Backstage With WILLOW at Her London Show
“Willow is for the homies. Willow is for the people. Willow is for the lovers and the odd ones.”
At just nine years old, Willow Smith released her breakout single “Whip My Hair.” Now 25, the artist has entered an entirely new musical era with her latest album, The Thread, a project she describes as “devotional, jazz-pop fusion.”
On Wednesday night, the daughter of one of Hollywood’s most famous couples took to the stage at London’s KOKO for a one-night-only show, performing to a packed room of fashionable fans. Smith herself was dressed head-to-toe in Free People, following the release of her collaborative collection with the brand. When asked about her look, she immediately lights up: “I’m wearing head-to-toe Free People, and I feel amazing! When I was a teenager, I just wanted to be the girl that I am now, wearing this, performing for these amazing individuals who came to see me out of the kindness of their hearts. I’m so grateful.”
After the show, we make our way backstage through a crowd of fans, before being ushered through tight security and past a series of serious-looking managers. We set up among the instruments, with Smith’s band just behind us. As I mic up and prepare to chat, Smith riffs on the grand piano, seemingly in her own world, taking a moment to come back down to earth after the performance.
“Willow is for the homies. Willow is for the people. Willow is for the lovers and the odd ones,” she shares. We get into her relationship with jazz and her unexpected shift toward the genre, to which she replies, “Yeah, it’s John Coltrane’s 100th birthday, bro, come on, we have to pull through for the lineage.”
That passion for music extends far beyond her own work. When asked who she’s listening to right now, Smith reels off a long list of artists, many of whom are new names to me, a reflection of her enthusiasm for discovering emerging talent and seeking out sounds that feel entirely singular. “HRLUM is an amazing upcoming artist, H-R-L-U-M; she’s from Brooklyn. Nai Palm of Hiatus Kaiyote, oh my goodness, Meshell Ndegeocello. So many amazing people, the list goes on.”
Between questions, Smith is occasionally pulled back towards the piano, evidently still riding the energy and adrenaline of the show, and perhaps already ready to celebrate with her band. Eventually, we return to the conversation, covering everything from her go-to studio snack to her pre-show rituals. “My favorite studio snack would have to be a good miso soup and rice. I like to keep it chill, you know?”
Before heading on stage to deliver her raw, intimate performances, Smith has a ritual that puts her band at the center of the moment. “I like to hug my band violently. I like to hug them passionately and tell them how much I love them because they are one of the reasons why this is the way it is, and I love them dearly.”
When asked what she hopes people feel or take away when listening to her music, Smith’s answer is simple: “a feeling of being held, and a feeling of being a part of something bigger than all of us. I want listeners to feel like life actually means something and it’s not just a series of traumatic events.” It’s a sentiment that captures something particularly characteristic about Smith: she has a knack for saying something incredibly profound in the most lighthearted way, as though you’ve known each other for years.
Before I get the signal that our time is almost up, Smith offers a glimpse of what’s next. “This season for me is very creative and productive; I just want to keep it going and let it flow.” And when I ask what the next project sounds like, she simply says: “It’s just a lot of me playing guitar, really.”
