Although Willow Smith has laid low for the past couple years, let it be known that she can still whip her hair.
I witnessed such glory last night at The FADER FORT Presented by Converse, The FADER‘s three-day pop-up venue in Brooklyn during New York’s 2014 CMJ Music Marathon.
Ryan Muir/The FADER FORT Presented by Converse
It was day two of the Fort, and the 13 year old was closing out a lineup that had seen Spookyland, Adult Jazz, George Maple, TOPS and Sir Michael Rocks take the stage. Or at least she was closing it all out, until Cam’ron (!) showed up out of nowhere for a surprise performance.
But back to Willow. She packed so much into her five-song set, which included three tracks from her upcoming EP, 3, which drops November 10.
“I hope you’re feeling the vibes,” she said following the trippy opener, “8.” Just in case attendees were somehow not feeling those vibes (spoiler: THEY WERE), Willow brought out surprise guest SZA to debut a new song the two had crafted.
“She is 13,” the “Babylon” singer said, before launching into a super-touching co-sign of her duet partner. “She is literally the future. I want to remind you.”
Ryan Muir/The FADER FORT Presented by Converse
Overwhelming? It was.
And the night continued to be anything but simply “whelmed” when Willow’s 16-year-old brother, Jaden Smith, popped onstage to perform “5″ right after.
(Sidenote: Willow trotted out her highly affected, faux British accent while intro’ing “5.” You know, the one she inexplicably used on “The Queen Latifah Show” that one time? JUST THOUGHT EVERYONE WOULD LIKE TO KNOW.)
Despite the surprise team-ups, Smith proved more than capable of owning the stage while performing solo, like she did on “Summer Fling.”
“I know it’s not summer, but I’m gonna play it anyway,” she told the audience before launching into the breezy jam, which she and DJ Fabrega released together last year under the moniker Melodic Chaotic.
Her last song, however, needed no introduction — not that I would’ve been able to hear it anyway over my “Needlessly Supportive Uncle at Niece’s School Play”-style “WOO!”-ing once I realized what it was.
Yep, Willow Smith whipped out “Whip My Hair,” the breakout single that she used to forge her own public identity beyond “Will and Jada’s youngest” back in 2010.
Judging by the audience last night, people definitely want to see where her musical journey leads next. Like, she turned a packed room of grown BK twenty-and-thirtysomethings into phone-out, concert-going preteens from the second she hit the stage. That’s no small feat.
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