Singer-songwriter Somi pays tribute to the iconic Makeba. Image: Supplied
The Re-imagination of Miriam Makeba will finally get to be heard by fans and supporters of the late icon.
The album, put together by singer-songwriter Somi, was originally supposed to be released in 2020.
“I’m grateful to finally share the music and to be in the world again as an artist in real ways, with real people. Being able to share my heart and sing songs of not only my story but of Mama Miriam too,” said the 40-year-old.
Somi was last in the country in December 2019. This concert event will take place at The State Theatre in Pretoria on Sunday March 27 and will feature prolific South African voices including Thandiswa Mazwai and Msaki, as well as Nduduzo Makhathini and Sipho Hotstix Mabuse.
Somi is looking forward to bringing this project home to South Africa on the heels of a triumphant album celebration at the legendary Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York City where she featured five-time Grammy winning jazz vocalist Dianne Reeves as well as Thandiswa Mazwai and Msaki.
The fifth studio record from the East African singer-songwriter honours the late South African singer-songwriter and civil rights activist Makeba; and its March 4 release date marked what would have been Makeba’s 90th birthday.
In recognition of Makeba’s resonance throughout Africa and the diaspora, Somi invited several special guests to perform on Zenzile: The Reimagination of Miriam Makeba including from South Africa: Grammy-winning male vocal group, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, singer-songwriter Msaki, vocalist and activist Thandiswa Mazwai, and jazz pianist-composer Nduduzo Makhathini. In addition to Gregory Porter, additional guests include Nigerian singer-musician Seun Kuti (Fela Kuti’s youngest son), and GRAMMY® Award-winning singer-songwriter and activist Angelique Kidjo.
“I’m grateful to be able to celebrate her birthday, this release and the celebration of black voices in these spaces.”
In terms of reception, Somi hopes South Africans will understand the intention behind the album and hear her heart through the care she has placed in the music and in the framing of Miriam Makeba’s story.
“Perhaps it will inspire people to revisit her repertoire in new ways. I think she is such an icon and so loved that I am not coming to shift that view. South Africans love her fiercely and I understand that deep connection to her voice - how she used it on behalf of the people and the Struggle. I don’t take that lightly at all,” said Somi.
The album, released on the artist’s Salon Africana label, features Somi’s renditions of some of Makeba’s best known songs—both Makeba’s own compositions and covers.
“Hopefully people will hear how her voice has inspired my own voice and located itself in all these other parts of the continent and the world.”
Somi’s lifelong love of Makeba’s music and personal strength led to a record that she hopes will inspire a celebratory reflection on Makeba’s life and work.
“This album is my attempt to honour the unapologetic voice of an African woman who inevitably made room for my own journey and countless other African artists. In short, I owe her. We all do.”
The new album is a companion piece to the larger cultural memory work of Somi's original play, Dreaming Zenzile, which is based on the life of Miriam Makeba and will open Off-Broadway in New York City in June 2022.
Somi is deeply thankful to The Miriam Makeba Estate, The Miriam Makeba Foundation, and Mama Africa Cultural & Social Trust for their support and permission to create this work.
mkmotumi@gmail.com
