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Willow Smith Felt “Shunned” By Black Community For Being Different

The Smiths may be famous, but they’re an unconventional family. Will Smith has gone from Philly’s Fresh Prince to one of the most celebrated actors in the world, Jada Pinkett Smith leads her own alternative rock band, and while eldest son Trey keeps a pretty low profile, Jaden and Willow have developed their own eclectic creative styles that have shaped them as alternative pop artists. On the latest episode of Red Table Talk, Willow Smith spoke about how she felt ostracized by the Black community for not fitting into a certain mold.

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“Specifically with the African American community, I felt like me and Jaden were shunned a little bit,” said Willow. “Like, ‘We’re not going to take pride in them because they’re too different, they’re too weird.’… Even some of our family members, I would feel they thought we’re too different.” Her grandmother, Adrienne Banfield-Jones, agreed with Willow. “We do have a way within the community that we expect our kids to be raised, like how you behave, how you carry yourself.”

Jada added, “But there are different ways that can be successful.” Elsewhere in the episode, the ladies discussed Black stereotypes and why there seems to be certain criteria that people follow to prove that they’re “Black enough.” Do you think that someone needs to fit a specific “type” to be broadly accepted by the Black community? Check out a clip from the show below.

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Kyle Ashen’s sun-drenched recollection with new release “That Local Girl”

Kyle Ashen’s latest release, “That Local Girl,” is a gorgeous trip down memory lane, a country single that explores that golden glow of memory, like flipping through old photographs touched by salt air and summer sunlight. It’s warm, cinematic, and deeply relatable, a song about the kind of love story that never quite goes away, even as time moves on.

“That Local Girl” is filled with imagery that quickly takes the listener into a world they can walk right into. You got a blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl on a boardwalk street by the ocean, a souped-up truck driving through town, neon lights reflecting off the ocean breeze, and the electric innocence of young love burning in the background.

But under all that cutesy trapping is something more than that, longing. Some people, some places that leave permanent marks on Kyle Ashen and us know that. What’s so brilliant about this song is that it marries those two ideas, making love and hometown memory feel beautifully inseparable. Sometimes you miss a person. And with that person, you miss an entire version of life. “That Local Girl” is more than a country love song from Kyle Ashen. He is a living postcard from the past, sun-faded, bittersweet, and glowing with feeling. A reminder that summers pass by, but some memories stay with us forever.

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ECHOFLIP inspires faith and fire with triumphant anthem on “Kingdom Rise”

ECHOFLIP marches forward with commanding purpose on “Kingdom Rise,” a single that not only demands attention but also commands it. Driven by pounding drums, soaring melodic textures, and full-conviction lyricism, the song arrives like a battle cry with the heart of worship. Bold and energized and spiritually charged from beginning to end.

“Kingdom Rise” is street realism meets kingdom vision at its heart. It’s got grit in its pulse but grace in its message as well. Each bar rings with resilience with ECHOFLIP, a record that embodies struggle, perseverance, and steadfast faith in the face of adversity. The result is music that is rooted in reality while reaching for something much larger.

What makes the single particularly compelling is how seamlessly it combines high-energy Christian trap with uplifting spiritual themes. The hard-hitting production has edge and urgency, and its faith-centered focus gives it soul. It’s motivational without being pushy. Worshipful without momentum loss, without losing authenticity. Ideal for trap gospel, inspirational rap, and urban playlists that aim to uplift as much as energize, “Kingdom Rise” delivers on all fronts. It moves the body, it sharpens the mind, it stirs the soul.

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