WICKED WISDOM's JADA PINKETT SMITH Says She Is An 'Old-School Metalhead'

WICKED WISDOM frontwoman Jada Pinkett Smith recently spoke to TCPalm.com about her band's participation in this year's Ozzfest. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

On singing screaming about dark things in a heavy metal band:

"For me it's so healthy, because there's so many things that I want to say that aren't politically correct on the red carpet or what have you.

"I feel like, that's how we all become kind of sick, physically sick and mentally unbalanced, when we're not allowed to be our complete selves.

"Here in this music, I get to be ugly. The uglier the better. And for me, that's so refreshing and so liberating.

"People want to hear real stuff; people aren't afraid to feel angry, or sad, or even to feel joy. This is just an outlet for people to cut loose in a way that our society tells you is not correct."

On her foray into music:

"I guess you could call me an old-school metalhead. I was introduced to OZZY OSBOURNE and LED ZEPPELIN by my uncle, and my mother was a big Who fan. In my house, we had real eclectic musical tastes between jazz, rock and R&B. We listened to everything — even to this day."

On how WICKED WISDOM came together:

"It was always something that I was really interested in doing, and just never really knew how to approach it. It just got to a point where I was like, 'You know what, Jada? Life is moving, and you only have this life to live, so let's get it going.' So I hooked up with Pocket, and we started to grow a sound and a band."

On being stung but not surprised by Ozzfest fans' early criticism about WICKED WISDOM's addition to the bill:

"Any area you tread in, you're going to catch it. That's just part of it. I don't really look at that as something to stop me, or something to really consider.

"At the end of the day, you're going to have people that dig it and people that don't. But no matter what, we still gotta do us, you know?"