ÍøÆغÚÁÏ

A genre-defying artist, Willow reinvents pop, R&B, rock, and alternative music in her own individualistic ways. As a singer/songwriter, she debuted with the viral 2010 hit "Whip My Hair," becoming the youngest artist (to date) to score a double-platinum single. On her 2015 self-produced full-length debut, Ardipithecus, she added alt-R&B textures to her style. By the time of 2017's The 1st, her sound had evolved to include pastoral acoustic elements, while 2019's self-titled album brought touches of dream pop into her music. In 2021, the pop chameleon added punk rock to her repertoire with Lately I Feel Everything and continued her maturation with 2022's rock-driven COPINGMECHANISM and the mingling of alternative pop and jazz on 2024's "Symptoms of Life" and Empathogen. Along the way, Willow was a frequent collaborator with her brother Jaden, as well as Tyler Cole (as the duo the Anxiety) and Jahnavi Harrison (for 2020's R I S E). In addition to film and music, she is also a fashion icon, social rights advocate, and television personality, starring alongside her mother and grandmother on the family talk show Red Table Talk.

The daughter of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith, Willow, like older brothers Jaden and Trey, got her start in the entertainment industry as an actor. She first appeared alongside her father in I Am Legend (2007), which led to roles in Kit Kittredge: An American Girl (2008) and Madagascar 2: Escape to Africa (2008), as well as a couple appearances on the television program True Jackson, VP (as a younger version of star Keke Palmer). In 2010, Jay-Z's Roc Nation label signed Smith as a vocalist. Her first single, the bouncy "Whip My Hair," was released later that year and was in the Top 20 of Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart by the end of October. The single ultimately went double platinum, making ten-year-old Willow the youngest artist to achieve that feat. In 2011, she won Outstanding New Artist at the NAACP Image Awards.

Smith's debut album, Ardipithecus, arrived in 2015. Exploring different sounds and textures, the record was a stark departure from "Whip My Hair," unveiling a more alternative side to the songwriter -- somewhere between Lorde and Janelle Monáe -- who also produced ten of the album's 11 tracks. Her sophomore effort, The 1st, marked another shift in tone for Smith. Issued in 2017, the album focused on an organic, singer/songwriter style highlighted on tracks like "Boy" and "A Reason." Her eclectic third LP, Willow, appeared in July 2019 and was co-produced by Tyler Cole. Plaintive like The 1st, but with more production, the short set had a dreamy energy similar to Cocteau Twins and Mazzy Star and featured brother Jaden on "U Know." Her collaborative work with Cole was extended when the pair formed the Anxiety, recording a self-titled album that landed in March 2020. The lead single from The Anxiety, "Meet Me at Our Spot," became an international Top 40 radio hit the following year. To close out 2020, Smith teamed with British musician Jahnavi Harrison for the spiritually focused EP R I S E.

In 2021, Smith added pop-punk to her sonic resumé with the angst-packed single "Transparent Soul" featuring drummer Travis Barker. That track -- along with two other Barker features -- landed on her next album, Lately I Feel Everything, which was influenced by childhood favorites like Paramore and My Chemical Romance. Delving headlong into this fresh space, she also recruited additional guests Avril Lavigne, Tierra Whack, and Cherry Glazerr. The record peaked at number five on the Top Alternative Albums chart and cracked the Top 50 of the Billboard 200.

The next year, in addition to collaborations with PinkPantheress, Camila Cabello, and Yungblud, Willow continued her rock trajectory with her fifth set, COPINGMECHANISM, home to the metallic riffs of "<maybe> it's my fault" and the punky "hover like a GODDESS." In 2023 she issued an EP, Live at Electric Lady, which featured re-imagined versions of five songs from her previous album. More sophisticated, alt-pop-leaning stand-alone singles arrived with "Alone" and 2024's "Symptom of Life." Another single, "Big Feelings," preceded Willow's sixth album, May 2024's Empathogen. Featuring contributions from Jon Batiste and St. Vincent, the full-length expanded on her alternative pop-meets-jazz direction. ~ Neil Z. Yeung & Andy Kellman

Best known as the drummer for pop-punk mainstays blink-182, Travis Barker expanded his reach over the decades with bands such as the Suicide Machines, the Aquabats, Transplants, +44, Box Car Racer, Goldfinger, and more. The prolific producer/songwriter is also known for his collaborative output, contributing his crisp, athletic drum frenzies on multiple tracks with artists such as Yelawolf, $uicideboy$, Vic Mensa, 03 Greedo, XXXTentacion, and Lil Nas X. Across genres, his trademark sound also landed on songs from the worlds of electronic (Krewella, Steve Aoki, Datsik) and pop (Skylar Grey, P!nk, Avril Lavigne). In 2011, in the aftermath of a life-changing plane crash and painful recovery, Barker issued his solo debut, Give the Drummer Some, which featured over two-dozen guests and peaked in the Top Ten of the Billboard 200. Theroughout the 2010s, his output remained steadier than ever, balanced between his time with blink and numerous, cross-genre collaborations. Heading into the next decade, Barker created joint releases with artists like KennyHoopla, UnoTheActivist, and Jack Kays.

