Spectacular Smith

Last updated
Spectacular Smith
Spectacular Smith event.jpg
Born
Spectacular Blue Smith

(1986-09-07) September 7, 1986 (age 37)
Miami, Florida, U.S.
Occupations
Years active1997–present
Television Love & Hip Hop: Miami
Children2
Musical career
Genres Hip hop, R&B
Instrument(s)Vocals
Labels

Spectacular Blue Smith (born September 7, 1986), known by his stage name Spectacular, is an American rapper, entertainer, keynote speaker, entrepreneur, television personality, author, and philanthropist. He is the Chairman and CEO of Adwizar Inc. [1] and founder of the record label Mula Music Group. [2]

Contents

In 2018, Black Enterprise described Smith as "five most influential celebs that cross-pollinate between music and tech," estimating that his net worth was $65 million. [3]

Career

Smith started performing with his brother in a hip hop group called Pretty Ricky [4] at the age of 11. His father, Joseph "Blue" Smith, of Jamaican descent, [5] was the owner of the indie label [6] and managed the group. Smith contributed musically and also choreographed the group's stage performances. After signing with Atlantic Records, the band went on the Scream IV tour, they promoted songs such as "Grind With Me" [7] and "Your Body". [8] [9]

In addition to being a recording artist, Smith is also an entrepreneur. Intrigued by the business possibilities of social media, he experimented with Pretty Ricky's Facebook page, testing out theories behind social networks for a full year until he found a system for gaining and monetizing followers. [10] He then turned those ideas into Adwizar, a company that manages and monetizes social media accounts. [11] The company manages social media pages of artists such as Bow Wow, Kevin Gates, Soulja Boy, Master P, Birdman, and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. [12] [13] [14] Smith has also claimed that he is the owner of the social media brand Grumpy Cat, which he claims is valued at 100 million dollars. [15]

On February 14, 2017, Smith released his first book, titled Spectacular Love: How to Make Good Love Last, published by Bluestar Books. [16]

In 2018, several online publications reported that Smith was enrolled at Harvard Business School, after Smith posted a photo of himself wearing a Harvard University hoodie, while sitting in a classroom. However, no further details have been provided about Smith’s specific enrollment, including whether he completed all requirements to obtain a degree. [17]

2020

On December 7, 2020, Smith allegedly fake-sneezed and said "Coronavirus," resulting in an argument between him and a Disney employee. Smith responded physically. [18] According to an arrest affidavit from the Orange County Sheriff's Office, Smith accidentally punched the Disney employee while falling. [19] [18] [20] Smith later responded that "There's 2 sides to every story." [21]

Honors and awards

Discography

Singles

Filmography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Master P</span> American rapper and record executive

Percy Robert Miller Sr., better known by his stage name Master P, is an American rapper, record producer, record executive, actor and entrepreneur. He founded the record label No Limit Records in 1991, which was relaunched into the spin-off labels New No Limit Records and No Limit Forever Records. Miller gained fame in the mid-1990s as the lead member and founder of the label's hip hop group TRU, as well as his fifth solo album Ice Cream Man (1996) and its namesake lead single. His 1997 single, "Make 'Em Say Uhh!" received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chamillionaire</span> American rapper (born 1979)

Hakeem Temidayo Seriki, better known by his stage name Chamillionaire, is an American rapper. He began his career with locally-tailored releases in the early 2000s, and signed with Houston's Paid in Full Entertainment to release the collaborative album, Get Ya Mind Correct (2002) with labelmate and hometown native Paul Wall. He signed with Universal Records in 2005 and released his debut studio album, The Sound of Revenge in November of that year to commercial success. It was supported by the singles "Ridin'" —which peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100 and won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group—and "Turn It Up". His second album, Ultimate Victory (2007) was met with continued success; it became notable for its lack of profanity and lead single "Hip Hop Police" —as well as its accompanying music video. His pop rap 2009 single, "Good Morning" peaked within the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 was intended to lead his third album Venom, which was ultimately never released.

Pretty Ricky is an American R&B/hip hop group originating from Miami, Florida. The group originally consisted of brothers Diamond Smith and Spectacular Smith, plus Corey Mathis and Marcus Cooper. Pleasure P was the group's main singer, while the other three members performed as rappers. After he departed in 2007 to embark on a solo career, the group shuffled through several replacement vocalists.

