Posted on 06/17/2023 5:41:06 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Before her name became irreversibly mixed up in the Will Smith/Chris Rock slapping incident at the 2022 Oscars, Jada Pinkett Smith was known for her significant roles in films such as Scream 2, The Matrix Reloaded and Revolutions, and Girls Trip. The acclaimed actor has also voiced Gloria the Hippo in Dreamworks’ hugely successful Madagascar animated film franchise and appeared in multiple TV series, including Hawthorne and Gotham.
Beyond her exceptional acting skills, Smith has also demonstrated herself as a savvy businesswoman and entrepreneur, producing the Tony-nominated Broadway musical Fela!, co-hosting and producing the Meta talk show Red Table Talk, investing in a line of beauty products, and founding a production company with her husband along with a fashion label and an energy storage company.
With fingers in so many pies, very few areas or industries would be shocking to see Smith’s involvement in – except for a raging nu-metal band, of course. Whilst her role as producer on a musical based on Nigerian Afrobeat icon Fela Kuti undoubtedly illustrates her passion for music, it may come as a surprise to know that Smith is the co-founder and lead vocalist for the metal band Wicked Wisdom.
Formed in 2002, the band was initially intended to be a “rock/soul fusion thing” that never quite took off, despite opening for the European leg of Britney Spears’ ‘Onyx Hotel’ tour in 2004. It was on this tour, however, that Wicked Wisdom started to truly find their sound. “It was on that tour that we realised we wanted a more metal thing, and we started writing more on that tip,” Smith told MTV. “It just started getting heavier and heavier, and that’s when it clicked for us.”
The band became such a priority for Smith that for several years the actor remained more or less absent from the big screen. On her desire to form the nu-metal outfit, Smith explained how she “listened to all kinds of metal as a kid. Metallica, Guns N’ Roses. I would always look at [Guns N’ Roses frontman] Axl Rose and say, ‘Why aren’t there any chicks out there doing this now?'” Unfortunately, news of Wicked Wisdom was not met with instant praise, and their metal cred was somewhat harmed by opening for Britney Spears.
The real test would come in 2005 when Ozzfest organisers announced that Wicked Wisdom would perform on the second stage. Aware of the sense amongst Ozzfest guests that the band had not earned the right to play, Smith stated at the time: “I’m not here asking for any favours. You’ve got to show and prove. And not every audience is going to go for it.”
Guitarist Pocket Honore acknowledged the Matrix actor’s nerves, explaining, “At first, it was too cute, and we all agreed it had to be more brutal.” It became quickly apparent, however, that Smith was no poser. “But once word got out that we weren’t a joke,” Honore continues, “People started coming out. By the sixth or seventh gig, we were on fire.”
To date, Wicked Wisdom has two albums: their debut, My Story, in 2004 and a self-titled second album. In 2011, after it was confirmed that Smith was back in the recording studio, the actor/vocalist revealed that a new band titled Wicked Evolution was actively recording.
Watch Smith in all her nu-metal glory below.
This is not bad, actually. Very good music.
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