Jaden Smith was thrust into the spotlight from an early age. His parents, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, were two of the biggest Hollywood stars of their generation, so it was only natural that Jaden try his hand at stardom as well.
He proved himself adept in multiple mediums. He scored a box office hit by starring in a remake of The Karate Kid (2010), and a certified gold album with his debut release, Syre (2017). In the years since, however, Jaden Smith has been less visible. Fans are wondering why.
Jaden Smith has struggled with fame as an adult
Jaden Smith starred in The Karate Kid when he was only 12 years old. He quickly had to acclimate to the world of celebrity and popular culture, and the older he’s gotten, the more frank he’s been about how that affected his psyche.
Smith was especially open about the desire to pursue a more “normal life” during an interview with Dazed Digital. The actor and rapper admitted that normalcy is something he values more and more over the years:
I didn’t always get to hang out with normal people when I was young. So being older and being able to hang out with the big kids and play with normal people is fun.
Jaden Smith’s lack of commercial projects reflects this newfound emphasis on his personal life. His last appearance in a blockbuster as After Earth (2013) and his last appearance in a film of any kind was the Kid Cudi documentary A Man Named Scott (2021).
Smith also made appearances in the Cudi animated series Intergalactic (2022) and The Eric Andre Show (2023), but one simply required voice acting and the other satirized the same celebrity status he’s tried to move away from.
Jaden Smith has experimented with psychedelics
Jaden Smith’s experimentation with psychedelics has shifted his perception on fame and life. He went on his mom’s Red Table Talk series in 2021 and revealed that he experienced ego dissolution from taking mushrooms. “That was the moment that really changed me,” he explained. “I feel like psychedelics are a way to tear down that wall and see what’s beyond it.”
In the same interview, Smith admitted that he suffered from depression in the years leading up to his ego dissolution. While he asserted that the psychedelic experience helped him cope with some of his feelings, he recently stated that his depression has informed his upcoming musical project.
Jaden Smith is gearing up for the release of 2024: A Case Study of the Long Term Effects of Young Love on October 18. The EP will mark his first new music since 2020, and he admitted to Spin that he was inspired to record due to intense feelings of sadness.
I made this project because I’m sad, thank you for listening. Also make sure your sunset cactus don’t hover away it’s that season.
Despite Jaden Smith’s struggles, he remains achingly sincere and emotionally upfront with his fans. Here’s hoping the new album hits hard.