Willow Smith Covers V Magazine / Talks New Album, Being Black In Rock, & More

Cop a gander at Willow Smith!

The musical maestro graces the cover of V Magazine, where she stuns in several rocking outfits and gives a compelling interview.

Within the feature, the ‘Transparent Soul’ songstress dishes on her new album, being Black in the rock world, and more.

Peep pics and quotes below…

On her new album:

“I am going to be having a lot more features on this album. On my previous albums, I was in the studio by myself a lot. It was a very insular process for this album. I wanted to open myself up a little bit more and not just be so anti-social in the studio. I’m so excited that I’m going to be having a song on the album with Avril Lavigne. She is so iconic. From [ages] 13 to 16, she was my idol. It’s really nice to be able to have a quintessential pop-punk record with the pop-punk queen.”

On being Black in the rock world:

“But being a Black woman in the metal crowd is very, very different on top of the pressures that the music industry puts on you. Now, it’s like an added pressure of the metal culture, the metal world, and just rock in general. I used to get bullied in school for listening to Paramore and My Chemical Romance.”

“Just through the music that I’m putting out right now and the representation that I can bring to the mix, I just hope that the Black girls who are listening to my music and listening to this album see that there’s more of us out there. It’s a real thing, you’re not alone. You’re not the only Black girl who wishes she could flip her hair to the side, and wear black eyeliner, you know what I mean?”

On her inspiration to pursue a music career:

“Both of my parents just constantly had me in the studio with them while they were working, doing so many different things. I was exposed to a lot of different walks of life at a very, very young age. I think that seeing my mom on stage and how she commanded the music and the band just made me realize that’s what I want to be. I want to be that strong woman who is putting it all out there on the stage. I think that it was mostly her with just a mixture of always being around different kinds of entertainment.”

Your thoughts?

[Photo Credit: V Magazine / Domen & Van De Velde]