November 24, 2020 will remain an unforgettable day for US-based Rwandan jazz vocalist and songwriter Somi’s music career following her historical nomination for the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards that will be held on January 31, 2021, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. 

The Grammy Awards, which recognises achievements in the music industry of the United States, is organised by the Recording Academy, an American learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals.

The Grammy shortlisted singer’s latest album ‘Holy Room’ for the award in the Best Jazz Vocal Album category, alongside four other albums including Thana Alexa’s ‘Ona’, ‘Secrets Are the Best Stories’ by Kurt Elling Featuring Danilo Pérez, Carmen Lundy’s ‘Modern Ancestors’ and Kenny Washington’s ‘What’s The Hurry’.

With this Grammy nomination, the singer, born Laura Kabasomi Kakoma, becomes the first African woman to ever be nominated in any of the jazz categories and the first African artist to be nominated for a jazz vocal performance.

She spoke to The New Times’ Eddie Nsabimana about what the Grammys nomination means for Rwandan music.

Excerpts:

Your album made it into the Grammys nominations for the first time. What does this mean for your career?

Only time will tell what it means for my career, but I’m grateful to have my work become acknowledged by my colleagues and the Academy in this way. 

More than anything, a Grammy nomination provides more visibility to the work.  I’m especially humbled by the visibility given the devastating effects of COVID-19 on the global cultural economy and the way most of us make our living.  

You represent Rwandans at the Grammy. What do you think it means for Rwandan music?

I started my career in New York City at a time when people only spoke about African artistes through the frame of "world music” and without much nuance even though we are wildly and beautifully diverse. 

As a result of that narrow way of seeing us, I have tried to avail myself towards empowering African artists both on the continent and throughout the diaspora. 

I definitely believe there is a need for the Rwandan music industry to grow into a more competitive market regionally and internationally. I’ve always dreamed of establishing a jazz festival there (Rwanda) that would bring more international artists, industry professionals, and audiences to connect with the artistes at home.

I truly hope this nomination draws more visibility and resources to the arts in Rwanda and across the continent. 

I salute individuals like Popo Murigande (an accomplished artist in his own right) for the extraordinary work he has done to establish Nyundo School of Music.  The last time I was home, he invited me to visit the school, and I was deeply moved by the exceptional talent of the young artists.  Arts education is paramount, and I look forward to more actively supporting those efforts as well. 

Was a nomination at the Grammy something you ever thought you could accomplish in your career?

It is definitely something I hoped for, but it is a futile effort to overly focus on or wait for that validation as an artist.  The journey of any artist requires resilience to disappointment and rejection, but a lifelong commitment to your truth is the best reward you can give yourself.

Take us through the ‘Holy Room’ album. What are the main themes and inspiration behind it?

The album is the result of a performance I did in Germany last year as a guest of the Frankfurt Radio Big Band that was recorded for national broadcast.  Thankfully, at a time when touring had ceased, I had that recording on hand and decided to release it. 

The music on the recording is mostly from my last two albums - Petite Afrique (which was about the African immigrant experience in the U.S.) and The Lagos Music Salon (which was inspired by my time living in Nigeria). 

Like everyone else, I had other plans this year.  When things got shut down, I began thinking a lot about the different spaces we believe to be sacred.  Theaters around the globe are sitting in silence, artists are unable to perform, and people are unable to gather.  Our homes have suddenly become the most sacred spaces - to be protected from an invisible death at all costs. 

We have been reminded of the fragility of human connection and the importance of sustained time with those we love.   Each one of us has been holding on to our own version of a ‘holy room’.  So the inspiration to release the album was about remembering all that I hold sacred while honoring the parts of myself that make me feel most alive. 

What would you attribute this nomination to?

I cannot answer that other than to say that it’s all in God’s timing and I’m grateful. The journey continues.