Kevin P. Ryan is an American investor and entrepreneur who has founded several New York–based businesses, including Gilt Groupe, Business Insider and MongoDB. Ryan helped grow DoubleClick from 1996 to 2005, first as president and later as CEO. Ryan continues to found and invest in companies through AlleyCorp, a venture capital firm he founded with Dwight Merriman in 2008. He holds a B.A. from Yale University and an M.B.A. from INSEAD.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Pittman (media executive)</span> American businessman

Robert Warren Pittman is an American businessman. Pittman was the CEO of MTV Networks and the cofounder and programmer who led the team that created MTV, and is the cofounder of iHeartMedia and Casa Dragones Tequila. Pittman joined iHeartMedia's predecessor company Clear Channel in November 2010 as an investor and the company's Chairman of Media and Entertainment Platforms, was named CEO in 2011 and chairman in 2013. Pittman led Clear Channel's transformation into iHeartMedia, Inc. in September 2014 to reflect its new multiplatform business and expanded mission. Pittman has also been the former chairman and CEO of Clear Channel Outdoor, CEO of AOL Networks, Six Flags Theme Parks, Quantum Media, Century 21 Real Estate and Time Warner Enterprises, and COO of America Online, Inc. and AOL Time Warner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Infillion</span> American digital advertising company

Infillion, formerly known as Gimbal | true[X], TrueX, Inc. and SocialVibe, is an American digital advertising company founded in 2007 by Joe Marchese, Brandon Mills and David Levy. The company is headquartered in Los Angeles and New York City. It was previously owned by 21st Century Fox, from 2014 until Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox in 2019, and The Walt Disney Company from 2019 until 2020.

Julie L. Wainwright is an e-commerce entrepreneur. She is the founder and the former CEO of The RealReal, an online marketplace for authenticated luxury consignment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guy Primus</span> American entrepreneur and inventor (born 1969)

Guy Primus, is an American entrepreneur and inventor. He is chief executive officer of Valence Enterprises, and is a member of the Board of Trustees of Southern California Public Radio. He is also the chairman emeritus of the School of Industrial and Systems Engineering advisory board at Georgia Tech. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he grew up in a middle-class neighborhood. After graduating from Penn Hills High School, he attended Georgia Tech, earning a BS in Industrial Engineering in 1992 and an MS in Industrial Engineering in 1995. He graduated from Harvard Business School in 2000. He is also a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.

Tania Karen de Jong is an Australian soprano, social entrepreneur, businesswoman, motivational speaker, and event producer. She is the Founder of Creative Innovation Global, Creative Universe, Creativity Australia, Dimension5, Music Theatre Australia, Pot-Pourri, and The Song Room, and co-founder of Mind Medicine Australia. De Jong was named as one of the "100 Most Influential People in Psychedelics" globally by Psychedelic Invest in 2021.

Angela Benton is an American businesswoman. Benton founded NewME (acquired), the first startup accelerator for minorities globally in 2011. She is a pioneer of diversity and one of the most important African-Americans in the technology industry. She has helped minority-led tech companies raise over $47 million in venture capital funding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kathryn Minshew</span> American businesswoman

Kathryn Minshew is an American entrepreneur, the CEO and co-founder of The Muse, a career-development platform.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Pleasants</span>

John Fendall Pleasants is an American entrepreneur and business executive who has led a number of digital media and technology companies over the last two decades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert F. Smith (investor)</span> American businessman and philanthropist (born 1962)

Robert Frederick Smith is an American billionaire businessman and philanthropist. He is the founder, chairman, and CEO of private equity firm Vista Equity Partners. He graduated from Cornell University with a chemical engineering degree and from Columbia Business School with an MBA, before working as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs. In 2019, while delivering the commencement speech at Morehouse College, Smith pledged to pay off the entire $34 million of student loan debt of all of the members of the 2019 graduating class.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Derrius Quarles</span> Social entrepreneur and human rights activist

Derrius Quarles is a social entrepreneur, human rights activist, recording artist, product designer, and author. Born on the South Side of Chicago in 1990, he is the Co-Founder and former Chief Executive Officer of BREAUX Capital, an award-winning financial technology company serving Black Men and Million Dollar Scholar, an education social enterprise as well as the Founder of DQ and Partners.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morgan DeBaun</span> American entrepreneur and corporate advisor

Morgan DeBaun is an African American serial entrepreneur and corporate advisor. She is the Founder and CEO of Blavity Inc., the leading digital media company for Black culture and millennials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avid Larizadeh Duggan</span>

Avid Larizadeh-Duggan OBE is an Iranian-French-American entrepreneur and venture capitalist. She is a managing director at Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Innovation Platform, EMEA and is a non executive director of Barclays Bank UK.

<i>Love & Hip Hop: Miami</i> American music media franchise

Love & Hip Hop: Miami is the fourth installment of the Love & Hip Hop reality television franchise. It premiered on January 1, 2018, on VH1 and chronicles the lives of several people in the Miami area involved with hip hop music. The show features appearances from notable figures associated with Southern hip hop, as well as Latin music and reggaeton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Everette Taylor</span> American entrepreneur and public speaker

Everette Taylor is an American business executive. He has been the CEO of Kickstarter since September 2022, and was CMO of Artsy, and founder of ET Enterprises which includes the marketing firm MiliSense, social media software company PopSocial, ArtX and GrowthHackers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dawn Dickson</span> American businesswoman

Dawn Dickson, also known as Dawn Dickson Akpoghene, is an American businesswoman, inventor, author, and investor. She is the founder of retail technology company PopCom and women's shoe company Flat Out of Heels.

