Jada Pinkett Smith Shares the Special Challenges and Joy of Leading Her Metal Band, Wicked Wisdom
Jada Pinkett Smith, a famous Hollywood actress, talked about the difficulties she faced while trying to break into the metal music scene with her band Wicked Wisdom in the 2000s. Despite being a Black woman leading a predominantly non-white band, she encountered unique challenges due to her celebrity status.
Despite the hate, she also experienced love and acceptance, especially during a memorable performance in Texas where the audience didn’t care about her background and just enjoyed the music, showcasing the inclusive nature of the metal community where people can express their rage safely.
“It was really intense,”I mean, at that particular time, I don’t know of any other Black female in that particular genre except for [Skin from] Skunk Anansie…I had so many strikes against me. I was a woman, first of all, because even as a white woman, you have a hard time in that job. Then I’m a Black woman. And then I’m a woman from Hollywood, which is the antithesis of rock and roll, and surely metal.
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I was the representation of the machine itself. It’s a lot of hate out there, for sure. No doubt about it. But there’s also a lot of love and neutrality. And I’ll never forget going to this place somewhere in Texas, where we were performing in this shack, and these kids, they didn’t care. They were just happy we were there, seeing them having a good [expletive] time, with this Black band. They started moshing and that was it. What I love about the metal community is that you get to rage safely. We got to meet there in our rage and really have a good time with it.
“People said mean things, threw bottles, and used bad language,” she explains. “But some people were open-minded and could be won over with love. Surprisingly, even tough-looking fans like bald guys with tattoos or bikers with long hair and leather vests became fans of Wicked Wisdom, appreciating my performances. This taught me not to judge people based on their appearance.”
Wicked Wisdom put out two albums, “My Story” in 2004 and a self-titled one in 2006, but then they broke up. In 2021, Jada Pinkett Smith’s daughter, Willow, got the band back together for a surprise Mother’s Day performance. It’s uncertain if the band will make a comeback in the future.
Jada Pinkett Smith Shares the Special Challenges and Joy of Leading Her Metal Band, Wicked Wisdom
