Late South African singer Miriam Makeba
remains an inspiration 14 years after her death, prompting jazz artist Somi to
pay tribute with new twists on the anti-apartheid icon’s greatest hits.
The late Miriam Makeba until her death 14
years ago, used her music to address issues such as racial apartheid in South
Africa. The timelessness of her music has remained an inspiration to many.Miriam Makeba
Somi, who honoured the late anti-apartheid
icon with new twists to her greatest hits such as “Pata Pata” and “Malaika”,
said Makeba had set a blazing trail for younger generations.
“You can put on a record and still feel
called to arms,” the Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter said in an interview.
“I would like to believe that she would be
delighted to see how much more of the continent is being seen and heard. To
know that we are actually having a seat at the table these days in a new way.”
Born in the U.S. to parents from Rwanda and
Uganda, Somi revealed she created her album “Zenzile: The Reimagination of
Miriam Makeba” as a “love letter” to the superstar who she revels as her idol.
Zenzile was Makeba’s first name. The album
artistically combines new versions of Makeba’s music with original compositions
by Somi.
The album was released on Friday, March 4,
2022, (Makeba’s 90th posthumous birthday, and launched at the Apollo Theatre in
New York.
“The space-making she did on our behalf …
as the first African artist to show up on the global cultural stage, we are all
indebted to her,” she said.
Somi, in her enthralling performance with
powerful vocals, had her South African audience agog, as they sang her praises
for reinvigorating her sound to songs they already knew, and doing it
beautifully too.