Willow and Travis Barker Talk Rock Revival and the Thrill of Shattering Expectations in Our Musicians on Musicians Podcast

This spring, Willow Smith released a song called “Transparent Soul,” which found her getting away from the pop- and R&B-influenced sound of her earlier work and diving headlong into punk rock. Willow had an important collaborator along for the ride: Travis Barker, someone who’s also reinvented himself over the years: from Blink-182 drummer to songwriter to producer and label owner. Most recently, he’s become a kind of pop-punk mentor for a younger generation, working with artists like Trippie Redd, Swae Lee, Jxdn, and Machine Gun Kelly. 

So it was a pretty natural fit when Barker and Willow sat down to interview each other one day in September. They share a lot of interests, in punk rock and skateboarding, as well as excitement over what they see as a rock revival in recent years. They got deep on everything from their songwriting processes to the advantages of a shaved head. Listen here. 

Rolling Stone’s Musicians on Musicians series brings together artists of all kinds — from Taylor Swift sitting down with Paul McCartney in London to Erykah Badu and Summer Walker going deep on love, songwriting, and UFOs. Here, the artists ask the questions, forging connections live and in person. You can find 10 of these conversations in the November issue of Rolling Stone.