The digital revolution has done the music area good, as it’s now much easier for any aspiring artist to share one’s music with the world. But sometimes, the endless sea of new artists can be overwhelming. New and up-and-coming artist Somalia is a breath of fresh air for many people who feel overwhelmed by the barrage of noise and overwhelm.
Based in Atlanta, Georgia, the R&B singer and songwriter is a strong presence both online and offline as she has electrified stages and streaming platforms with original songs like “Risk It All,” “Mimosa,” “No Filter,” “Front Door,” “It’s Not OK,” and many more.
Somalia started singing at the age of ten. She would ultimately fall in love with R&B and start focusing heavily on developing harmonious melodies around that genre. She would perform endlessly and capture audiences of all ages. In her senior year of high school, she was voted “most likely to be famous,” a foretelling of what would be Somalia’s greatest ambition. Today, she dreams of climbing up the creative renown ladder and joining music icons in R&B and other categories.
The artist has always had a knack for the stage, joining various plays, musicals, dance teams, and talent shows to hone her craft and share her gifts with others. Her deep passion for music would lead her to study music alongside Comparative Women’s Studies at Spelman College. After finishing college, she would launch a self-produced debut concert entitled “The Sweet Freedom Concert,” which she would pack out. Somalia would also travel to London to study music and songwriting at the Goldsmith’s University of London. This experience would open her eyes to all that the world had to offer.
In 2018, Somalia would release her first EP, Journey, which had ten hard-hitting tracks, including some of her hits like “Say Less,” “Riding,” “For You,” and many others. She would follow up that debut EP with a single in 2019 entitled “Mimosa,” then released a second EP in 2020 amidst lockdowns called Never Enough Time. From that album, she launched a music video for her song “Light Blue,” which has started to gain momentum on YouTube, garnering up to 3,000 views within a month of its release.
When Somalia writes, she loves to collaborate with other musicians to create a unique sound. Because of her talent and charisma under the spotlight, Somalia has performed on many stages around the Georgia area and beyond. Her work includes performances with The Atlanta Beltline, The Atlanta Taste of Soul Festival, The National Black Arts Festival, Six Flags Over Georgia, The New Georgia Project, UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital, and NAMI.
In 2020, she received a nomination for an award in songwriting at the Annual National Black Arts Horizon Awards. Somalia continues to shine and thrive but still has her eyes set on more significant milestones. She looks forward to the day she shares the stage with some of the biggest names in R&B and hip-hop.
To learn more about Somalia, visit her website, and check her out on Spotify, Instagram, and YouTube.