Chloe: I feel very fortunate because we’re given this incredible platform with Beyoncé and [her label] Parkwood, but we’re still able to use our voices and tell the story that we want to tell and create the music we want to create. Beyoncé has always encouraged us to trust our intuition. I’m so grateful because some artists are not able to do that, but we are and it means the world to us.
The longer I’ve lived with the album title, the less it reads like a personal affirmation and more a public declaration: It’s not that the kids will be alright, they already are. We’re seeing that now with the Parkland teens mobilizing to fight for policy change. I think adults sometimes worry they’ve failed your generation. Is that what inspired the album?
Chloe: That means so much to us that you took that from this record. That’s exactly what it’s about. My sister and I always try to look at the bright side of things, no matter how crazy the world gets. Adults might think they’ve failed us, but they didn’t. They just prepared us to be even stronger. We’re gonna be alright. I’m so proud to be part of this generation because we’re not afraid to raise our voices, be heard, and say what’s right and wrong. This album is about learning to trust ourselves and our voices.
There’s a line on this album — “that fake woke hashtagging” — that reminded me of a conversation I had with Willow Smith. Your generation, especially its celebrity faces (the Willows, the Yara Shahidis, the Rowan Blanchards), have been branded with wokeness. Is the term starting to lose its meaning for you all?
Halle: Most young people are already “woke,” or whatever that word is supposed to mean — maybe it’s not being afraid to speak out. It’s telling our truth that we care about.
Chloe: “Woke” is less about the word and more about the actions you put behind it. Whether it’s speaking your mind through your art or getting with another group of kids to start change. I’m just happy because kids aren’t just hashtagging, they’re actually doing things. March for Our Lives puts words into action. It’s an exciting thing to see how [the word] may have ignited this fire within us.
To read the interview in its entirety, click here.
