Wicked Widom Lets Her 'Get Down And Dirty'

Jada Pinkett Smith in metal band

Wicked Wisdom lets her 'get down and dirty'

By STEVE TILLEY - Toronto Sun

It's not easy being a movie star who also plays in a rock band. Just ask Keanu Reeves.

So Jada Pinkett Smith did exactly that, when she decided to moonlight from acting and try the whole raunchy rock goddess thang, fronting a band called Wicked Wisdom.

Jada Koren, (Jada Pinkett Smith)

"Keanu really helped me get an understanding of what I was doing, and what was going on," the actress turned metal queen said of her Matrix movies co-star, who plays bass in the not exactly acclaimed rock act Dogstar.

Raunchy? Metal? Yes, we're talking about that Jada Pinkett Smith. Married to some dude named Will, starred in Collateral and Ali and The Nutty Professor, looks like she'd weigh about 100 pounds soaking wet.

But when the guitar-and-drum-heavy band takes the stage at the Phoenix on Monday, opening for Atlanta groove-metal meisters Sevendust, the 5-foot-nothing Pinkett Smith will growl about darkness and death and breaking some mother-you-know-what-er's neck. Um, is this the same nice lady who voiced Gloria the hippo in Madagascar?

"It gives me an opportunity to express that other side of myself," Pinkett Smith said in a phone interview from Florida, where the band was playing a string of small club dates this week.

"I can give you the cute red-carpet flair, but there's also another side of me that likes to get down and dirty. That's the side I prefer, actually."

Many a Hollywood star has dabbled in the music game, but for every J.Lo there's a Russell Crowe, a Bruce Willis or a -- no offence to your pal, Jada -- Keanu Reeves.

"He was the first person to tell me, 'Jada, this is going to be rough. People already see you one way, and it's going to be very difficult to break that. Just know now you're going to be up for a lot of criticism.' "

Here's the thing, though. Her band Wicked Wisdom isn't bad, not bad at all. Pinkett Smith has the pipes and the presence, and the talented group is anchored by drummer and original Fishbone founding member Philip "Fish" Fisher.

Philip "Fish" Fisher

"It's not a hobby for her, I'm not a hobby musician," Fisher said. "It's not about the Hollywood actress at all. What would a Hollywood actress be doing playing such underground music?"

Good question, actually. Wicked Wisdom cycled through sounds and lineups for nearly four years before arriving at the raw but melodious flavour of metal they're playing today. Veterans of last summer's Ozzfest tour (after Sharon Osbourne extended a personal invitation to perform), they're poised to release their first CD next month.

But where does Will Smith figure in this equation? According to some gossip mags, the Fresh Prince is scaling back on movie work so his princess can be a rock star.

Or not. "He's not scaling back jack!" Pinkett Smith said. "There are all these little tabloids all over the place talking about how Will Smith is putting his career on hold so his wife can pursue her music career."

Pinkett Smith says her husband is just taking a short break while getting a couple of other projects off the ground. But he also makes time to visit his wife while she's on tour, in part to check out the band, and in part to make sure nobody's checking her out. "If you leave your wife on the road for too long -- well, hey!" she said. "He keeps an eye on me and makes sure I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing."

For more info on Jada Koren Pinkett Smith, visit www.thejadapages.com