By Matthew Allen  |  The Grio

African music icon Miriam Makeba’s life was defined by duality. She was a proud South African who embraced both her heritage and Black American culture but didn’t feel completely accepted in either place. Like so many people of the diaspora, she lived between two worlds while feeling alienated from both. Known best for “The Click Song” and “Pata Pata,” the woman dubbed Mama Africa left a rich musical legacy only eclipsed by her activism against apartheid and Jim Crow. 

Like Makeba, Somi’s life follows a similar polarity. She’s the daughter of African immigrants but has called America home for most of her life.