My palms are sweating at Roc Nation and I’ve got nowhere to
wipe them. Glass, steel and leather surround me and my polyester pants
make palms worse. The blasting AC proves I’m not hot, just nervous, which
happens when I’ve got time. I was fine in that lax chair at the entrance but my
presence must have proved too pitiful for the public. Now I’m alone in a
conference room, seated at an enormous pearl table. Stress overwhelms me as I draft
a Tweet. A guy in a suit comes into the room to speak on his phone. He winks at
me and walks out. I press delete.
Moments after, a man in fancy sweats walks in, startled to see me. He leaves
quickly, before I can beg him to stay. I review my notes. A blonde stops by to remind
me that Willow is late. “Obama is in town and he’s causing traffic. You know
how he is!” Do I ever! I go to the bathroom to gawk in the mirror and dry off
my hands. The women roaming the halls are either in taut dresses with stilettos
or baggy pants and hoodies. I feel myself killing their vibe. I retreat to my
room and re-write my notes, in better handwriting. The page gets soaked. The
blonde pops in to promise that “she’ll be in soon!”
An hour later, I’m taken down a white hallway through huge
doors which reveal a plush space you know shit goes down in. Warm air blows
gently through vents, a soothing voice bounces between speakers, velvet couches
frame an obscenely panoramic view of Manhattan and sunlight slaps precious bottles
of golden liquor I don’t dare touch near a minor.
Willow Smith opens her arms. Come here. We hug and she apologizes for making me wait. I say, now
that you can blame the president for something, you’re practically an adult. “I
always feel like an adult, since I’m always having revolutionary thoughts.” Her
ideas are mature but her idealism is proof of her youth, which is always noted;
two adults sit in as chaperones. “We’ll jump on you if you ask anything
unacceptable.” Fair enough.
You know Willow is stunning on screen but in person she’s
flawless. I know writing stuff like that is not only cliché, but harmful. I’m
aware it promotes unrealistic standards, but she defies any standards I’ve ever
been tortured by! Her eyes are fit for a tiger and her elongated limbs look
capable of flying her through space. Appropriately, like some subculture
superhero, she’s wearing head to toe black—ripped skintight jeans, a VFILES turtleneck,
sneakers and a long, leather coat. “I love this coat because it makes me feel
like Spike from Buffy.” I know she’s been watching Buffy because I follow her
on Twitter. I also know that when she isn’t praising old shows, she’s spitting
profundities.
“The people who make
commercials promoting good health are the same people making Cheetos.” Oct 13
“Being a leader in the
1970's is unlike anything a kid of the 21 century will ever experience in a
lifetime.” Oct 7
“The most beautiful
thing about life could very easily be perceived as the most unfortunate.” Sep
23
Where does a fourteen year old get this stuff? Does she find
it in Marxist novels? Hypnotize it out of her parents? “I think a lot. That’s
the main thing I do in my life. Twitter is the way I can tell the world exactly
how I feel.” She’s been showing the world her potential since her acting debut
in “I Am Legend” in 2007. Her music
career followed in 2010 with the vibrant hit single, “I Whip My Hair.” She was the youngest artist to be signed to
Jay-Z’s Roc Nation label and has since been dropping dreamy singles like “5,”
featuring her brother, Jaden. Meanwhile, millions anticipate her next move.
I had control over a magazine’s Facebook page for a day and could barely handle the pressure. When I ask how she can resist the urge to troll her 3.8M followers, she asks, “what’s trolling?” When she was younger she wasn’t allowed on social media, so now she’s careful. “When I was nine I would have written things like, “life sucks!” That didn’t fly.” When she turned teen, she was set free online and landed her first Instagram scandal.
Her friend Aria posted an artistic photograph of himself on
a bed with her. Though they were both clothed and clearly platonic, the fact
that she was thirteen and he was twenty sent people through the roof. Sadly,
their negativity was directed at Willow and her family. Her parents (Will Smith
and Jada Pinkett Smith—duh) were
investigated by child services of Los Angeles County. They were cleared of any
suspicions, obviously, and handled it well, insisting that the public is
perverted for assuming anything was wrong with their daughter’s behavior. Still,
horrible comments lurk under her interviews, implying her attire and conduct is
inappropriate. Somehow, the fact that such comments are wildly inappropriate themselves
is lost on these people. The world has it out for girls; especially girls in
the spotlight.
Willow once regretted her fame. She longed to feel what it’s
like to go to a bookstore without having to call security. Luckily, she’s
learning to love it. “When you’re famous, you have more of a voice to change
the world. And that’s all I could ever ask for.”
“Girls and boys are
put in boxes when they’re born.” Aug 8
An icon for androgynous fashion, she’s outspoken about
gender issues. “Parents tell boys to go out and get dirty, climb trees and make
mud pies, while girls have to stay in and play with dolls. And often it’s not
the girls’ choice.” She explained, after reading “Gender Neutral Parenting.” She’s
named after her father and her brother is named after their mother (did you
ever catch that?). That’s just just a tiny glimpse at how well they’re being
raised. Having such a progressive, supportive and loving family can guide a
girl through what can be a troubling time. Studies have shown that while young
girls mostly feel good about themselves, their self-esteem plummets at puberty.
