Before joining the cast of VH1’s Love and Hip Hop in 2013, the Hamburg, Germany born and bred, Aminata “Amina” Schmahl, knew that music was in her blood at an early age. Her Motown loving mother and jazz loving father were just two of many who played an important part in her musically rich upbringing.
At the age of six, Amina joined a classical choir and soon started performing in musicals and toured with local pop acts and gospel groups.
At the age of 13, she began songwriting and signed her first record deal in 1997 with her older sister Sophie, and twin Safietou (known as “Jazz“), with BMG Germany. Soon they released their first single, under the name “Choyce”.
2002, proved to be the girls’ biggest move. After a few more tries with other labels and production teams in Germany and Europe, Amina and her sisters left Germany and headed to America. Along with the relocation, came a name change – Black Buddafly. After being discovered by producer/manager, Orrin Ennis, and scoring a record deal with Def Jam in 2005, the girls enjoyed a modest hit with danceable, yet provocative “Rock-a Bye“.
After a label switch, the departure of oldest sister Sophie and experiencing the challenges of the music business, Amina aspired to expand her skills of songwriting and composing to perfect her craft.
With a wide range of musical influences including Linda Perry, Carmen McRae, and Mariah Carey; Amina describes her sound as pure and realistic with truthful lyrics, enhanced with organic sounds and timeless harmonies.
A self-taught musician, she is in the process of mastering the piano and acoustic guitar, in addition to learning how to engineer and produce.
Released December 17, 2013, Amina’s EP, I AM, part 2, can be downloaded at
http://mp3truck.net/amina-buddafly-mp3-download.html
Her catchy song “Can U” is highly listenable and currently has over 1,442 views on YouTube.
Also, keep up with her future projects on her website, http://www.iamamina.com, on
YouTube, at http://www.youtube.com/abuddafly and on Twitter: @Aminabuddafly
~ Ashly Smith