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
Nollywood star Charles Okocha and street-pop singer Portable are scheduled to face each other in a celebrity boxing rematch on Friday at the Balmoral Convention Centre, Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.
The contest, tagged “Unfinished Business,” follows their earlier bout, which Okocha claimed was unfairly decided in Portable’s favour.
The pair have intensified their rivalry in the build-up to the fight, exchanging words during several face-offs, including the final weigh-in held earlier this week.
After multiple face-offs, including the final weigh-in held this week, both fighters traded fresh words ahead of the contest, with tempers flaring on both sides.
“I will be going against Portable, and it is going to be chaos. I promise, kill or be killed in that fight. It is not by noise and posturing. We will see in the ring,” Okocha said.
He added that he had gone into training camp not solely because of Portable, saying, “I do not need to train to meet Portable, but I went to train to prepare for some fights ahead of me as well because Portable is removable.”
Portable, known for his theatrics, lived up to his reputation at the events, knocking over a table as he taunted Okocha and repeated the boasts he had made ahead of his previous bouts.
“You that I have beaten before, I will break your bones. Fight is coming,” Portable said, insisting he remained the better fighter and would prove it once again inside the ring.
The build-up to the fight, according to the organisers, has generated more than two billion video views and 4.2 billion digital impressions across previous editions of the franchise, helping to raise the profile of Nigerian boxing.
The promoter of the event, Dr Ezekiel Adamu, described the fight as unfinished business between the pair, noting that Okocha had activated his rematch clause after feeling he was previously denied a fair platform and that Portable had accepted the challenge.
Adamu said the card would also feature an influencer bout between Mr Real and Idowest, who have long disputed ownership of the term “Legbègbe” on social media, as well as a professional clash between Yusuf Adeniji and Rilwan Lawal.
Adeniji, who said he had spent more than three months in camp, warned Lawal to prepare for a difficult night, while Lawal dismissed the threat and insisted he would emerge victorious.
Adamu said EV Automobiles had committed two brand-new electric vehicles as winners’ prizes, one each for the Portable-Okocha and Mr Real-Idowest bouts, while Bet9ja had joined as one of the event’s headline sponsors alongside EV Automobiles.
Popular Nigerian content creators Habeeb Hamzat, popularly known as Peller, and Amadou Elizabeth Aminata, better known as Jarvis, have formally become husband and wife after exchanging vows at a court wedding.
Videos from the civil ceremony, which emerged online on Wednesday, captured the couple taking their vows and signing the marriage register in the presence of family members and close friends.
The ceremony marks another major step in the couple’s widely followed relationship and comes days before their white wedding, scheduled for August 1, 2026.
Peller and Jarvis had earlier announced the date of their white wedding through a cinematic video shared on their social media pages, generating excitement among fans and fellow entertainers.
The couple also recently unveiled their official pre-wedding photographs, describing the images as more than photographs but lasting memories created ahead of their big day.
“Our hearts are full, our smiles are real, and we’re counting down to forever. See you at the wedding,” they wrote in a joint Instagram post.
Before the court wedding, Peller completed the traditional marriage rites in Benin City, Edo State, where he met Jarvis’ family and paid her bride price.
The couple’s court wedding has since drawn congratulatory messages from fans and colleagues across social media.
Anambra-born pharmacist and actor, Chimsom Chuka, has emerged as the first Head of House in the 11th season of Big Brother Naija, earning immunity from eviction for the week in the show’s opening challenge.
Big Brother announced Chimsom as the winner after he recorded the fastest overall time in the inaugural Head of House task held on Monday, the first full day of the competition.
The challenge saw the male housemates compete against one another while the female contestants also battled separately before the best performers were compared to determine the winner.
Abi, a chef and model from Osun State who finished second overall, was named the Deputy Head of House.
Unlike previous editions of the reality show, the winner will not automatically occupy the luxurious Head of House loft this season.
Instead, Big Brother introduced a new twist, requiring Chimsom to pick a housemate through a lucky dip to enjoy the privilege.
After selecting from a yellow lucky dip box, Chimsom picked Tram, who was immediately granted access to the Head of House loft for the week. Tram subsequently chose Sheba to share the apartment with him.
Although he will not stay in the Head of House residence, Chimsom retains the major advantage of the position, immunity from this week’s eviction, alongside other leadership privileges and a special treat from Big Brother.
The development marks one of the biggest twists introduced in the newly launched season, separating immunity from occupancy of the exclusive Head of House quarters.
Before entering the house, the 27-year-old described himself as someone who remains calm under pressure and intended to stay authentic throughout the competition.
“The biggest strength I have is being myself,” he said in his pre-show introduction, adding that he hoped viewers would connect with his genuine personality rather than a manufactured game plan.
As of the time of filing this report, the housemates were still participating in the nomination process for possible eviction later in the week.
The 24 contestants are competing for the show’s grand prize of ₦160 million in the “Show Ya Sef” edition of the reality television programme.
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