Willow Smith took a page right out of Beyoncé’s book by dropping her album at the end of 2015, the way Queen Bey did towards the end of 2013.
The daughter of Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith had been teasing her followers on Twitter that something would be happening on Dec. 11. It turns out it is the day she decided to drop her debut album Ardipithecus; minus all the press and fanfare.
“Ardipithecus Ramidus is the scientific name of the first hominid bones found on earth," Smith told The Fader. "I wanted to name my musical compilation after it because, while I was making these songs I was in such a transitional state. Digging deep in the soil of my heart and finding bits and pieces of my ancient self that tell stories, which end up being the lyrics to the songs. Ardipithecus is my first album in my entire career and it makes me feel so blessed to be able to share my evolution with the LightEaters as I continue excavating my inner worlds…”
The 15-year-old wrote and produced all the tracks on the surprise-released album and only collaborated with her older sibling Trey and her friend JABS.
You can check out some of the audio below.