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

Nigerian actress and movie director Ini Edo has excitedly announced her engagement and wedding date, sending fans and colleagues into a frenzy.

Despite rumours about her relationship with actor Ik Ogbonna, Ini Edo, a mother of one, is preparing to marry for the second time.

She shared the details of her love story and upcoming wedding on her Instagram page.

The actress, known for her privacy, revealed that she got engaged during a vacation six months ago.

Just three months later, her partner proposed, marking a whirlwind romance.

Ini Edo expressed her happiness, declaring October 10, 2024, as the date for her fairytale wedding.

She described love as the best thing that has ever happened to her and encouraged others not to lose hope in finding it.

Her heartfelt post reads: “That bright Sunday morning six months ago while on vacation, we crossed paths and our lives never remained the same. Exactly three months later, you asked me to be with you forever. How did I get so lucky? They say your flaws are perfect for the heart that is meant to love you; I now believe this wholeheartedly.

“1 of 3 done. My fairytale wedding is almost here. To anyone who has given up on their happily ever after, love will find you, and when it does, ready or not, it’ll be the best thing that ever happened to you.”

Financial coach orders Davido’s personal driver to return the car gift to the singer, as he questions why Davido couldn’t open a business for him, instead of buying him a N25M car on an alleged N70K salary.

Some days ago, news made round that the famous singer bought his driver a brand new Lexus jeep which cost millions of naira.

He took to his Instagram page to appreciate his boss for his kindness and largesse.

However, a financial coach has opined that that was a misplaced priority. He opines that Davido should have opened a business for the driver rather than buy him a car.

He ordered the driver to return the car gift to the singer within 24 hours.