Urbaanite hosted another event installment for The Edit with four young leaders building community through creativity, culture, and connection. We caught up with Romello Smith, Artist Relations at the National Museum of African American Music. He is a young executive, lover of music and history, who has been an integral part of some of Nashville’s epic collaborations, from PJ Morton’s pop-up concert to the Fisk Jubilee Singers exhibition. Romello wants everyone to experience all Nashville has to offer and find community.
Romello Smith
What brought you to Nashville?
God brought me to Nashville after an in-depth conversation with my mother and dad in the middle of our living room, pertaining to the need for Gen Z executives in the cultural realm of media and music. After discovering the demand for African American cultural presence in emerging major cities, I was frustrated watching premier creatives bypass Nashville’s African American market. This inspired me to move back to Nashville to help catapult the cultural appeal and preservation that lives in Music City. Nashville has always had an authentic, powerful voice of African American people, and I wanted to help propel this voice into a modern-day renaissance.
What do you do or create in Nashville?
Connecting, nourishing, and building substantial relationships with recording artists, music-based companies, and record labels on behalf of the National Museum of African American Music is at the core of this work. These partnerships transform into unforgettable activations, artifacts, and conversations that celebrate, educate, and preserve the brilliance of our music. Collaboration extends across an extensive range of musical artists and foundations, from the Otis Redding Foundation to Quality Control, PJ Morton, TIG Records, and more. On a deeper level, this role cultivates and develops artists’ and creatives’ careers while leveraging NMAAM’s national reach to provide undeniable legitimacy and platforms for growth.
What inspires you?
Preserving and celebrating the stories of our favorite artists has always inspired me. I love innovating the music industry to reconnect people with the greatness of legacy artists. For example, I’m working with Rich Homie Quan’s estate on a project that highlights an innovative part of his life beyond his rap career. These stories inspire our people from every angle. I also enjoy connecting emerging creators to world-class brands within the Museum.
What excites me about the growth of Nashville is watching the expansion of the Black identity. African Americans do not function from just one dimension; there are layers to who we are, and Nashville is revealing that every day. If you enjoy neo-soul and chamomile tea, there’s a community for you. If you enjoy house music and MF DOOM, there’s a community for you as well. Nashville is constantly fighting to rebel against homogenizing stereotypes of Black people and the cultural experience. I look forward to watching Nashville’s conventional infrastructure partner with the ever-evolving creativity of Black people to send a unified and unforgettable message to the world.
Brunch, Lunch or Happy Hour? Brunch
Favorite Nashville spot? Dukos
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