Somi Releases Second Single ‘Sometimes Love’ (Feat The Cavemen.) From Upcoming Album

Today, GRAMMY-nominated East African born vocalist-songwriter Somi released Sometimes Love (feat. The Cavemen.) from her upcoming album What Does It Take to Bloom?, out 7 August via Salon Africana. Joined by critically-acclaimed Nigerian sibling duo The Cavemen., the single is a groove-heavy love song that transports listeners to the intoxicating heat of Lagos where the song was recorded. When asked about the inspiration behind the single, Somi said “This song is about keeping an open heart and the possibility of finding love – in all its forms – at any moment in our journey.”

The album, co-produced by The Cavemen.’s Benjamin James, takes a contemporary approach to heritage centered sound, weaving global sensibilities into an intimate meditation on uncertainty and change — asking whether growth is something we recognize as it’s happening, or once we’ve already been transformed.

Sometimes Love follows the release of the album’s lead single “We’re All Falling,” one of the project’s most affecting songs, that confronts mortality with striking clarity. Written during a season of personal loss, the song reflects on the fragility of life, calling for listeners to give themselves the grace to heal and live in the moment.

For Somi, every album is an act of place-making. Her catalog reads like a map of migration and memory – traversing the cultural bridge between Africa and America with records rooted in Nigeria, in Harlem, in the spirit and political inheritance of Miriam Makeba. On Somi’s forthcoming album, the terrain shifts. Written and recorded between Dakar, Lagos, Paris and New York City, this time the place being mapped is not a city, country, or collective memory. It’s the self.

Having spent years navigating the global jazz scene while also standing adjacent to it, Somi defies categorization – embracing a hybrid of jazz, soul, highlife, spoken word, and her African heritage. What Does It Take to Bloom? marks an evolution of Somi’s sound, and finds her taking greater vocal risks while trusting her instincts more deeply. Abandoning the need to fit inside any artistic box, that refusal in itself is a form of blooming.

Ultimately, the album is grounded in finding belonging – recognizing that the journey towards wholeness is rarely linear and always unfinished. From the many experiences in life beyond our control to the embodied realities of womanhood, Somi explores the many facets of self-discovery that make her bloom. She hopes listeners will find themselves within the music; and if not, she offers the chance to witness her coming home to herself.

Experience the rich, soulful magical sounds of Sometimes Love — a track for every season of the heart. Available now on all major streaming platforms.

For all the latest updates on the album release, follow Somi on social media. Let’s spread love and healing, one song at a time.

Stream Sometimes Love (Feat. The Cavemen.) here. Pre-Save What Does It Take to Bloom? here.

About Somi
Vocalist, composer, actor, and playwright Somi Kakoma is the Midwestern daughter of immigrants from Uganda and Rwanda. Hailed by The New York Times as “a virtuosic performer in full command of her instrument and powers,” she is known in the international jazz world simply as “Somi.” Her 2021 GRAMMY nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album made her the first African woman nominated in any of the GRAMMY Award’s jazz categories. Her last album, Zenzile: The Reimagination of Miriam Makeba, was a companion project to the critically acclaimed original musical Dreaming Zenzile that Somi also wrote and starred in Off-Broadway as a tribute to the great South African singer and activist.

Somi is a recipient of two NAACP Image Awards and a Doris Duke Artist Award. She is also a Soros Equality Fellow, United States Artist Fellow, TED Senior Fellow, Sundance Theatre Fellow, and the founder of Salon Africana – a boutique cultural agency and record label. Last season, Somi made her Broadway debut in the titular role and original production of the Tony Award-winning play Jaja’s African Hair Braiding. Most recently, she was commissioned to record her original song ‘Holy Room’ for Carrie Mae Weems’ permanent installation Cool Blue Wind at The Obama Presidential Center. Somi holds degrees in Cultural Anthropology and African Studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a Master’s degree in Performance Studies from Tisch School of the Arts at NYU, and a PhD in Critical Inquiry & Creative Practice from Harvard University.

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