References

  1. ↑ "Pretty Ricky singer goes from broke to making millions by tweeting". Rolling Out. 27 December 2017. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  2. ↑ "EIN 47-3359648 - Mula Music Group Inc, Fort Lauderdale, Florida". eintaxid.com. Retrieved 2022-10-28.
  3. ↑ "Black History Month: The top 5 Most Influential Entrepreneurs at the Intersection of Music and Tech". Black Enterprise. 19 February 2018. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  4. ↑ "Here's How Spectacular Smith Went From Pretty Ricky to Dead Broke to Raking in Millions on Social Media". VH1. Archived from the original on May 24, 2022. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  5. ↑ "Boys to Men - Pretty Ricky". Vibe Magazine. Google Books: Vibe Media Group. 1 October 2008. p. 108. Retrieved 10 February 2020. Born to a Jamaican mother, Smith's father died...
  6. ↑ Carter, Brooke (12 March 2017). "What Happened to Pretty Ricky 2017 - What They're Doing Now". Gazette Review.
  7. ↑ "Pretty Ricky Reunited for Final Album and Tour". The Boombox. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  8. ↑ "Pretty Ricky, Shins Grab Top Album Chart Spots". Billboard.
  9. ↑ "Don't Miss These 4 Shows - By jschiewe - May 18, 2017 - SF Weekly". SF Weekly. 18 May 2017.
  10. ↑ "R&B To ROI: Meet The Man Helping Celebrities Go Viral". Inc.
  11. ↑ "Interview: Pretty Ricky's Spectacular Smith Makes Money Moves with Adwizar". Black Enterprise. 2017-09-20. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
  12. ↑ "Pretty Ricky's Spectacular Shares His Bedroom Tips, and Talks About His New Album 'Sex God'". The Boombox.
  13. ↑ Setaro, Shawn. "Spectacular Smith Uses Social Media To Make Big Bucks With Adwizar". Forbes.com.
  14. ↑ "He Used to Sing in a Boy Band. Now He's Making Millions by Tweeting (a Lot)". Inc.com. 16 August 2017. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  15. ↑ Abraham, Maya. "Pretty Ricky's Spectacular Was Behind This $100 Million Deal, And Fans Are Floored". BET.
  16. ↑ "Pretty Ricky's Spectacular Shares His Bedroom Tips, and Talks About His New Album 'Sex God'". The Boom Box.
  17. ↑ "Pretty Ricky's Spectacular Smith is Enrolled at Harvard Business School". The Grio.
  18. 1 2 "Spectacular Blue Smith Arrested for Allegedly Assaulting Disney World Worker After Joking About COVID-19". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
  19. ↑ Rice, Katie. "Hip-hop artist and entrepreneur Spectacular Smith arrested for hitting Disney worker: report". orlandosentinel.com. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
  20. ↑ "Spectacular Blue Smith Busted in COVID dispute for Allegedly Assaulting Disney World Staff". TMZ. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
  21. ↑ "Pretty Ricky's Spectacular Smith arrested at Disney World after alleged altercation with worker". USA Today . Dec 2, 2020.
  22. ↑ "Innovator Of The Year". vibe.com. 8 January 2019.
  23. ↑ "Black History Month: The 5 Most Influential Entrepreneurs at the Intersection of Music and Tech". Black Enterprise. 19 February 2018. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  24. ↑ "The 10 Most Inspiring Business Leaders". mirrorreview.com. 16 November 2018.
  25. ↑ "Greatest and Most Inspiring Entrepreneur". reader.magzter.com.
  26. ↑ "10 Marketing Gurus To Watch In 2018". Huffingtonpost.com. 16 November 2017.
  27. ↑ Hill, Selena (2020-06-08). "14 Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders From Black Twitter". Black Enterprise. Retrieved 2020-11-16.
  28. ↑ Roxanna, Carmen (22 May 2019). "Spectacular Smith's Company 'Adwizar' Named The Best Privately Owned Company In America On The Entrepreneur 360 List". Baller Alert.
  29. ↑ Grant, Jasmine. "Class Is In Session For This Member of Pretty Ricky, Who is Officially a Harvard Student". vh1.com.
  30. ↑ "Spectacular Handles His Family Business". vh1.com. Archived from the original on January 9, 2019.
  31. ↑ "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 8.19.2019". vh1.com. Archived from the original on 2019-08-20.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.