, who has fully submerged herself into the pop/rock sphere. In mid-2021 another child born into an A list family, North West (daughter of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West), made headlines performing the “whip my hair” dance to this song, as posted online by her mom.
With "Lately I feel EVERYTHING," the singer tapped into her punk rock side. "When I was younger, my brother and I toured with my mom's band, Wicked Wisdom, so heavy metal was one of the first types of music I heard a lot and I'm still really inspired by it," Willow shared with Billboard. But she admits that for a long time, she wasn't sure she could hold a candle to her mom's rock success, so she was hesitant to try out the sound on her own.
As of this writing, the song is now certified Gold in Canada, New Zealand and the United States. In November, Willow Smith released the devotional meditation EP "RISE" with Jahnavi Harrison. Willow, in particular, has shown incredible vulnerability on the show. Most notably, the singer revealed that with the success of her first single came struggles with depression and self harm. "I definitely had to forgive you and daddy for that whole 'Whip My Hair' thing," Willow said to her mom in a 2018 episode (via NME).
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