Petite Afrique, the new album from superb jazz chanteuse Somi, is a song
cycle inspired by the vibrant African immigrant community that has
become a vital part of Harlem s cultural dimension and to New York City
as a whole. The historic uptown neighborhood fondly boasts of West 116th
Street as "Little Africa," where passersby can find any number of
African immigrant shops selling a vast array of products and food. Over
the last decade, gentrification has crept deeper into Harlem, pushing
the African immigrants out. With Petite Afrique, Somi ensures that the
stories and struggles of New York City's largest African community do
not disappear without having ever been told. The songs on the album are
based on Somi's conversations with diverse members of the Harlem
community reflecting on themes of transnationalism, cultural difference,
assimilation and gentrification. Blending modern jazz, African music
and the singer-songwriter tradition, Petite Afrique is an amalgamation
of the musical and cultural worlds that resonate with Somi as an African
AND American woman and a proud Harlemite.
Born in Illinois, the
daughter of immigrants from Uganda and Rwanda, Somi is a TED Global
Fellow and also the founder of the New Africa Live nonprofit that
champions African artists. For the last decade Somi has carved out a
career of singing and being an activist.
somimusic.com
