Willow Smith Drops Surprise Debut Album, ‘ARDIPITHECUS’

Following the success of her first two singles "Whip My Hair" and "21st Century Girl" back in 2011, actress-singer Willow Smith announced she would release a debut album (reportedly titled Knees and Elbows) some time in 2012. That album never came, although she did go on to release a debut EP, 3, in November 2014.

But Willow Smith's long-awaited debut album unexpectedly dropped today (December 11). It's called ARDIPITHECUS, and it's now available on iTunes in the U.S. Smith has been plugging the date December 11 via Twitter for the past week, but no other information about the date's significance or the album was officially known or announced. Her most recent single, "Why Don't You Cry," serves as the album's closer.

Out of the album's 15 tracks, Smith is credited as sole songwriter on 14 of them and sole producer on 10. Other production credits go to her older brother AcE (Trey Smith) on three of the tracks and JABS on two.

Smith spoke with The FADER via email to discuss her album's title and the meaning behind it. She had this to say: "Ardipithecus Ramidus is the scientific name of the first hominid bones found on earth. 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 album also includes a track titled "F Q--C #8," the numerical progression from her previous non-album single "F Q--C #7." These tracks, as Smith explains, are two of "an ongoing list of F Q--C songs," all of which "were created through characters I have developed within my mind."

You can stream Willow's esoteric new album below.

See What These Celebs Looked Like in High School