Grammy-nominated vocalist and songwriter Somi has released “So You Want To Be A Woman,” the third single from her forthcoming album What Does It Take to Bloom?, which is scheduled for release on 7 August via Salon Africana.
The track features saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin, also a Grammy nominee, and examines the expectations and burdens placed on women, drawing from the complexities of Black womanhood.
“So You Want to Be A Woman is a conversation with the younger version of myself who could never have imagined the beauty and burden that would accompany becoming a woman,” Somi said. “While the title of the song poses a question, I hope the answer is one that offers women everywhere a future shaped by greater freedom and possibilities.”
The single follows two earlier releases from the album: “Sometimes Love,” a collaboration with Nigerian highlife group The Cavemen recorded in Lagos, and “We’re All Falling,” which addresses mortality and the fragility of life.
What Does It Take to Bloom? was written and recorded across Dakar, Lagos, Paris, and New York. The project extends Somi’s exploration of migration, identity, and memory while turning the focus more directly toward self-discovery. The album draws on jazz, soul, highlife, and spoken word, alongside her African heritage, and resists easy categorisation.
According to the album’s concept, the work examines the search for belonging and the often non-linear process of becoming whole, touching on themes of womanhood, experiences beyond individual control, and the process of finding a stronger sense of self.
