Oumie makes Waves
When she was approached to compose a song about racial injustice, singer Oumie recalled the pain of a 2012 for inspiration. The result is “Waves”, a song produced by Octavia Landix.
Recently released, it is earmarked to be used in a movie that focuses on racial turmoil in the US. Oumie did not disclose much about that project, saying only that it is in post-production.
“What it and ‘Waves’ are doing is highlight the fact that not every black man is a criminal,” she said.
Oumie was living in Sweden at the time of the controversial death of Trayvon Martin in February, 2012. The black teenager was killed while walking through a largely white Florida neighborhood by George Zimmermann, a white/Latin resident who said the 17 year-old Martin looked suspicious because he was wearing a hoodie.
Zimmerman was freed of second degree murder and manslaughter charges.
“Waves” is the follow-up to “Myself” which was released in 2020. That song is also pop-oriented but the Gambia-born artist has even higher hopes for her latest release.
“For me, having a song in a movie is a milestone,” she declared. Though she was born in West Africa, Oumie grew up in Stockholm, Sweden where she settled with her family at age five.
She moved to Los Angeles in 2015, hoping for greater opportunities in the music industry. Though she enjoys her time in the United States, Oumie says there is a dark side to the country in terms of racial discrimination.
“Some of the incidents are brutal and horrible. You would think by now we would find solutions but the system is corrupt,” she stated.
Oumie is strongly influenced by Lauryn Hill, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey and Nina Simome.
Written By Howard Campbell