Willow ‘Empathogen’ album cover
The economic success of an album is not necessarily a measure of its quality. A modest commercial return does not diminish the overall value of a project. These principles have defined the trajectory of Willow Smith’s career in recent years.
While her debut project ARDIPITHECUS achieved unparalleled success for the singer, it merely set the stage for what was to come. Empathogen is Willow’s most recent and most misunderstood work. It stands out for its the creativity, daring, innovation and for versatility —proof that artistic integrity and evolution often come at the cost of mass appeal.
Empathogen: Willow’s Golden Age Has Just Begun
In 2024, after a two-year hiatus since her last full-length project, Willow Smith returns to the scene with her latest and most impressive project: Empathogen. The album distances itself from all her previous work, with a difference not only in its sound, but also in the intentions behind its creation and design.
Standing out in the music industry
The intention behind Empathogen is to create something new, unexpected and surprising —standing in stark contrast to the repetitive four-chord formulas that dominate contemporary music. In this oversaturated market, where music is often immediate and repetitive, and therefore predictable, Willow Smith took a completely different direction from her peers, crafting a project that feels truly unique. Each song on Empathogen offers something special and distinctive — not only compared the rest of the record, but in the music industry as a whole. Yet, the album succeeds in creating a cohesive and circular flow, balancing innovation and consistency.
Empathogen is a bold attempt at making genuine and profound art that transcends commercial boundaries and schemes. LA artist never misses an opportunity to dare, taking risks with her voice, the rhythm, and the album’s musical structure.
“Caught a vibe“: experimenting with jazz, R&B and pop
Throughout the album, Willow experiments with song tempos, even embracing the rarely used 7/4 time signature that mainstream music has largely avoided for over a decade. Yet, despite its complexity, everything flows naturally – light, symphonic and cohesive. The album gracefully balances conceptual and structured music, while embracing pop influences, making it both approachable and sophisticated. With Empathogen, Willow manages to create a project that inspires musical experts and professionals, while also capturing the curiosity of those who never had the chance to explore such jazz-experimental style.
Take for example the lead single, “Symptoms of Life.” Despite its incredible diversity and experimental nature, the song proposes lines and vocal choices that incorporate and pay homage to R&B, seamlessly blending tradition with innovation.
Tomorrow Sparks From Yesterday
Empathogen is an album that magnificently welcomes, celebrates and performs these ideals. Supported by an entourage of jazz professionals, Willow could explore her “bizarre,” extravagant and adventurous ideas, creating her own mystical and unexpected musical universe. The result is a masterpiece that is anything but simple, immediate and predictable. Against the regurgitation of mainstream bubblegum pop—designed for the masses and consumed by the masses—, Empathogen stands as a testament to patience, intricacy and the joy of discovering meticulous details and unexpected angles.
Empathogen is the music revival made to dare, experiment, discover new angles. The album represents the prioritization of art over commercial predictability, reclaiming the art of music itself as the absolute end through pure expression of creativity. Thanks to Willow Smith’s success and inherited fame, the project could soon become the solid and stable foundation for the future of mainstream music.
Musical and Personal Renaissance
The LA-based musician is now at her best, emotionally and mentally. For Willow, Empathogen is the result of a healing process. In November of last year, the singer opened up in an interview for Rolling Stone. “During that time, emotionally, I was going through so much. There was so much anger; there was so much resentment; there was so much need to just express myself. And those two albums [‘lately I feel EVERYTHING‘ and ‘THE ANXIETY‘] helped me get it out. For Coping Mechanism I was almost never sober in the studio. And for this new album, I was sober for every single recording session.“
