Afropop Worldwide

Born to immigrants from Rwanda and Uganda, acclaimed East African vocalist and songwriter Somi continues to depict the life and struggles of immigrants through her music. Somi draws her inspiration from the lively immigrant community of Harlem where she has lived for nine years. Somi moved from New York City to Lagos, Nigeria for 18 months in search of more inspiration that resulted in an album she calls The Lagos Music Salon, released in August 2014. It landed at number one on U.S. jazz charts and debuted at number two on the Billboard World Chart; the album features Common, Angelique Kidjo and Hugh Masekela. Somi’s new song cycle, Petite Afrique, is about sensitive subject matters: multinationalism, cultural diversity and gentrification. Here Somi shares the stories and struggles of Harlem’s large African immigrant community with the world. Artistically fusing African grooves with jazz and singing compassionately about social awareness and consciousness, the Huffington Post called Somi “the new Nina Simone,” and JazzTimes magazine described her live performance as “the earthy gutsiness of Nina Simone blended with the vocal beauty of Dianne Reeves.” Somi is a TED Senior Fellow, an Association of Performing Arts Presenters Fellow, and former Artist in Residence at UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance. Somi performs on Wed., March 29 at the Highline Ballroom in New York City at 8 p.m. Afropop is giving away two pairs of tickets to the concert. To win a pair of tickets to the show, send an email to info@afropop.org with “Somi” in the subject and your full name in the body of the message. Good luck! For more information about the concert check here