{{Last week, internationally acclaimed soul-jazz vocalist and songwriter Somi signed to Sony Music\u2019s newly relaunched historic jazz imprint Okeh Records, making her the first East African artist to join the major label\u2019s roster.}} <\/p>\n
This news follows the ambitious singer\u2019s recent return from an 18-month creative sabbatical in Lagos, Nigeria. Originally from East Africa, Somi was raised in Illinois, USA and currently resides in New York City. <\/p>\n
Driven by her own curiosity and the fiery energy of the West African metropolis, Somi\u2019s first release on the major label will be an album she calls \u201cThe Lagos Music Salon\u201d \u2013 a collection of profound story-based songs inspired by her time in Nigeria. <\/p>\n
Sony will release the new album in early 2014 as the highly anticipated follow up to Somi\u2019s critically-acclaimed last studio album, If the Rain Comes First (ObliqSound, 2009) which featured her legendary music mentor Hugh Masekela as a special guest and which both debuted at #2 on the Billboard World Music charts and landed in the Top 20 Soul\/R&B albums on Amazon.com. <\/p>\n
Not only an accomplished musician and performer, Somi is an arts scholar and cultural activist who holds a Master\u2019s Degree in Performance Studies from New York University\u2019s Tisch School of the Arts and who has earned the distinction of being named a TED Global Fellow, an inaugural Association of Performing Arts Presenters Fellow, a recognized songwriter at the American Society of Composers and Publishers, and a recipient of numerous international arts grants. <\/p>\n
She is also the founder of New Africa Live, an award-winning non-profit organization committed to \u201ccarving out a cultural space of belonging for contemporary African artists through events that entertain, educate, and create awareness of the value of African culture in a globalized world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Somi\u2019s full name is Laura Kabasomi Kakoma. She is the daughter of the late Dr. Ibulaimu Kakoma and Mrs. Elizabeth Nyarubona Kakoma; Somi is half mnyarwanda, half mutooro. <\/p>\n
{{High praise for Somi:}}<\/p>\n
\u201cSuperb!\u201d \u2013 Vogue Magazine<\/p>\n
\u201cAll elegance and awe\u2026utterly captivating!\u201d \u2013 Billboard Magazine<\/p>\n
\u201c[Somi] glistens with the sheen of an almost impossibly perfect cosmopolitanism!\u201d \u2013 The Boston Globe<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the forefront of a new roster of African artists \u2026 effortlessly blends her global and sonic experiences.\u201d \u2013 Essence Magazine<\/p>\n
\u201cProdigious musical chops employed in the service of some savvy songwriting. [Somi] unites the familiar with the exotic… A potent brew from the first sip to the last drop!\u201d\u2013 NPR All Things Considered<\/p>\n
\u201cA world music luminary!\u201d – The New Yorker<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the most promising voices of emerging African artists.\u201d
\n\u2013 New York Daily News <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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