Born in 1975 in Fontana, California, Barker was encouraged to pursue his musical talents by his mother, who bought him his first drum set at the age of four. Throughout his youth, he dabbled with everything from trumpet and piano to singing and skateboarding, but he always returned to the drums. Before his mother passed away the day before he started high school, she urged him to continue drumming. Barker followed her advice and eventually worked his way onto the touring roster of ska-punks the Aquabats, who shared a number of tour dates with up-and-coming headliners blink-182. When blink's original drummer departed in 1998, Barker permanently joined the lineup, forming the core trio that delivered the mainstream breakthroughs Enema of the State (1999) and Take Off Your Pants and Jacket (2001), which sold over 35 million copies across the globe.

As relations within the band started to fray, Barker contributed to the first of two blink side projects, Tom DeLonge's experimental Box Car Racer (in 2005 he'd join Mark Hoppus in the band +44). Barker also pursued personal ventures, forming hybrid hip-hop/punk project the Transplants with Rancid's Tim Armstrong, and starring in an MTV reality show with his then-wife. After the 2003 release of blink's fifth self-titled set, the band went on hiatus and Barker was able to focus on his own endeavors.

Plunging headfirst into non-punk genres, he collaborated with the Black Eyed Peas, T.I., Johnny Cash, Outkast, the Game, Paul Wall, and countless others. He also teamed with friend DJ AM (born Adam Goldstein), forming the duo TRV$DJAM in the summer of 2008. Months later, the pair were on a private plane returning home when a tire burst and they veered off the runway. They were the sole survivors of the crash and Barker spent months in the hospital recovering from his injuries (Goldstein died a year later from an overdose). The traumatic event shook his life into focus and, as soon as he was physically able, he returned to his drums and got back to work.

His first order of business was a long-discussed solo effort. In 2011, that LP was finally unveiled. The star-studded debut, Give the Drummer Some, featured an impressive number of famous friends, including Lil Wayne, Pharrell Williams, RZA, Raekwon, Tom Morello, Snoop Dogg, Ludacris, Busta Rhymes, Kid Cudi, Tech N9ne, Cypress Hill, and Slipknot's Corey Taylor. Upon release, the set peaked within the Billboard Top Ten and even managed to land on both the R&B and Rap charts at number two. Months later, blink delivered the comeback effort Neighborhoods, their fourth straight Top Ten showing. Meanwhile, Barker maintained cross-genre collaborating, adding Britney Spears, the Glitch Mob, Wiz Khalifa, and Jeezy to his professional résumé. One particular guest spot with rapper Yelawolf bore additional fruit in 2012 with the rap-rock collaborative EP Psycho White.

As blink continued to work on their seventh album, Barker kept busy with artists such as Xzibit, LL Cool J, Run the Jewels, Krewella, and Skylar Grey. He also released a memoir Can I Say: Living Large, Cheating Death, and Drums, Drums, Drums. In 2016, with Alkaline Trio's Matt Skiba replacing DeLonge, the newly formed blink-182 issued their critically acclaimed California, which returned them to number one on the Billboard 200 for the first time in 15 years. Amidst a mainstream pop-punk revival and their status as respected scene veterans, blink toured California and rode the momentum back to the studio for a follow-up. Before that album arrived, Barker lent his talents to tracks with Lil Nas X ("F9mily [You & Me]"), Halsey and Yungblud ("11 Minutes"), and Machine Gun Kelly and Yungblud (the hit single "I Think I'm OKAY"). Several non-album songs arrived in 2020, including "Drums Drums Drums" with Wiz Khalifa and "Forever" featuring Run the Jewels. Originally slated for release the previous year, Might Not Make It, a collaborative project with UnoTheActivist, appeared in October 2020. Throughout 2021 Barker featured on his usual barrage of tracks including Willow Smith's "Transparent Soul," while churning out more collaborative projects like Survivors Guilt: The Mixtape with KennyHoopla and My Favorite Nightmares with Jack Kays. ~ Neil Z. Yeung