10 Things You Need to Know About Somi

A behind-the-song look at tonight's #BMJ soundtrack feature.

10 Things You Should Know About Somi - For close to a decade, jazz singing phenom Somi has been giving the genre a fresh voice, putting her in postion to be the next legend. As her cut "Ginger Me Slowly" is set to be featured on the tonight's episode of Being Mary Jane, click on to see what you should know about this silky-sounding vocalist.  (Photo: Terrence Jennings/Retna, Ltd./Retna Ltd./Corbis)

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10 Things You Should Know About Somi - For close to a decade, jazz singing phenom Somi has been giving the genre a fresh voice, putting her in postion to be the next legend. As her cut "Ginger Me Slowly" is set to be featured on the tonight's episode of Being Mary Jane, click on to see what you should know about this silky-sounding vocalist.  (Photo: Terrence Jennings/Retna, Ltd./Retna Ltd./Corbis)

Somi's Roots - The Champain, Ill., native is of Rwandan and Ugandan descent. When she was three, her family moved to Zambia for a few years, where her father worked for the World Health Organization.  (Photo: WENN)

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Somi's Roots - The Champain, Ill., native is of Rwandan and Ugandan descent. When she was three, her family moved to Zambia for a few years, where her father worked for the World Health Organization.  (Photo: WENN)

A Scholar and a Singer - The chanteuse earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois in both anthropology and African Studies. She also earned a masters degree in performance studies from New York University.  (Photo: Craig Lovell/Corbis)

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A Scholar and a Singer - The chanteuse earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois in both anthropology and African Studies. She also earned a masters degree in performance studies from New York University.  (Photo: Craig Lovell/Corbis)

Getting Motivated - Somi released her first LP, Eternal Motivation, in 2003.  (Photo: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for HBO)

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Getting Motivated - Somi released her first LP, Eternal Motivation, in 2003.  (Photo: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for HBO)

The Red Soil of Her Soul - Somi's second LP, 2007's Red Soil in My Eyes, became her first album to be distributed internationally after it was licensed by the Harmonia Mundi/World Village label.  (Photo: Terrence Jennings / Retna Ltd./Corbis) 

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The Red Soil of Her Soul - Somi's second LP, 2007's Red Soil in My Eyes, became her first album to be distributed internationally after it was licensed by the Harmonia Mundi/World Village label.  (Photo: Terrence Jennings / Retna Ltd./Corbis) 

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The Sound of Greatness - While Somi is often referred to as a modern day Miriam Makeba, her performing style has been compared to jazz singing giants Nina Simone and Dinah Washington.   (Photo: WENN)

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The Sound of Greatness - While Somi is often referred to as a modern day Miriam Makeba, her performing style has been compared to jazz singing giants Nina Simone and Dinah Washington.   (Photo: WENN)

First Reign - After signing to ObliqSound, Somi made her label debut with her third LP, If The Rains Come First, in 2009. Upon release, the album shot to No. 2 on the Billboard World Chart. Along with showcasing her songwriting talent, the album also features the legendary jazz trumpeter Hugh Masekela.  (Photo: Robert Pitts /Landov)

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First Reign - After signing to ObliqSound, Somi made her label debut with her third LP, If The Rains Come First, in 2009. Upon release, the album shot to No. 2 on the Billboard World Chart. Along with showcasing her songwriting talent, the album also features the legendary jazz trumpeter Hugh Masekela.  (Photo: Robert Pitts /Landov)

Somi Live - In 2011, Somi released her first live album, Somi: Live at Jazz Standard, to critical acclaim. The famed magazine JazzTimes hailed the LP as “stunning…natural fervor and naked magnificence.”(Photo: Terrence Jennings/Retna, Ltd/Corbis)

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Somi Live - In 2011, Somi released her first live album, Somi: Live at Jazz Standard, to critical acclaim. The famed magazine JazzTimes hailed the LP as “stunning…natural fervor and naked magnificence.”(Photo: Terrence Jennings/Retna, Ltd/Corbis)

Higher Learning - While Somi rocks the music world, she continues to rock academia. She is a two-time recipient of The Doris Duke Foundation's French-American Jazz Exchange Composers’ Grant. She's also the 2015 Artist-in-Residence at UCLA's Center for the Art of Performance and The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation.  (Photo: Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for The African-American Institute)

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Higher Learning - While Somi rocks the music world, she continues to rock academia. She is a two-time recipient of The Doris Duke Foundation's French-American Jazz Exchange Composers’ Grant. She's also the 2015 Artist-in-Residence at UCLA's Center for the Art of Performance and The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation.  (Photo: Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for The African-American Institute)

Circles - Though her solo career has struck the world, Somi's also known to share the stage with a range of artists, from Yasiin Bey to John Legend and Jennifer Hudson to Paul Simon, Danilo Perez, Idan Raichel and Baaba Maal.(Photo: Jack Vartoogian/Getty Images)

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Circles - Though her solo career has struck the world, Somi's also known to share the stage with a range of artists, from Yasiin Bey to John Legend and Jennifer Hudson to Paul Simon, Danilo Perez, Idan Raichel and Baaba Maal.(Photo: Jack Vartoogian/Getty Images)

NYC to Lagos - Somi moved from New York to Nigeria to immerse herself in her fourth album, The Lagos Music Salon. She lived there 18 months while pulling features like Common, Angelique Kidjo and Ambrose Akinmusire. The LP took No. 1 on the US Jazz charts.(Photo: Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images for Doha Film Institute)

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NYC to Lagos - Somi moved from New York to Nigeria to immerse herself in her fourth album, The Lagos Music Salon. She lived there 18 months while pulling features like Common, Angelique Kidjo and Ambrose Akinmusire. The LP took No. 1 on the US Jazz charts.(Photo: Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images for Doha Film Institute)