Spectacular Smith
Spectacular Blue Smith (born September 7, 1986), known professionally as Spectacular, is an American rapper, entrepreneur, author, and motivational speaker best known as a founding member of the R&B and hip-hop group Pretty Ricky.[1] Raised in Miami, Florida, by a single mother in challenging circumstances, Smith began his entrepreneurial journey early by selling candy after school, generating $2,000 per week by age 11 to support his family.[2] His multifaceted career spans music, where he achieved commercial success with gold-certified albums, to business innovation in social media marketing, philanthropy aimed at economic empowerment in underserved communities, and authorship on relationship dynamics.[3][4] Smith's rise to prominence began in the mid-2000s with Pretty Ricky, a group formed with his brothers and cousins, signing with Atlantic Records and releasing hits like "Grind with Me" (2005), which peaked at number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100, and the gold-certified debut album Bluestars.[1] The group's provocative style and tracks such as "Your Body" and "On the Hotline" propelled them to national tours, including alongside artists like Omarion, but Smith faced personal setbacks, including homelessness at age 28 due to financial mismanagement in the music industry.[2] Transitioning to entrepreneurship, he founded Adwizar Inc. in 2014, a social media marketing firm that specializes in viral content strategies and helped create the Grumpy Cat brand, valued at over $100 million.[3] Under his leadership as CEO, Adwizar earned recognition as No. 262 on the 2017 Inc. 5000 list of America's fastest-growing private companies; in 2025, his Spectacular Academy was ranked No. 826 on the Inc. 5000 list.[3][5] Beyond business, Smith has authored the No. 1 bestselling book Spectacular Love: How to Make Good Love Last (2017), offering insights on sustaining relationships drawn from his experiences as a father of two sons.[4] His philanthropic efforts focus on wealth-building in the Black community through initiatives like the Spectacular Academy and a goal to mentor over 100 Black millionaires, earning accolades from outlets such as Inc. Magazine, Black Enterprise, and the Huffington Post.[2] As a keynote speaker based in Los Angeles, he addresses topics including entrepreneurship, marketing, technology, and personal finance, drawing on his journey from Section 8 housing to an estimated net worth of $65 million as of 2018.[4][2]Early life and education
Childhood in Miami
Spectacular Blue Smith was born on September 7, 1986, in Miami, Florida.[6] Raised in the Section 8 housing projects by his mother, a teenage single parent, Smith grew up alongside his three siblings in an environment marked by economic hardship and urban challenges.[2] The family navigated daily struggles to make ends meet while avoiding the violence prevalent in their neighborhood, fostering a resilient mindset from an early age.[2] During the 1990s, Miami's burgeoning hip-hop and R&B scenes, characterized by bass-heavy sounds and local artists emerging from similar communities, provided a cultural backdrop that immersed Smith in music from childhood.[7] This vibrant atmosphere, combined with his early involvement in dance starting in the third grade, ignited his passion for performance and artistic expression.[8] In the project communities and school settings, Smith observed the informal entrepreneurial activities and survival hustles of residents, such as street vending and resourcefulness amid scarcity, which introduced him to concepts of business ingenuity and self-reliance.[9] These formative observations in Miami shaped his foundational interests in both music and commerce, setting the stage for his future endeavors.Initial entrepreneurial activities
At the age of 11, while in sixth grade in Miami, Spectacular Smith began his first entrepreneurial venture by selling candy to classmates during school hours, motivated by his family's financial struggles and the desire to help his single mother support four children in Section 8 housing.[10] After noticing peers going hungry without access to vending machines or lunches, he purchased $40 worth of candy from a local grocery store and started distributing it from his bookbag between classes.[11] This initial foray quickly proved successful, as the candy sold out by the third period of the school day, highlighting the unmet demand in his environment.[11] To scale the operation, Smith innovatively recruited 10 classmates as a sales network, providing each with a $25 bag of candy to sell over the week while operating across the school's seven class periods.[11] He structured their compensation through negotiation, offering $20 per bag sold plus a $5 bonus for those who sold out three times weekly, which incentivized performance and turned the venture into a collaborative effort that also helped friends afford meals.[11] By age 11, this distribution model generated $1,500 to $2,000 in weekly revenue, exceeding his mother's income and enabling contributions to household expenses like rent, utilities, and bills.