Pack It In, Rappers: Jaden Smith Is Here!
Mark it down, folks, August 7, 2012, is the day that the rap game was sealed up by Jaden Smith, the son of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, and the brother of Willow Smith. You won't do much better than "Pumped Up Kicks (Like Me)," his just-released single, which, of course, samples Foster the People's "Pumped Up Kicks."
You all remember Willow's 2010 mega-monster hit "Whip My Hair," which was the "Friday" of that year. Maybe brother Jaden's new song about being a young, rich skateboarder with moon-faced white chicks surrounding him will manage to top it.
To be honest, I empathized more with whipping my hair than I ever will with someone being jealous of my shoes and skating. But maybe that's part of the magic. He's being sarcastic about the whole thing. He's shining a light on celebrity-child frivolity.
The Noisey press release for "Pumped" touts its originality, saying, "The great thing about Jaden Smith is that his raps are his own and they're on point, hovering between cheeky rebellion and laid-back slyness delivered with a pile-driving flow."
I couldn't agree more.
Musical ability, biting rhymes and innovation run through this Smith family like a river! Jaden's first ever cooltape -- which is what he calls a mixtape -- drops in September in time for back-to-school season. Or as Jaden calls it, "back-to-cool," probably.
If he can sample other great indie-rock nuggets, then I think this Jaden guy could be on top for a good long while.
Fingers and toes crossed for a delicious, modern Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reboot!
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