From corporate to cosmopolitan: Tracye Smith’s Global Woman of Soul turns music into Senegal Soul Villa—and a blueprint for reinvention that travels from Chicago to Paris to West Africa.
When Tracye Smith walked away from a two-decade career in telecom sales and management in 2023, she wasn’t just closing a chapter—she was testing a thesis. Could a working artist leverage music not only to earn a living, but to catalyze a cross-continental business? The early signals were promising: her fourth album had landed in Jazz In Europe’s Top Ten, evidence that her sound resonated in a market famous for its devotion to jazz and soul. By January 2024, Smith had relocated from Chicago to Paris to scale that resonance into a platform—one that now spans recordings, curated travel, and her first international Airbnb in Somone, Senegal.
For years, Smith treated music as both sanctuary and second shift, from church choir on Sundays to club sets after work, with studio time funded by a management salary and a commitment to living well below her means. The turning point arrived with her 2022 album’s reception and a disciplined savings plan that made a full-time artistic life plausible. Paris was the obvious launchpad: a global arts capital with deep ties to the African American creative diaspora and a year-round audience for jazz and soul.
Tracye Eileen on Legacy Diaries Podcast
Relocation did more than change her address. With a brand manager and a data-driven review of her catalog, audience, and goals, Smith clarified a unifying identity: Global Woman of Soul. The brand extended beyond performance to a lifestyle proposition—soulful living, reinvention at any age, and cultural exchange across the U.S., Europe, and Africa.
The brand soon took physical form as Senegal Soul Villa, a four-bedroom destination Airbnb in the coastal village of Somone. Smith designed the property as an extension of her stagecraft: curated playlists, locally crafted décor, and optional add-ons such as airport transfers and guided cultural experiences. The vibe is deliberate—warm, cosmopolitan, and rooted in the rhythms that define her music.
Choosing Senegal was strategic. The country is a gateway to West Africa with a rich musical heritage and growing appeal for African American heritage travelers and European visitors seeking authentic, curated stays. Somone's hospitality ecosystem offered the right balance of tranquility and access, enabling a retreat that can deliver relaxation, luxury, and cultural depth.
Smith approached the venture with an operator’s eye. Competitive analysis in the Somoni area showed comparable villas commanding roughly €250–€400 per night. With a private pool, staff, and paid add-ons, she identified a path to profitability while differentiating on experience, not just amenities.
She also invested in the fundamentals: a U.S. holding structure (a Wyoming LLC) to manage international rentals, clean separation of personal and business finances, and six months of working capital to cover operating costs, salaries, software, and contingencies—critical while she simultaneously produced a new album. A mentoring program in short-term rentals rounded out the stack, converting hard-won corporate skills—budgeting, team leadership, customer experience—into hospitality operations.
Brand as anchor. International real estate can drown founders in logistics. Smith used Global Woman of Soul as a north star, ensuring every decision—from furnishings to guest communications—reinforced the brand promise.
Local partnerships. Artisans, service providers, and community leaders were not afterthoughts; they were infrastructure. Their contributions kept costs sensible and authenticity high.
Structure and compliance. Formal business entities and clean financials aren’t glamourous, but they scale. They also make future partnerships and financing conversations possible.
Research before reach. Studying competitive listings and guest expectations shaped nightly rates and add-on services, preventing costly misalignment between price and promise.
Narrative as differentiator. In a saturated short-term rental market, story beats square footage. Guests book Senegal Soul Villa to participate in a journey, not just occupy a house.
Smith’s catalog supplied instant brand equity and a built-in distribution channel. Performances, social media, and release cycles now double as awareness campaigns for the villa. The result is a flywheel: art fuels audience; audience fuels occupancy; occupancy funds more art and expansion.
Smith began pursuing music in earnest at 49, after a second divorce. At 63, she’s iterating again—this time as a global entrepreneur. The through-line is transferable skill: corporate discipline married to artistic vision. Paris expanded her sense of what “global” could mean in daily life; Senegal proved the brand could live offstage as well as on it.
Sultry jazz and soul vocalist Tracye Eileen is a native of Chicago, a singer-songwriter, and recording artist. After her last album project was voted as Top Ten Album 2022 by Jazz in Europe, she relocated to Paris to record her 5th album and expand her European and African audiences. Ms. Eileen enjoyed a 9-year residency at Buddy Guy’s Legends, the famous Chicago blues and jazz club, where she performed with her Quartet. She has created two new ensembles in Paris for her studio recording and performances in and around Paris. Her new jazz quartet in Paris is led by Music Director, George Granville and her studio band is led by Music Director and Producer Ralph Latival.
Senegal Soul Villa is the pilot for a planned portfolio of Global Woman of Soul Stays across the Diaspora. Each property will reflect its locale while maintaining the through-line of soulful luxury, curated music, and genuine connection. The aim is more than a bed for the night; it’s a cohesive way of life delivered city to city, shore to shore.
Smith’s journey offers a playbook for creators eyeing entrepreneurship: clarify the brand, respect the numbers, embed locally, and let narrative do real commercial work. The broader market trend—experience-forward travel with cultural depth—suggests this is not a one-off, but the opening verse of a longer composition in the creative economy.
