How Kanye West Influenced One of Jaden Smith’s Albums
Jaden Smith mentioned Kanye West as one of the artists who contributed to one of his albums.
The son of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith has been working on music since he released his first album, The Cool Cafe, in 2012. Throughout the years, Smith has expressed his desire to create original sounds that kept him separate from his musical peers. However, Smith looked to several musicians who came before him when he developed future projects.
Jaden Smith said Kanye West was one of his musical inspirations for his 2017 album, ‘Syre’
Smith and West have been in the same social circles for multiple years. They both have strong ties to the Kardashian-Jenner family, as West is married to Kim Kardashian West. Smith is friends with Kylie Jenner, and fans romantically linked them together several times. The friendship between Smith and Jenner allowed the Karate Kid actor to attend West and Kardashian West’s wedding in Italy in 2014.
Not only did Smith connect with West personally, but West also influenced him professionally. In a November 2017 interview with Complex, Smith dished about his album, Syre. Smith said three artists specifically inspired the sound of his project.
“I think the noticeable influences are Frank Ocean, James Blake, Kanye,” Smith said. “There are a lot of people that you can feel in there. But for the most part, I’m really trying to create my own sound that’s never been heard. When I hear somebody else’s song and there’s different pieces in that song that I really like, my whole goal is to try to make a song where I love the whole thing, and this is my passion, this whole song has been perfectly made for me, you know?”
Jaden Smith’s fashion style is influenced by Kanye West’s
In addition to his creative sound, Smith’s fashion sense has been a hot topic throughout his career. The rapper’s decision to wear skirts in public made him an icon in the fashion world. Smith became the face of Louis Vuitton’s womenswear line in 2016 and became a fashion week pillar.
During a 2015 interview with GQ magazine, asked Smith about his eccentric style. Smith explained why he wore a Batman costume to West and Kardashian West’s wedding, and later to his prom. The actor also shared his fashion influences, and one of them happened to be West.
“My style icons are Batman, Robin, Nightwing, Superman, and Kanye West,” Smith said.
Jaden Smith says Kanye West no longer looks at him like a ‘little homie’
While Smith credits West for impacting his fashion and music style, their relationship took an adverse turn in 2018. During an interview with Complex, Smith said his friendships with rappers who came before him significantly changed as his career flourished. According to Smith, West grew distant, and no longer encouraged him once he deemed Smith a threat.
“I always felt like Little Homie before and that allowed me in all of their circles,” Smith said. “But now that I’m on the charts next to them, I’m not really Little Homie anymore. No, it’s more like, ‘You can’t hang out with us anymore. We didn’t know you were making an album this whole time. We thought you were just Little Homie giving us free water and shit. You’re not really cool with us anymore.’”
