Will and Jada Pinkett-Smith’s youngest child Willow Smith has been coming into her own and blossoming into her own person for the last several years.
Though we all got our introduction to her through her 2010 hit song, “Whip My Hair,” Willow has evolved to create a name from herself separate from that of her famous (or infamous depending on who you talk to) parents and charted her own path as a successful alt-rock singer. Her recent performance on NPR’s Tiny Desk alone proved that whether or not she had a famous familial cosign or backing, she has the talents to become a household name anyhow—no nepotism necessary.
However, there’s no denying that nepotism doesn’t play a role in her life. But don’t get it twisted, the label of “nepo baby” is one that she vehemently rejects. She said as much in her latest cover interview with Allure Magazine where she talked about her new album “empathogen” and why she doesn’t feel like her parents are the sole creditors for her success.
“I truly believe that my spirit is a strong spirit and that, even if my parents weren’t who they were, I would still be a weirdo and a crazy thinker,” she told the outlet. “I definitely think that a little bit of insecurity has driven me harder because people do think that the only reason I’m successful is because of my parents. That has driven me to work really hard to try to prove them wrong. But nowadays, I don’t need to prove sh*t to anybody.”
Thankfully that insecurity wasn’t too deeply ingrained that it prevented her from still finding ways to connect with her fans and followers, especially her Black ones.
She later added: “Being Black in America, even with privilege, which I’m never going to deny that I have, you’re still Black. I love being Black. People would look at me and [say], ‘Okay, well, her parents are this and that, but she still is like me. She still has brown skin.’ And we all know that that doesn’t exempt you from anything, and that’s a place of connection.”
