Matti Salo (born 1980), professionally known as Asa and previously as Avain, is a Finnish rapper. He is also a member of
hip hop and
reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
group
Jätkäjätkät
Jätkäjätkät is a Finnish hip hop, rap and reggae band fronted by Asa (real name Matti Salo), a well-known Finnish rapper. Initially, the formation toured as "Asa ja Jätkäjätkät" (Asa and Jätkäjätkät) before settling on just the nam ...
.
Career beginnings
In the early 2000s, Salo was signed to
Warner Music Finland
Warner Music Group's labels include the following.
Flagship labels
*Atlantic Records
*Elektra Records
*Parlophone Records
*Warner Records
Atlantic Records Group
* 1st & 15th Entertainment
* All Money In
* Artist Partners Group
* Asylum Rec ...
. Under his initial stage name Avain, he released his debut album ''Punainen tiili'' (''The Red Brick'') in 2001. With its socially conscious lyrics, the album is considered to be one of the most important Finnish hip hop albums of all time. Soon after its release, Salo parted ways with his record company and went on a few years hiatus.
Later career
While the rights to his former stage name remained at Warner Music, Salo emerged in 2004 with his current alias Asa.
To date, he has released nine studio albums, two of which have reached number two on the
Finnish Albums Chart
The Official Finnish Charts ( fi, Suomen virallinen lista; sv, Finlands officiella lista) are national record charts in Finland compiled and published by Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. The name ''Suomen virallinen lista/Finlands officiell ...
, along with three albums with the group Jätkäjätkät.
Personal life
In 2006, Asa was fined for possession of
marijuana
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...
,
cocaine
Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...
and
hash.
Selected discography
Solo albums
With Jätkäjätkät
References
Living people
1980 births
Finnish rappers
Finnish hip hop musicians
{{Finland-musician-stub