Somi from Lagos
Somi’s relationship with Lagos began as an artistic leap of faith, a decision that would transform both her sound and her creative trajectory. Although she was born in the United States to Rwandan and Ugandan parents, it was the city of Lagos that pushed her work into a new realm of urgency, grit and experimentation. When she relocated there for an extended creative residency, she immersed herself fully in the city’s rhythm—its chaos, its brilliance, and its endless creative energy.
In Lagos, she found herself surrounded by a cultural ecosystem that was constantly moving. The city’s intense pace and the improvisational nature of life there seeped into her writing and phrasing. Somi has often described Lagos as a place where art isn’t separate from daily life, and that feeling shaped the music she began to compose—songs that carried the pulse of the megacity but still retained her jazz roots.
Her album The Lagos Music Salon became the culmination of this period of exploration. The project blended soul, jazz, spoken-word and the sounds of urban West Africa into a single, fluid statement. It was not a tourist’s interpretation of the city, but the work of someone who lived among its artists, its markets, its nightlife and its contradictions. The album became a bridge between Lagosian creativity and her own East African and American sensibilities.
During her time in Lagos, Somi collaborated with some of Nigeria’s most forward-thinking musicians. These collaborations pushed her to experiment vocally and structurally, creating songs that felt rooted in tradition but carried a distinctly contemporary edge. Her ability to blend Nigerian pop textures with jazz improvisation demonstrated her commitment to honoring local artistry while expanding her own musical vocabulary.
The city also challenged her as a storyteller. Lagos is a place where narratives collide—stories of migration, ambition, hustle, heartbreak, joy and survival. Somi absorbed these voices directly from the streets, the rehearsal rooms, the bars and the social circles she became part of. Her songwriting began to reflect the emotional density of urban West African life, delivered with the poetic clarity she is known for.
One of the themes she explored through the “Lagos lens” was how African cities shape identity. Somi became fascinated by how Lagosians balance personal dreams with collective movement, and how this dynamism mirrors broader African narratives of reinvention. Her lyrics began to weave these ideas into intimate portraits of characters and places, making the city itself feel like a living, breathing presence in her work.
As a performer, her Lagos experience added a new layer of spontaneity and boldness to her stage presence. The city’s musicianship—raw, virtuosic, unfiltered—pushed her to embrace improvisation even more deeply. In live settings, she began taking risks with phrasing, rhythm and audience interaction, creating performances that felt less like concerts and more like cultural exchanges.
Somi has spoken often about how Lagos gave her a renewed sense of artistic courage. There is something liberating, she has said, about creating in a place where innovation is not just encouraged but necessary. That spirit transformed her approach to music-making, making her bolder in her vocal textures and more experimental in her arrangements.
The Lagos chapter also deepened her commitment to documenting African urban life with nuance. She sought to present the city not through the familiar lens of either glamour or struggle, but through the layered reality of a metropolis filled with dreamers and creators. This perspective distinguished her work from much of the global music landscape and expanded the conversation around African modernity.
Her time in Lagos has since become a foundational part of her artistic identity. While she continues to create globally, the lessons learned there—resilience, creative daring, cultural honesty—remain embedded in her sound. The city became a permanent reference point in her artistic vocabulary.
Even after leaving Lagos, Somi has maintained close ties to its creative community. She often returns for performances, collaborations and cultural work, contributing to a transcontinental artistic network that connects West Africa to the diaspora. Her efforts have helped spotlight Nigerian musicians on international stages and have enriched her own storytelling with ongoing dialogue and exchange.
In many ways, Lagos did not just shape one album—it reshaped Somi herself. The city expanded her understanding of what African contemporary music could be and pushed her to create work that is both deeply personal and globally resonant. Her Lagos years remain one of the most defining and transformative chapters of her career, a period that continues to echo through everything she sings, writes and imagines.
