History
The JazzmynePR agency brings a uniquely personal, yet substantive approach to the vast world of public relations. Specializing in publicity, media relations, management consulting, social media, media development, and crisis control, the firm has been recognized nationally for its successfully impactive media campaigns.
With a background covering the entertainment, educational, corporate and non-profit arenas, Jazzmyne Public Relations tailors the approach to the client’s needs. Our customized efforts insure concrete results. Our vast experience in all areas of communications enables us to combine old-school PR strategies with new-school techniques to maximize visibility over all media platforms.
For over three decades, the principals at the JazzmynePR agency have represented a host of high-profile individuals and campaigns, dating all the way back to the early careers of comedians, Jamie Foxx, Mo’Nique and J. Anthony Brown; actor, Dorien Wilson, musician, The Tonight Show’s Kevin Eubanks, athletes, Wayman Tisdale and Nick Van Excel, and civil rights legend, Dr. Joseph Lowery. Past classic and time honored events have included the Soul Train Awards, SCLC Convention, Black Radio Exclusive Conference, the Annual Pan African Film Festival and the Daughters of the Dust Film Project. Thirty consistent years of varied media campaigns roots the agency as experts in the field.
For a more comprehensive client list, past and present, click here.
It’s been said that “Image Is Everything.” Well, Image is our thing. We put your best face forward to the media and therefore the world at large. We take pride in the fact that when we represent you, we are representing ourselves.
Public Relations Professionals
Publicist
Makeda Smith
Hundreds of clients have benefited from the magic touch of Jazzmyne Public Relations in the past three decades. A-list celebrities, athletes, authors, filmmakers, music producers, rappers, special events and businesses alike have received not only expert publicity service, management and consulting but a caring ear and kind heart from agency head, Makeda Smith. Now celebrating over 30 years in business, Makeda is still proudly and diligently pushing forward.
Makeda’s personalized approach to the vast and hectic world of entertainment public relations has proven not only successful but also solid. A boutique operation, Jazzmyne has consistently boasted a client base that competes with the majors. Past celebrity accounts have included Kevin Eubanks, Jamie Foxx, Nick Van Excel, Mo’Nique, Dorien Wilson, and J. Anthony Brown to name a few.
“I remember when I launched my agency. The naysayers informed me that a home-based business would never be perceived as legitimate. Well not only have I been home-based for the past 30 years, but now, home-based operations are the current trend. They also told me I would not survive serving a Black clientele and urban base. Today I’m perceived as an expert in the urban arena.”
It was 1988 when Gwendolyn “Makeda” Smith resigned her position as Associate Director of West Coast Publicity at Hervey & Company, a public relations firm headed by industry veteran, Ramon Hervey. With no savings or financial backing, it was a single press release that launched her firm, Jazzmyne Public Relations, named for her oldest daughter.
“My biggest surprise has been the emails and phone calls I’ve been blessed to receive throughout the years from the women I have inspired. As a Black, single mother of two, I started out as a welfare mom. My motivation and success has unwittingly inspired so many women, and that just truly overwhelms me sometimes. You never know who is watching, whose heart you are touching. Always carry yourself like God/Goddess is watching, and the rest will eventually fall into place,” she advises.
Specializing in publicity, branding, consulting and management, Jazzmyne Public Relations can be found on the web at www.jazzmynepr.com
Education
• Bachelors in Public Relations, Boston University, 1982
• Master in Communication Management, USC, 1985
Edrea Davis with JazzmynePR client, Vivica A. Fox
Publicist
Edrea Davis
Over the past three decades communications strategist, producer and author, Edrea Davis, has been busy. She mastered the art of integrating all forms of media to communicate compelling, action-oriented messages to the public.
Davis started out as an intern at First Class PR working on campaigns for Cameo and The SOS Band. Since then, she has produced radio and TV commercials, music videos, and coordinated publicity campaigns for a host of notable clients including: late civil rights leader, Dr. Joseph E. Lowery; actor/singer/comedian, Jamie Foxx; actor/producer, Vivica A. Fox; and the BronzeLens Film Festival.
For nearly two decades consulting The National Coalition on Black Civic Participation she helped brand the organization’s signature programs – Black Women’s Roundtable and Black Youth Vote. She also directed all communications for their Unity Voter Empowerment Campaign, a coalition of over 150 civic and nonprofit organizations working together to increase voter participation in hard-to-reach communities. The massive initiative was credited with registering over one million voters and having a major impact on the election of President Barack Obama. To educate and mobilize voters, she wrote and produced over 30 commercials featuring celebrities including Angela Bassett, LisaRaye McCoy and popular radio personalities.
Serving as executive producer for Bruce Dorn Films, a commercial production company based in Hollywood, Davis was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the company; managed commercial budgets ranging from $300 thousand to $1.5 million; and coordinated with leading advertising agencies like Leo Burnett, DMB&B, and Chiat Day. Commercials included, McDonald’s “Break In a Hurry,” Paramount Pictures/Hallmark, “Star Trek,” and Clio Award winning RE/MAX “Castle,” shot on location in Fiji, Egypt, Italy, and Canada.
Davis was credited as associate producer on the 2018 award-winning short film, “Let My People Vote,” directed by Gilda Ann Brasch and producer of 2019 short film “Post No Bills.” Over the years she has worked on music videos for hip-hop artists like Travis Porter, Snoop Dogg, and the late Tupac Shakur. She also coordinated media for "Breaking Out," a film featuring over 30 hip-hop stars re-enacting the journey from the mainland to Alcatraz Island Federal Penitentiary.
On the international front, armed with a laptop in one hand and a digital recorder in the other, Davis transmitted audio reports from the United Nations Climate Conference in The Netherlands to black radio stations across America. She coordinated a press conference for the US Delegation to the UN World Conference on Racism (which included the Congressional Black Caucus) in Durban, South Africa, resulting in front page articles in Africa, Europe, and the USA. Her distinguished work enabled her to travel to Switzerland, Copenhagen, Senegal, Egypt, and Ghana, among other places.
The North Jersey native is the author of social justice novel, "SnitchCraft," was educated at Georgia State University, and studied production at UCLA Extension.
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