Somadina | |
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Born | Port Harcourt, Nigeria |
Genres | |
Occupations |
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Instruments |
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Years active | 2018–present |
Labels | Somadina Sounds |
Website | somadinasounds.com |
Somadina (born 22 March 2000) is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. [1] She officially started her music career in 2018 with her debut single titled "IHY" which stands for "I hate you". [2] [3]
In March 2023, she was announced as one of the African artists to perform at the American Musical Festival, Lollapalooza Chicago alongside Nigerian artists, Tems and Rema [4] [5] [6]
Somadina was born in Port Harcourt, Nigeria on 22 March 2000 to Nigerian parents. At the age of one, she moved to the Netherlands because her father worked there. [7] After her secondary education at St. George's School, Ascot, an independent girls' boarding and day school in Berkshire, England, she moved to London, England where she got a university degree in Sociology from the University of Warwick. After acquiring her degree in London, she returned to Nigeria to fully pursue her career in music. [8]
Her musical experience typically started from childhood owing to her father's love for music. [9] [10] Growing up in a music-oriented family, she composed her first song at the age of seven and started taking music lessons at the age of nine. She was taught by a Russian music teacher how to play the piano. [11] At thirteen, she had become a performer with her first public performance at her mother's 40th birthday celebration. [3]
Somadina officially started her music career in 2018. [12] [13] She debuted her first single titled "IHY" which stands for "I hate you" in October 2018, a breakup song which was recorded in the studio. [14] She soon started her own independent label, "Somadina Sounds" in partnership with Chin Okeke. In 2019, she released a single titled "Lay Low" featuring Orinayo. [15]
In February 2020, she debuted her first 5-track EP titled "Five Stages". [16] [17] [18] However, Five Stages was not a commercial release and is not available on SoundCloud. In December 2020, Somadina released a single titled "Kno Me" featuring SGaWD. [19]
In October 2021, she announced a single titled 'Supersoma" [20] [21]
In November 2022, Somadina released her EP titled "Heart of the Heavenly Undeniable" (HOTHU), [22] comprising 11 tracks including Small Paradise, Time 2 Time and Dirty Line. [23] [24] [25] She launched the EP with a one-off immersive audio-visual exhibition of HOTHU exclusively at Africa's largest art fair, ART X. This was shortly followed by a London showcase at Kindred Member's club and a release party at Soho House Berlin, capping off her promo run opening for CKay at Koko in London. [26] To mark the project, she released a single titled "Y I Want You". [27] [28] It featured artists like Zamir, The Cavemen and Odunsi the Engine, and was released under Somadina Sounds. [29]
In September 2022, she released a single titled "Rolling Loud". [30] [31] This was her first official release under her independent label, Somadina Sounds. In October that same year, she released the remix-EP of Rolling Loud. [32] The release featured 6 remixes from DJ's connecting Africa and the diaspora including Jelani "Pops" Shaw, TNK Musiq (aka Kyle and T-man), DJ Van and Ghanaian masked DJ, TMSKD.
In March 2023, she was announced as one of the Nigerian artists to perform at the 2023 Lollapalooza Chicago alongside Tems and Rema [4] [5] [6] [33]
Growing up, Somadina was highly influenced by R&B, which clearly shows in her style of music; [34] however, she revealed that she prefers to identify with afro-psychedelic rock. [35] [36] The Guardian describes her as an "eccentric and captivating musician, churning out a radical discography baked with influences from Pop, Alternative rock, and RnB". [37]
Somadina grew up with early exposure to music. She considers her father, a lover of RnB music to be one of her strongest inspirations. In several interviews with the media, she revealed that she had experienced a wide range of musical influences, including John Legend, Fela Kuti, Asa, Avril Lavigne, Williams Onyeabo r and Shampoo. [36] [38] She was also greatly influenced by music of the 70s making her combine African musical elements and the 80s metallic-instrumental rock style.
Title | EP Details |
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Rolling Loud (Remixes EP) |
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Heart of the Heavenly Undeniable (HOTHU) [39] [40] [41] [42] |
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Title | Year | Album |
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IHY | 2018 | Non-Album Single |
Lay Low (feat. Orinayo) [43] | 2019 | Non-Album Single |
Kno Me (feat. SGaWD) | 2020 | Non-Album Single |
Supersoma | 2021 | Non-Album Single |
Rolling Loud | 2022 | Non-Album Single |
Y I Want You | 2022 | Non-Album Single |
Title | Year |
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FLAVA – Lady Donli (feat. Somadina & Amaarae) [44] | 2019 |
POPSHIT – SGaWD (feat. Somadina) [45] | 2021 |
Cruel Love – NATIVE Sound System & Sholz (feat. TAR1Q & Somadina) [46] [47] | 2023 |
Throughout her career, Somadina has received recognition and accolades. In 2022, her EP "Heart of the Heavenly Undeniable (HOTHU) was listed as one of Times Magazine best albums. [48]
In January 2022, she was listed in Vogue Magazine as one of the musicians set to rule the music industry in 2022. [49] [50] [51] She was also listed by NME as one of the 100 emerging artists for 2023. [52] In March 2023, she was mentioned as one of the African women redefining Pop on Billboard. [53] In same March 2023, she was announced as one of the African artists to perform at the American Musical Festival, Lollapalooza Chicago alongside Nigerian artists, Tems and Rema [4] [5] [6]