Willow Smith Announces Debut Album Release Date

Hey, Willow Smith fans! The wait is almost over for the hair-whipping hip-hopper’s debut — and for a new music video!

Smith video-chatted with BET’s ’106th & Park,’ where she announced her ‘Fireball’ video will debut next week. The clip, featuring Grammy nominee Nicki Minaj, began filming last month.  Meanwhile, Smith’s debut album will hit shelves on April 3, 2012.

To tide fans over until the ‘Fireball’ video debuts, Smith performed the blazing single on ‘X Factor.’ Last week, the tiny bombshell also released a cute cover of Frank Ocean’s ‘Thinking About You’ last week, following in big brother Jaden — and Justin Bieber‘s — footsteps.

Rap-Up reports that the album will come from Roc Nation. While Smith scored a huge hit with ‘Whip My Hair,’ its two follow up singles, ‘Fireball‘ and ’21st Century Girl’ didn’t blow up as well on the charts. Smith’s producer, Ronald “Jukebox” Jackson described the album as “very international” and multi-genre — and explains the wait.

“Willow is kind of a combination of what ‘Whip My Hair’ was,” Jackson said. “Willow just isn’t a pop star, she isn’t just an urban artist; she’s very international,” he explained. “A lot of her music has a very big influence of everything from rock to pop to hip-hop.”

So what’s the hold up? Smith’s youth! “I did like eight, nine songs on Willow, so right now, we’re in the process of just trying to close out the album,” Jackson said. “It’s just the whole process. You got to think about it: She’s a 10-year old girl. She’s gotta have a life, she’s gotta be a kid.”

Watch Willow Smith on ’106th & Park’