WICKED WISDOM's JADA PINKETT SMITH: 'I Love The Freedom Of Metal Music'

July 25, 2005

WICKED WISDOM vocalist Jada Pinkett Smith recently spoke to Billboard.com about the group's controversial second-stage slot at this year's Ozzfest.

The actress, who is married to actor/rapper Will Smith, said she was shocked herself when Sharon Osbourne invited the band onto the tour, so she wasn't surprised when other people were too.

"It's who I am, who people believe that I am," she told Billboard.com. "It's like, of course it would seem really bizarre and awkward and just completely out of line and out of place, so people come in with preconceived ideas because unfortunately we're all taught to think so limitedly. Even myself, even when I got the invite, I wasn't jumping at the opportunity to do Ozzfest. I had to really open my mind, and I'm glad I did."

Pinkett Smith said that she is aware of the credibility factor her band is dealing with. "I'm not here asking for any favors," she said. "You've got to show and prove. And not every audience is gonna go for it." The group's music has evolved since they opened for BRITNEY SPEARS into a sound that guitarist Pocket describes as "heavy and melodic," with elements similar to bands like SKINDRED, OTEP, SEETHER and EVANESCENCE.

Smith says she likes a wide variety of music — from BOB MARLEY and SANTANA to MEGADETH and METALLICA — but when Pocket turned her on to SEVENDUST, SLIPKNOT and MESHUGGAH, she found the sound she wanted. "I just love the freedom of metal music," she said. "It's not confined, really. You can express your joy, your pain, your anger and everything, so the passion of it is what attracts me the most."

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