Skip To Content

    Willow Smith Spoke About The Challenges Women Of Color Face In Rock Music And I Need Everyone To Read This

    "Remind yourself that you are a beautiful human being."

    Willow Smith's musical career is at an all-time high.

    Willow Smith is pictured at Rihanna's Savage X Fenty Show

    The 20-year-old artist just released her fourth studio album, Lately I Feel Everything, and as I'm sure you're aware, the record is an emotional, poetic pop-punk-rock sensation that everyone seems to be talking about right now.

    Willow Smith performs onstage in 2019

    Of course, breaking into the music industry isn't easy, even for someone like Willow who has grown up in the public eye. During during an appearance on BBC's The YUNGBLUD Podcast, she talked specifically about challenges that non-white women face when navigating the rock music scene.

    "I have seen for so many years, the hate that not just Black women [get] but people of different colors, that aren't white, that want to come into rock music and into this space," she told the podcast's host.

    Willow added that she wants to inspire a shift in those perspectives, which, clearly, she's already doing.

    Willow Smith is photographed at an event in 2019

    "Despite the fact that people are telling us 'We shouldn't listen to this music, we shouldn't dress this way, we shouldn't sing this way', we do it! And do it to the fullest!" she said. "And it's kind of the best that it's ever been done."

    Willow also shared more about experiencing anxiety over the past couple of months during her conversation with Yungblud. "My mental health is in a very fragile state," she said. "But I think it's in a state where it's about to grow in a really awesome way."

    Willow Smith poses onstage

    As usual, Willow gave listeners some wise-beyond-her-years words of advice. "Remind yourself that you are a beautiful human being that just needs to take a moment. Don't like crash down on yourself so hard," she said.

    Willow Smith attends Rihanna's Savage X Fenty Show

    The performer has opened up about struggling to preserve her mental health, in the aftermath of her new album's release, a couple of times recently.

    Willow Smith performs onstage with a guitar

    You can listen to Willow's full conversation with Yungblud here.