“I think that the reason why girls’ confidence falls during adolescence is
because of [popular] music. It’s all about boobs and butts. That’s what they’re
growing! They’re realizing that’s all they have to identify themselves with,
and it’s mostly a negative connotation. So when they think of themselves and
what’s happening to them, it automatically subconsciously makes them realize
that rappers [and other men] are disrespecting them.”
“Women are
systematically exploited by the system.” Aug 5
“I just went to see Gloria Steinem in Bell Hooks. It was an
amazing experience. To see women that powerful on a stage, speaking their
truth, is wow!” The unfortunate thing
is that we still need to have those discussions at all. And a lot of pop stars
and actresses fear owning up to the F Word. “People think ‘Feminist’ means ‘Man
Hater.’ When I first got introduced to feminism, I was introduced to the idea
of equality of the sexes.”
The world desperately needs someone like Willow to share
such ideas through her art; the only question is when more will arrive. She’s
taking her time. She notoriously pulled out of the re-make of Annie because she followed her instinct to
focus on school. She says she has enough songs to release an album but doesn’t
like them enough. That kind of honesty and intuition is rare. My peers and I are
rushing to accomplish our goals and have a constant, overwhelming sense of
“FOMO,” it’s a wonder someone can be so patient in the age of over-sharing.
“I believe that everything that has ever happened was meant
to. If you’re somewhere but want to be somewhere else, you’re not experiencing where
you are now. Each song I put out is about where I am and need to be. I take it
step by step.” And that way she’ll end up with quality work. “My goal is to
spread the message of consciousness shift and paradigm shift. We need to come
to a point in the world where everything is running off of love. That’s what
I’m trying to get to, that’s what I want to do with my music.”
Willow believes in meditation and limitless happiness, and knows
it’s important to laugh. She cracked the world up with a viral Vine poking fun at
her brother’s conspiracy theories. “My brother and I have such a good
relationship because we aren’t forced to be with each other all the time. Most siblings have to hang out and their
parents are like, “you’ve got to love each other!” And they’re like, “dang, I
don’t feel like it!” Jaden and I have had our separate lives. We do our own
thing, we don’t question each other. We connect on a friend level.” They also
respect each other as artists. “There’s things that he’s done that the world
has never heard. I’m on the edge of my seat waiting to see how they will react.”
“I have many things to
learn, and conditionings to understand.” Aug 21
This issue’s theme is Eternal Youth. What does she hope to
hold onto as she grows? “I feel like, when you grow up, it’s the conditionings,
the things people teach you that hold you back. Like, “I’ve got to be serious
now! I’ve got to pay taxes!” Without those conditionings, you can be free and
be yourself. That’s what will carry me through my life. I’m here to change the
world and be a servant to the great divine and I’ll carry that path. My life is
meditation, crystals, self-improvement and art.”
It’s good to have a desired path but it’s also important to
accept transition which transcends hairstyles. “Flexibility with yourself and
with your looks shows self-confidence. You’re willing to paint on your canvas with
whatever comes from within you. I love doing whatever with my hair to shock the
world. People have such eyes on my family that when you do something out of this
world, it’s such a big deal, and I like that!” For the record, her hair is
short and blonde as I write this, though it most likely won’t be by the time
you read.
Her and Jaden have stressed how school isn’t as important as
living life. I always felt that way so I always skipped school, but is it
possible to balance both? “It’s gotten to the point where the youth needs to
realize their power. With realizing their power comes realizing what’s not good
for them and realizing which rules people are enforcing on them aren’t letting
them grow. For kids who are in school and trying to understand themselves and
their spirituality, it’s difficult. I went to school for one year and I was
like, now I understand.”
Like most teens, Willow spends the time she isn’t planning
revolutions on Tumblr. She even checks up on her fans. “I visit their blogs and
read everything they write me. They make art for me and I enjoy it so much! I love
being connected to them.” Her Tumblr ‘about me’ reads, “I think of myself as an extension of source energy - always gathering
information, spreading love and being free.”
The adults clear their throats and my time is up. We hug and
she tells me something generous and I believe it. With many young artists or “stars-in-the-making,”
you can predict what will come of them, or at least assume what they hope to become.
With Willow, you have freaking clue. Even when you stare into those emoji eyes
you can only guess she’ll surprise us all.
“Guess I was born to
make mistakes. But, I'm not scared to pave the way.” Aug 29
Oh, I almost forgot. Of course I asked if she ever uses her
dad’s famous song against him. “About a
week ago I told my mom, “parents just don’t understand” and I wished my dad
could have been there. It was the first time I had ever said it, which is
surprising.”
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