Somi

Somi Kakoma is a singer-songwriter whose work is anchored in jazz that she delivers with a soulful style that stylistically brings to mind artists like Cassandra Wilson. On the other hand, being born to parents from Rwanda and Uganda, growing up in the US and Zambia, she is also an artist who draws a great deal of inspiration from East and West African musical traditions. The time she spent in Lagos, Nigeria around her 2014 album The Lagos Music Salon added further to the rich musical texture of her work, embracing various African and Latin beats, with occasional highlife and a fair amount of R&B. Her 2022 album Zenzile picks a number of songs from legendary South African singer Miriam Makeba's catalog and gives them a jazzier feel and a contemporary nudge.