Laura Kabasomi Kakoma (born on June 6, 1981), known professionally as Somi or Somi Kakoma, is a Grammy-nominated American-born singer, songwriter, playwright, and actor of

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

n and

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

n descent. Somi is the first African woman to b
nominated for a Grammy Award in a Jazz category
She is also the first Rwandan or Ugandan to ever be nominated for a Grammy. She is also the first East African actor to perform on Broadway.

Early life and education

Somi was born in

Champaign, Illinois Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Illinois, tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in ...

, while her father was completing post-doctoral studies at the

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. Established in 1867, it is the f ...

. When Somi was three years old, her family moved to Ndola, Zambia, while her father worked for the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

. In the late 1980s when her father became a professor at the University of Illinois, they returned to Champaign, where Somi attended both University Laboratory High School and Champaign Central High School. She earned her undergraduate degrees in

Anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

and African Studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. She also holds a Master's degree from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic, and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, as the School of the Arts at New York University, Tisch ...

in Performance Studies.

Career

In 2007, she licensed her independently recorded album ''Red Soil in My Eyes'' to the

Harmonia Mundi Harmonia Mundi is a record label that specializes in classical music, jazz, and world music (on the World Village label). It was founded in France in 1958 and is now a subsidiary of PIAS Entertainment Group, which is itself owned by Universal M ...

/World Village label for her first international distribution deal. The record received wide critical acclaim with the hit single "Ingele" that maintained a Top 10 position on U.S. World Music Charts for several months. In 2009, Somi signed with independent record label ObliqSound. Her label debut ''If the Rains Come First'' was released in North America on October 27, 2009, and subsequently debuted at no. 2 on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

''s World Music Chart and no. 21 on ''Billboard''s Heatseekers Chart. The album features South African trumpeter

Hugh Masekela Hugh Ramapolo Masekela (4 April 1939 – 23 January 2018) was a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, singer and composer who was described as "the father of South African jazz". Masekela was known for his jazz compositions and f ...

, Somi's long-time mentor, as a guest on one track. In March 2011, Somi recorded her first live concert album at the legendary Jazz Standard in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. It was released on

Palmetto Records Palmetto Records is an independent American jazz record company and label in New York City founded in 1990 by guitarist Matt Balitsaris. Issues began with those by Balitsaris, then Greg Hatza in 1993. Since then, its catalog has included albums ...

in August 2011. In 2013, Somi signed her first major label deal with

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

to become one of the first artists on their relaunched historic jazz imprint

Okeh Records OKeh Records () is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. The name originally was spelled "OkeH" from the init ...

. Her album and major label debut ''The Lagos Music Salon'', which features Grammy-winning special guests

Angelique Kidjo Angelique or Angélique may refer to: * Angélique (given name), a French feminine name Arts and entertainment Music * Angélique (instrument), a string instrument of the lute family * ''Angélique'', a 1927 opéra bouffe by Jacques Ibert * A ...

and

Common Common may refer to: As an Irish surname, it is anglicised from Irish Gaelic surname Ó Comáin. Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Com ...

and debuted at #1 on US Jazz Charts, was inspired by an 18-month sabbatical she took in Lagos, Nigeria. On the heels of much critical acclaim and a rapidly growing fan base, ''

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...

'' and other publications dubbed Somi "the new

Nina Simone Nina Simone ( ; born Eunice Kathleen Waymon; February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003) was an American singer, pianist, songwriter, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, and po ...

". In March 2017, she released ''Petite Afrique'' as her second album on Okeh Records. The album, which won a 2018

NAACP Image Award The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. The over 40 ...

for Outstanding Jazz Album, is a song cycle about the large West African immigrant community in Harlem, New York City in the face of rapid gentrification. It features special guest

Aloe Blacc Egbert Nathaniel Dawkins III (born January 7, 1979), known professionally as Aloe Blacc (), is an American singer and rapper. He is known for his guest performance on Avicii's 2013 single "Wake Me Up (Avicii song), Wake Me Up", which peaked on ...

. In July 2020, Somi released 'Holy Room - Live at Alte Oper' on her own label Salon Africana. The live album, which also features Frankfurt Radio Big Band, was nominated for a 2021

Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album The Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality works (songs or albums) in the vocal jazz ...

and won the 2021

for Outstanding Jazz Album, Vocal. Somi’s first original play, ''Dreaming Zenzile'', is a musical based on the life of

Miriam Makeba Zenzile Miriam Makeba ( , ; 4 March 1932 – 9 November 2008), nicknamed Mama Africa, was a South African singer, songwriter, actress, and civil rights activist. Associated with musical genres including African popular music, Afropop, ja ...

. In the 2021-2022 season, the play premiered at The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton,

ArtsEmerson ArtsEmerson is a non-profit, professional theater and film presenting and producing organization in Boston, Massachusetts. Based on an idea from Emerson College President Jackie Liebergott and founded in 2010 by theatrical producer Robert Orcha ...

in Boston, and Off-Broadway at

New York Theatre Workshop __NOTOC__ New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) is an Off-Broadway theater noted for its productions of new works. Located at 79 East 4th Street between Second Avenue and Bowery in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, it h ...

. Somi released a tribute album dedicated to Makeba, ''Zenzile: The Reimagination of Miriam Makeba'' (2022). The album release concert took place at The

Apollo Theater The Apollo Theater (formerly the Hurtig & Seamon's New Theatre; also Apollo Theatre or 125th Street Apollo Theatre) is a multi-use Theater (structure), theater at 253 125th Street (Manhattan), West 125th Street in the Harlem neighborhood of U ...

and was the first live event in the historic theater following the 2020 global pandemic shut down. As a writer and actor, Somi also uses her last name and goes by Somi Kakoma. Somi is a 2023 recipient of

Doris Duke Performing Artist Award The Doris Duke Artist Award is undertaken by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and designed to "empower, invest in and celebrate artists by offering multi-year, unrestricted funding as a response to financial and funding challenges both unique t ...

, TED Senior Fellow, a

United States Artists United States Artists (USA) is a national arts funding organization based in Chicago. USA is dedicated to supporting living artists and cultural practitioners across the United States by granting unrestricted awards. Mission The organization' ...

Fellow, a Soros Equality Fellow, and a

Sundance A Sun Dance is a Native American ceremony. Sun dance or Sundance may also refer to: Places ;Canada * Sundance, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * Sundance, Manitoba, a ghost town ;United States * Sundance, New Mexico, a census-designated pl ...

Theatre Fellow. In 2023, Somi made her Broadway acting debut in the title role of ‘Jaja’ in JAJA’S AFRICAN HAIRBRAIDING.

Personal life

Somi currently lives in New York City.

Discography

* ''Eternal Motive'' (2003) * ''Red Soil in My Eyes'' (2007) * ''If the Rain Comes First'' (2009) * ''Somi: Live at Jazz Standard'' (2011) * ''The Lagos Music Salon'' (2014) * ''Petite Afrique'' (2017) * ''Holy Room - Live at Alter Oper with Frankfurt Radio Big Band'' (2020) *''Zenzile: The Reimagination of Miriam Makeba'' (2022)

References

External links