Jaden Smith recently opened up about his current emotional struggles as he released his latest EP, "2024: A Case Study of the Long Term Effects of Young Love."
The new project, which debuted on October 18, 2024, marks his first major musical release in four years. The four-track EP explores the emotional aftermath of young love, diving deep into the themes of heartache, and the impact of relationships on his mental state.
In an interview with 'Complex,' published on the same day as his EP's release, Smith shared how his breakup with singer Sab Zada left him feeling emotionally drained.
Their separation became widely discussed, especially after photos of Smith vacationing with model Khleopatre in Ibiza emerged, igniting rumors of infidelity. Khleopatre allegedly attacked Sab Zada — according to Smith's ex — in a physical altercation.
Zada later shared details of the incident on social media, revealing that Khleopatre scratched her during the fight. The breakup and resulting drama have only fueled the narrative that Smith is a "serial cheater," a label that fans have been quick to assign him, further complicating the release of his latest EP.
Smith explained his new EP "is really a snapshot of my mental state currently, when it comes to trying to be a human and relate with people in the digital age that we live in. The mental landscapes of people are changing and the psychology of people is changing. And this is a mental snapshot of me right now where I am in my life."
Read more: Jaden Smith Gets Trashed After Bizarre Interview Saying He's 'Sad': 'We Enable These Rich Kids'
The elder son of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith added: "I want to offer that snapshot to the people that want to listen to it, and to the people who are going through stuff and need a distraction. Honestly, I just wanted to make it because I'm sad. I'm sad right now. And it's my sadness that connects me with my community and my fans. I know there's sad people all over the place and if they feel like they're connecting with the project, or with me, or with what I'm going through—or with the song or the melody or the lyric—that's what it's for. That's what it's about. I want everybody to listen to it, but it really was made for a specific group of people."
Jaden Smith is sad.
— Complex Music (@ComplexMusic) October 18, 2024
So he dropped a new project called ‘2024: A Case Study of the Long Term Effects of Young Love’
He hopes psychologists will study it one day pic.twitter.com/x8LZB1Zc9o
"Because I went through a lot of my life trying to be normal. It was a really big deal for me for a long time that people thought that I was normal. And that bothered me after a while. I started to feel like people didn't really understand me or see me, and I wasn't really trying to show anybody that," 'The Karate Kid' star said. "Sometimes it's so frustrating to watch people try to follow the "normal" thing to do when that's not what they really want to do in their art and everything. It's very frustrating. And then you see people fall into it and generations of people fall into it. So I actively try to be myself."
Reactions to Smith's vulnerability have been mixed online.
While some fans have shown support, empathizing with his emotional journey, others have been more critical. One social media user harshly commented, "Gaslighting 101: He's a serial cheater." Meanwhile, others defended Smith, viewing his work as an honest reflection of his personal growth.
"I like to bring a different perspective into hip-hop, and into music in general, where it's like, 'Yeah, I'm crying. I'm sad.' Everybody's always on the upper hand, but what about the other person that's on the other side of that? Every rap song is about being on the upper hand, like, 'Oh, I got all this stuff.' And it's like, 'What about the person that you got that from?' That's me," the 26-year-old said. "I'm the other person."
-- Originally published in Enstarz.
