Jada Pinkett Smith guests on the latest episode of NPR podcast It's Been A Minute with Brittany Luse, discussing her October memoir, Worthy, and her creative journey.
Among the many topics that come up is Pinkett Smith's nu-metal Wicked Wisdom, which was active in the 2000s, released two albums — 2004's My Story and 2006's self-titled offering — and toured both with Britney Spears and on Ozzfest 2005.
Asked about the backlash, Wicked Wisdom received from many metal fans, Pinkett Smith said, "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 & roll. 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 fucking 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."
She added: "You get called names, people throwing bottles, people talking shit. And the neutral was like, you could win them over. If you have neutrality, there's a space for love to grow. And then as we started going, there were people who were Wicked Wisdom fans that you would never expect. I learned a lot, and I don't judge a book by its cover anymore."
You can listen to the full episode via NPR, and watch the video for Wicked Wisdom's "Bleed All Over Me" below.
