On March 4, 2022, GRAMMY-nominated vocalist and songwriter Somi will release her new album, Zenzile: The Reimagination Of Miriam Makeba, a celebration of the late Makeba’s invaluable musical contributions and messages of social justice. The album, which will be released on the artist’s Salon Africana label, features Somi’s renditions of some of Makeba’s best-known songs—both Makeba’s own compositions and covers. This updated release date honors Makeba on what would have been her 90th birthday. On March 19, Somi will celebrate the release of this monumental album at the historic Apollo Theater.
Regarded as one of Africa’s first international superstars, Makeba (whose given name is ‘Zenzile’) elevated the spirit of a continent, including her native South Africa. Her courage, however, was met with three decades of political exile from her homeland followed by blacklisting in the United States after her marriage to civil rights activist Stokely Carmichael.
Somi’s lifelong love of Makeba’s music and personal strength led to a record that she hopes will inspire a rediscovery of Makeba’s life and work. Somi adds, “This album is my attempt to honor the unapologetic voice of an African woman who inevitably made room for my own journey and countless other African artists. In short, I owe her. We all do.”
In recognition of Makeba’s resonance throughout Africa and the diaspora, Somi invited a number of special guests to perform on the record. From South Africa, Grammy-winning male vocal group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, singer-songwriter Msaki, vocalist and activist Thandiswa Mazwai, and jazz pianist-composer Nduduzo Makhathini join Somi for the tribute. Guests also include GRAMMY-winning American jazz singer Gregory Porter, Nigerian singer-musician Seun Kuti (Fela Kuti’s youngest son), and GRAMMY-winning singer-songwriter and activist, Angelique Kidjo.
To further celebrate the work of Makeba, Somi stars in Dreaming Zenzile, her original musical theater production based on the life of Makeba under the direction of Obie-award winner Lileanna Blain-Cruz. On September 10, this electrifying portrait of Makeba kicked off the ‘21-’22 theater season at The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis (The Rep). The rolling world premiere production journeyed on to the McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton this month, running January 15 to February 13, and will go on to Arts Emerson in Boston (February 23-27), and then to an Off-Broadway run in New York City co-produced by the National Black Theatre, New York Theatre Workshop and Apollo Theater, all in partnership with Octopus Theatrical in late May. The soul-stirring production includes a live jazz band playing original music and reinterpretations of Makeba’s remarkable catalog while telling the story of her extraordinary life journey.
In addition to Somi’s upcoming album and theater production, 2021 brought the artist her first GRAMMY nomination. Holy Room: Live at the Alte Oper, recorded with the Frankfurt Radio Big Band, was nominated for Best Jazz Vocal Album. The album also won an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Jazz Vocal Album. Late last year, Spotify announced its partnership with Somi as the latest African singer to join its EQUAL Music Program. The EQUAL Music Program is a global initiative that Spotify has created to cultivate gender equality in music and support female creators under one brand. In celebration of the partnership and new music, Somi was featured on a billboard in Times Square. In addition, Somi was recently featured in “The Arts Interrupted,” an episode of PBS Great Performances that examined artistic challenges and potential for growth during the Covid shutdown.
MORE ABOUT SOMI
Somi Kakoma is a singer, songwriter, playwright, and actor of Rwandan and Ugandan descent. She has released seven acclaimed albums, scoring positions on the World Music, Jazz, and Heatseekers charts. Somi’s records have featured guests including Common, Angelique Kidjo, and renowned South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela, who became her longtime mentor. She has been widely honored as a Soros Equality Fellow, a TED Senior Fellow, a USA Doris Duke Fellow, a 2021 Grammy nominee, and a recipient of two NAACP Image Awards. She performed at Carnegie Hall alongside Hugh Masekela, Dave Matthews, and Vusi Mahlesela in celebration of South African democracy, and was invited by UN Secretary General to perform in commemoration of the International Day of Rememberance of the Victimes of Slavery. Somi is the founder of Salon Africana, a boutique arts agency and label for contemporary African musicians and writers. She holds undergraduate degrees in Anthropology and African Studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a master’s degree in Performance Studies from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, and is currently pursuing a doctorate in Creative Practice & Critical Inquiry at Harvard University. www.somimusic.com
