Will and Jada Pinkett Smith’s daughter Willow is gearing up to release her new LP, Coping Mechanism, on October 7th. While the album leans into the gothy pop-punk of its predecessor, 2021’s Lately I Feel Everything, in a recent interview with Guitar.com, the singer-guitarist highlights some heavier influences.
“Rock has always been inspiring to me,” said Willow, whose music previously fell more in the alternative R&B genre. “Ever since I was born, I’ve always been inspired by Deftones, Lamb Of God, Crowbar … But I think that when you start doing something at such a young age, your mind is still growing in a lot of different ways. Then you grow up and you understand [that] you need to really apply yourself in a way that you might not have thought of.”
She also spoke on the issue of metal gatekeeping, which has been a hot topic ever since Stranger Things introduced Metallica — and heavy metal, in general — to a whole new fan base.
“I think the only reason why it’s older, white men mostly listening to this music is because metal has been gatekept for a long time by these people,” Willow argued. “[Now,] new people of color are coming to say that that’s really not the way that it should be. Rock is for everyone [and] I’m gonna bring my people to the space and we are gonna vibe it out like we always do. … Hopefully the old white dudes vibe it out, too.”
In September, Willow — whose mom notably fronted the nu-metal band Wicked Wisdom in the 2000s — shouted out another “old white dude” favorite, Primus, as one of her most beloved bands in an Instagram video of her jamming along to the song “Conspiranoia.” The clip earned a nod from the group’s Les Claypool, who wrote in the comments: “Fine guitar pickin’ there young fiery lass.”