Willow Smith, perhaps cognizant of the mega-saturation of fun youth-pop in the exact vein of her three extant tracks (2010’s “Whip My Hair†and 2011’s “21st Century Girl†and Nicki Minaj-featuring “Fireballâ€), has entered 2012 with a major changeup. Sporting a video shot on the High Line and in Washington Square Park, “I Am Me†is an intense motivational ballad about being a little wacky and loving it (“I’m me, I’m freaky free-eee[?] and that’s all I can beâ€). Willow — that 11-year-old, sticklike, YOLO-endorsing representative of the Will/Jada/Jaden Smith fam — shreds both a Willow-sized keyboard and a Willow-sized skateboard, all the while appearing extraordinarily Will Smith-ish, perhaps owing to the fact she totally borrowed one of the Fresh Prince’s shirts from the eighties. Great voice on this kid, though. Still no word on when the album (on Jay-Z’s Roc Nation) will drop, but in the meantime, enjoy: A bunch of non-pop-star, age-appropriate dancing and vibing at 2:21; a silly face combined with a truly belted note at 2:48; more vintage Big Willie tribute-paying slo-mo at 2:53. Basically the second minute of this video kills it.
