Somi Opens a New Chapter With What Does It Take to Bloom? and “We’re All Falling”

Somi Returns After Six Years With Deeply Personal Album “What Does It Take to Bloom?”

After a six-year absence from releasing original music, Rwandan-Ugandan vocalist Somi is ready to unveil her most intimate work yet. The multi-award-winning artist has announced What Does It Take to Bloom?, a 13-track project set to drop August 7th via Salon Africana, accompanied by the contemplative lead single “We’re All Falling.”

For those familiar with Somi’s artistry, her ability to transform personal narratives into universally resonant songs has always been her superpower. This forthcoming album continues that tradition while exploring themes of growth, transformation, and self-discovery against a backdrop of constant change. The project took shape across four cities—Dakar, Lagos, Paris, and New York—each location adding its own texture to her evolving sound. “We’re All Falling,” born from a season of profound loss, captures life’s fragility with remarkable grace. Rather than dwelling in sorrow, the track encourages presence and appreciation for fleeting moments, embodying the album’s central question about what it truly means to bloom despite life’s upheavals.

“I wrote this body of work while traversing many places and losing many people,” Somi explains. “This album is a mirror of searching for where and how to take root in spite of that. I pray these songs offer each listener a sense of Home or, at the very least, a witnessing of me coming Home to myself.” The album showcases Somi’s signature genre-fluidity, weaving together jazz, soul, highlife, and spoken word influences that reflect her African and diasporic experiences. Notable collaborations include Nigerian duo The Cavemen on “Sometimes Love” and saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin on “So You Want to Be a Woman,” adding fresh dimensions to Somi’s already expansive sonic palette.

With tracks like “Mama On Blooming,” “Aiwah,” and “Love Could Be Anywhere” rounding out the tracklist, What Does It Take to Bloom? promises to be Somi’s most vulnerable and daring statement yet. Stream “We’re All Falling” now ahead of the album’s August 7th release.

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