Subscribe

* indicates required
Okayplayer News

To continue reading

Create a free account or sign in to unlock more free articles.

By continuing, you agree to the Terms of Service and acknowledge our Privacy Policy

Erykah Badu, Joey Bada$$, Oshun + More Define Organic Vibes At DC's Broccoli City Festival 2015 [Photos + Recap]
Willow and Jaden Smith discussing their respective creative processes. [Photo: JazzShoots for Okayplayer]

Jaden, Willow Smith Discuss Parents' Influence, Retiring Before 30

Erykah Badu, Joey Bada$$, Oshun + More Define Organic Vibes At DC's Broccoli City Festival 2015 [Photos + Recap]

Willow + Jaden Smith photographed by JazzShoots.

Jaden and Willow Smith have become the living embodiment of #carefreeblackboy and #carefreeblackgirl, dressing and doing as they please while still maintaining a level of secrecy about themselves.

In a new interview with Pharrell Williams (via Interview Magazine) the Smith siblings expand on their perspectives of the world, and how their parents played an important part in encouraging that.

"Growing up, all I saw was my parents trying to be the best people they could be, and people coming to them for wisdom, coming to them for guidance, and them not putting themselves on a pedestal, but literally being face-to-face with these people and saying, 'I'm no better than you, but the fact that you're coming to me to reach some sort of enlightenment or to shine a light on something, that makes me feel love and gratitude for you,'" explains Willow.

The conversation then shifts to a number of topics: the two's relationship (they've never really been competitive siblings); who they would want to work with (Willow wants to collaborate with Hiatus Kaiyote, which makes so much sense when you think about it); and large philosophical questions they find themselves pondering.

"Where is the love? And what are we doing? Who's making the decisions that are putting us in the predicaments that we are in, with all of these people losing their lives around the world in so many different ways," Jaden asks. "I feel like a serious revolution needs to take place in order for human beings to evolve in a way where we can truly exist as a society. Because, right now, we do not act as a true society. We act as a world under terror, just scrambling to survive."

Needless to say the entire interview is a lesson in the importance of being woke, and it's reassuring to see that Jaden and Willow are encouraging that through what they do and say.