Entertainment
Meet Mamie Smith, the first African American singer who gained instant fame but died broke
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Mamie Smith, on record as the first Black female singer, released a record titled “Crazy Blues” in 1920, making her the first to record and release a Blues song. This kicked down a previously locked door for Black female artists and their fans that kept them out of mainstream music.
The record became a smash hit in Black communities across the country, revolutionizing the blues genre and opening the doors of popular music to Black female artists.
More importantly, the success of “Crazy Blues” proved to the music industry that Black women could make hit records, and that there was a thriving market for Black, popular music.
Born in Cincinnati in 1891, she began her career in show business as a dancer with the Four Dancing Mitchells. By 1910, Smith was touring the Midwest and East Coast with the Smart Set Company, a Black minstrel troupe. She married singer William “Smitty” Smith in 1912. The couple moved to New York, where she began working as a cabaret dancer, pianist, and singer. Her first major break came in 1918 when she appeared in Perry Bradford’s musical “Made in Harlem.”
Bradford had long dreamed of having Black singers record blues tunes for a mass market, but it was a tough sell for recording studios at the time. Eventually, Otto Heinemann, the president of fledgling OKeh Records, decided to take Bradford up on his idea, but Frederick Hager, the company’s recording manager, wanted Sophie Tucker, a white singer, to record the songs. Because Tucker signed with another label, Bradford convinced Hager to take a chance on Smith.
According to music critic Daphne Brooks, Smith, her fans, and the rallying behind the blues artists that followed her breakout success, helped pave the way for the fan armies that continue to surround Black women artists more than a century later, such as Beyonce’s “BeyHive” or Nicki Minaj’s “Barbz.”
“Mamie Smith almost singlehandedly jump-started the popularity of blues music in American culture,” says music journalist and author, Jas Obrecht, who profiled Smith for Living Blues magazine in 2019. “I would argue everybody who loves music and performs blues music, whether they know it or not, they owe a debt of appreciation to Mamie Smith.”
Smith’s popularity shot through the roof following “Crazy Blues,” which netted her about $100,000 in royalties, a fortune at the time. Her stage appearances, characterized by her signature glam style of shimmering gowns, plumes and diamond tiaras, raked in up to $1,500 a week. She later appeared in films, like the 1929 theatrical short “Jail House Blues” and 1939’s “Paradise in Harlem. But the success didn’t last, reports say.
By the time of her death in 1946, Smith was reportedly penniless, without even a tombstone to mark her grave in Staten Island, New York. But what the singer lacked in material wealth, she made up for in cultural influence, setting the precedent for Black female artists to become pop music divas.
According to Brooks, Smith’s legacy has ironically been overshadowed by the Black female recording artists who came after her, even though it was Smith who kicked off the classic blues women’s era of the 1920s.
Source: face2faceafrica.com
Veteran Nollywood actor, dramatist, filmmaker, and scholar, Dr Kola Oyewo, has died at the age of 80.
Announcing his passing on Instagram on Friday, actor Kunle Afod wrote: “Kola Oyewo has taken his final bow.
“His remarkable talent, timeless performances, and immense contributions to the Nigerian theatre and film industry will never be forgotten.
His legacy will continue to inspire generations to come. “Rest well, sir. Your work lives on. “🕊️ It’s a wrap.”
The veteran actor, born on March 27, 1946, in Oba-Ile, Osun State, Oyewo began his acting career in 1964 with the Oyin Adejobi Theatre Group.
He later became one of the most recognised figures in Yoruba theatre and Nigerian film.
He was widely known for his portrayal of Odewale in Ola Rotimi’s play, “The Gods Are Not to Blame,” a role that earned him recognition across the African theatre scene.
During a career that spanned more than six decades, Oyewo featured in several productions, including “Saworoide,” “Sango,” “Koseegbe,” “Super Story” and many Yoruba-language films that contributed to the growth of Nigeria’s movie industry.
Beyond acting, Oyewo was also an academic.
He earned a doctorate in Drama from the University of Ibadan and taught at Obafemi Awolowo University, Redeemer’s University and Elizade University.
Through his teaching and mentorship, he helped train and guide generations of actors, playwrights and scholars, leaving a lasting impact on Nigeria’s theatre, film and academic communities.
Ariana Grande has put the White House on blast for using her song “Bye” in a social media post promoting US immigration arrests, describing the video as “barbaric”.
The White House released the TikTok video on Tuesday, featuring US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arresting and handcuffing people.
The video used Grande’s song “Bye” as background audio and was captioned: “Bye-bye. President Trump has delivered the most secure border in history.”
On Thursday, Grande responded in the post’s comment section. “Please do not ever use my music in relation to this barbaric, inhumane, heinous nonsense. F*** ICE,” she wrote, according to Variety.
As of Friday morning, her comment was no longer visible on the post.
A source close to Grande confirmed to Reuters that her team was exploring how to remove the song from the video.
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement: “We’ll say this one last time: what’s actually barbaric, inhumane, and heinous are the criminal illegal aliens who have injured and murdered innocent American citizens.”
Entertainment
Popular Singer, Davido draws world attention to kidnapped Oyo schoolchildren at World Cup Concert
Popular Nigerian singer, David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, has drawn attention to the abduction of school children and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State during his performance at the FIFA World Cup Countdown Concert in Los Angeles on Wednesday night.
The ‘OBO’ crooner donned a custom-made jacket with the names of the 39 abducted children and their seven teachers pinned on it. On the back of the jacket, Davido also boldly wrote; “Bring Them Home.”
Davido performed his hit song ‘Fall’ and kept flaunting his jacket throughout the performance to draw attention to the abducted school children and teachers in captivity.
This is not the first time the singer has called for the release of the abductees. He has previously called on the relevant authorities to ensure the victims are rescued without further delays in a social media post.
He stated that the current insecurity must not be allowed to continue.
Meanwhile, Grammy-winning Nigerian singer Burna Boy is billed to perform at the FIFA World Cup Opening Ceremony in Mexico City alongside Shakira.
Burna Boy was featured in the official 2026 World Cup song ‘Dia Dia’ with Shakira. The duo are expected to perform the song at the opening ceremony.
Another Nigerian singer, Rema, will also perform at the US opening ceremony in Los Angeles along with Lisa and other international pop stars.
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