[11][10] Through these activities, Smith learned key lessons in inventory management by delegating sales to avoid personal bottlenecks, risk-taking by investing upfront capital and entrusting peers with stock, and negotiation by creating value-driven incentives that solved problems for others while building mutual support.[11][12] One notable anecdote from this period involved the rapid sell-outs that forced Smith to expand his team, demonstrating early resilience when initial solo efforts proved insufficient against high demand.[11] These experiences instilled a sense of grit and problem-solving, as he balanced school with business amid his father's 12-year imprisonment, fostering an understanding of creating opportunities from limited resources.[12] This foundation in sales and profit-making transitioned Smith's mindset toward recognizing untapped potential in entertainment and personal branding, influencing his later pursuit of financial independence through music with Pretty Ricky.[11][12]Music career
Formation and success with Pretty Ricky
Spectacular Blue Smith, born in 1986, began performing with his brother Diamond "Baby Blue" Smith in Miami, Florida, as part of the early incarnation of the R&B and hip-hop group Pretty Ricky around age 11 in 1997.[13] The group was formally assembled that year by the Smith brothers along with their cousin Corey "Slick 'Em" Mathis and family friend Marcus "Pleasure P" Cooper, initially under the management of their father, Joseph "Blue" Smith, through his independent label Bluestar Entertainment.[14] Drawing from Miami's vibrant hip-hop scene, Pretty Ricky developed a signature style blending rhythmic raps, smooth harmonies, and provocative lyrics, which laid the foundation for their rise in the emerging crunk&B subgenre—a fusion of high-energy crunk beats with sensual R&B elements.[15] By the early 2000s, the group's grassroots efforts, including leveraging Spectacular's entrepreneurial skills from childhood candy sales to promote their mixtapes and local shows, gained traction in the Southeast.[16] In 2004, Atlantic Records scouted and signed Pretty Ricky, providing major-label support for their professional debut.[17] Their first album, Bluestars, was released on May 24, 2005, featuring production from talents like Jim Jonsin and emphasizing the group's charismatic stage presence and flirtatious themes.[18] The lead single "Grind with Me" propelled their breakthrough, peaking at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2005 and earning platinum certification from the RIAA for over one million units sold.[19][20] Follow-up tracks like "Your Body" further solidified their appeal, contributing to Bluestars achieving gold status by the RIAA with sales exceeding 500,000 copies.[21] Pretty Ricky's success extended to extensive touring, including headline spots and festival appearances that showcased their energetic choreography and fan interaction, helping define crunk&B's playful yet explicit vibe in mid-2000s urban music.[22] Their multi-platinum singles and cultural resonance influenced a wave of R&B acts incorporating hip-hop swagger, marking them as key players in the genre's evolution.[23] Despite their momentum, internal tensions emerged by the late 2000s, including creative differences and personal pursuits, culminating in Pleasure P's departure in 2007 to launch a solo career.[14] These challenges, compounded by lineup shifts and label pressures, led the group to release a third album, Pretty Ricky, in November 2009 with new members, followed by a mixtape in 2011, before entering a hiatus around 2012.[24]Post-group endeavors and discography
Following the peak success of Pretty Ricky in the mid-2000s, Spectacular Smith pursued independent music projects, transitioning from the group's R&B-hip hop sound to more rap-oriented tracks infused with motivational and entrepreneurial themes drawn from his business experiences.[11] His solo endeavors emphasized personal branding and self-empowerment, reflecting his shift toward motivational content alongside music. In 2016, Smith released his debut solo mixtape Sex God on October 27, hosted by DJ Scream, marking his first major independent project outside the group.[25] The mixtape featured collaborations with artists like Tory Lanez, Rich Homie Quan, and Compton Menace, blending hip-hop with themes of confidence and relationships. A key single from the project, "She Don't Love U," was released earlier that year in April, showcasing Smith's rap delivery and production under his Mula Music Group label, though it achieved niche streaming success rather than mainstream chart placement.[26] Smith's post-2011 discography remains limited to independent releases, with no full-length solo albums charting on Billboard and focus shifting toward mixtapes and features that highlight his entrepreneurial mindset. Examples include occasional guest verses on tracks by emerging artists, but no major solo hits emerged, aligning with his prioritization of business ventures over extensive music output. As of November 2025, no additional solo albums or projects have been announced, though he continues contributing to Pretty Ricky, who have reunited multiple times for tours, including dates in 2024-2025 and a planned comeback as a trio excluding Slick 'Em due to addiction issues.[22][27]Discography
Mixtapes- Sex God (2016, Mula Music Group)[25]