A household name, around 100,000 albums sold and a tour supporting N-Sync in front of crowds upwards of 80,000 people. To fit all of this into an entire lifetime would be a phenomenal achievement, but the fact that Irish pop icon Samantha Mumba did it all before the age of 20 is nothing short of mind blowing.
What is even more amazing is that when you sit down and chat to her about it, she’s as nonchalant and cool as you or I would be about a previous job in a petrol station. The Dublin native recently sat down with The Human Collective Founder Conor Buckley, and covered everything from the best pubs in Ireland to meeting the queen, Club Mumba, and lovely jumpers!
You can watch the full conversation below, which is a collaboration between Guinness 0.0 and Human Collective to celebrate Black History Month. Celebrating people like Samantha who have played such an influential role in Irish art and culture while also promoting the fact that the sustainable urban wear brand donates €3 to selected charities for every jumper they sell, she said that the very fact Black History Month is celebrated in Ireland is a positive thing.
Speaking on the podcast, Samantha said, “When we were growing up or in school or history, we weren’t taught anything about how many black people were in Ireland through the centuries.
“I found out about one black Irish singer, Rachel Baptiste was her name, an incredible Irish singer who sang Irish songs and she was around in the 18th century and was quite famous. She would always wear a yellow dress I believe and would perform in amazing places around Ireland, around Europe she was famous for that.
“I would have loved to hear about her as a kid know about her but it's just kind of made me now want to start diving in a little deeper and kind of seeing what that means here
“Because there is a steep history you know: ‘no blacks no dogs no Irish.’”
Gotta Tell You
With a unique singing style and lasting impact on Irish pop culture, Samantha has an incredible number of stories to tell. From meeting the queen as a teenager (and deciding not to curtsy!) to exploring her Zambian heritage and spending a massive part of her life in Los Angeles, she said that at one point her Dublin home became known as a bit of a hotspot for party goers.
She said, ”I bought a house when I was 20 in Dublin, and so after my 21st birthday that was kind of a weird part. I was stuck in the label they wouldn't release me but they wouldn't release music so I was in Dublin at that time.
“That time, now definitely I didn't go off the rails, but my house became known as Club Mumba, like you'd be able to get in a taxi and say ‘I want to go to Club Mumba,’ and they know to bring you to my house because we' be partying a lot!
“That was so fun, but even looking back it was so innocent. It wasn't even intense it was just fun and me kind of getting to do what I hadn't gotten to do as a teenager with my friends.”
Despite living such an exciting life as a pop star, touring the world and meeting some of the biggest celebs on the planet, Samantha is still a self-confessed introvert. As she said herself, her career doesn’t define her, and being able to look back on her own experience means she can offer advice that will likely resonate with a lot of young people in Ireland.
“We’re literal souls in these little bodies, fulfilling whatever our sole contract is. Whatever you do as a career is such a minimal part of that, you know?
“I’ve achieved amazing things, but again I’m an introvert, like I don’t want to not be able to walk down the street with my daughter. I don’t want to not be able to do those things, that would be miserable!”
To find out more about the Human Collective and Guinness collaboration, or how you can take a stand against racism this Black History Month visit the resources below:
Featured Image Credit: Guinness 0.0Topics: Ireland
Shane Winckworth