But all that preteen attention—Smith was just nine when “Whip My Hair” was released—and the pressures that came with it eventually took a toll. She had to take time away, a calculated retreat if you will. “There was a time where it was really, really dark,” she says. “I was trying to run away from it in every single way that I could. People would [ask], ‘Are you Willow Smith?’ And I’d be like, ‘No.’ I would just bold-face lie. I didn’t make music for years. I needed to figure out who I am.”
In 2012, Willow shaved her head for the first time. “The energy that your hair holds through your whole life, all of your sadness and your happiness and your confusion, your hair is on you forever. And when you shave it off, you’re kind of naked. You’re kind of like, you need to be new now.”
Her time away from music was taken up by reading (Willow is a book nerd who recently enjoyed The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber and David Wengrow, and has co-authored a book of her own, Black Shield Maiden), doing ballet, and practicing martial arts like Krav Maga and Wushu (she still tussles with trusted friends). “I had to figure out, when I’m sitting by myself and when there’s no one else around, what gives me joy?” she says. “It is making music, reading and meditation, and being with my animals. And sometimes when shit is really, really dark, I just have to cry and coach myself through it.”
Yet no amount of dancing, reading, meditating, or even puppy love could fully silence the negativity of her inner voice. It echoed with rebukes. You’re never going to be good enough. Everyone only thinks you’re special because of all the things that they’ve seen from your parents. No one really cares about you. You’re a fraud. Each thought had its own sting. “But that’s just because I’m reflecting the fears and the things that people have said to me,” she says, “not necessarily my own thoughts. I’m wrongly internalizing the negativity from the outside.”
That voice also drives her work ethic. Given her lineage, Willow is what some would call a nepo baby. Yes, there are doors that have opened because she has Smith as a last name. However, after some deliberation, we both agree that she doesn’t quite fit the bill. First off, because her determination and creative output are not exactly consistent with nepo babyhood. Say what you like, but Willow doesn’t coast.