Bukola Elemide (born 17 September 1982),
["There's 'Fire On The Mountain'; Where Is Asa?"](_blank)
''Sahara Reporters'', 7 October 2018. known professionally as Aṣa ( , , ), is a French-Nigerian singer and songwriter.
Early life
Aṣa was born in Paris to Nigerian parents who were working and studying cinematography in France. Her family returned to live in Nigeria when she was two years old. Her parents hail from,
Ogun State
Ogun State is a state in southwestern Nigeria. It is bordered to the south by Lagos State and the Bight of Benin, to the east by Ondo State, and to the north by Oyo and Osun states while its western border forms part of the national borde ...
, Nigeria. Aṣa grew up in
Lagos
Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...
city, in the south-western part of Nigeria, and 18 years later, returned to Paris, where her life as an artist took off.
Asa's music influences grew over the years from the collection of great music her father had built up for his work as a
cinematographer
The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...
. These records featuring American, Nigerian and African
soul classics, included artists such as
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He helped shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player an ...
,
Fela Kuti
Fela Aníkúlápó Kútì (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti; 15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997) was a Nigerians, Nigerian musician and political activist. He is regarded as the principal innovator of Afrobeat, a Nigerian music genre t ...
,
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive voca ...
,
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...
,
King Sunny Adé,
Diana Ross
Diana Ross (born Diane Ernestine Earle Ross March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Known as the "Queen of Motown Records", she was the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown#Major divisions, Motown's most suc ...
,
Nina Simone, and
Miriam Makeba. Aṣa drew inspiration from the collection of her father's playlist.
Career
In 2004, Asa met her manager and friend, Janet Nwose, who introduced her to
Cobhams Asuquo, who in turn became the producer of her first studio album ''Asa (Asha)''.
Aṣa returned to France at the age of 20 to study at the IMFP school of
jazz music, where she was told by teachers that she should go ahead and become a recording artist because she was ready and needed no schooling. Back in Nigeria, her first single, "Eyé Adaba," was beginning to get airplay. Aṣa soon signed to
Naïve Records. Partnered with Asuquo, and with the new involvement of Christophe Dupouy and Benjamin Constant, she produced her first platinum-selling self-titled album, ''Aṣa''. The release of the album saw Aṣa charting radios across Europe, Asia, and Africa and went on to win the prestigious French Constantin Award in 2008 when she was voted the best fresh talent of 10 singers or groups by a jury of 19 music-industry specialists in Paris.
Her second album, ''
Beautiful Imperfection
''Beautiful Imperfection'' is the second studio album by French-Nigerian singer Aṣa. It was released as a digital download on October 15, 2010, via the independent record label Naïve Records. Recorded in English and Yoruba, ''Beautiful Impe ...
'', in collaboration with French composer Nicolas Mollard, was released on 25 October 2010, went platinum in 2011. The lead single from ''Beautiful Imperfection'', titled "Be My Man", was released in late September 2010. It was reported that by 2014 Aṣa sold 400,000 albums worldwide.
Asa's third studio album, ''
Bed of Stone'', was released in August 2014. The singles are "Dead Again", "Eyo", "Satan Be Gone", "The One That Never Comes" and "Moving On". She went on a world tour from 2015 to 2017.
On 14 May 2019, she released a new single titled "The Beginning" and on 25 June 2019, she released the single "Good Thing".
"Asa – The Beginning"
''Rhythmicals'', 14 May 2019. On 11 September 2019, she announced on her Twitter page that her new album, '' Lucid'', will be released on 11 October 2019, which it was. She released yet another album on 25 February 2022 titled "V" featuring the likes of Wizkid, Nigerian highlife duo The Cavemen and Ghanaian artist Amaarae.
Discography
Studio albums
Live albums
* ''Live in Paris'' (2009)
* ''Live in Lagos'' (2017)
Singles
Soundtrack appearances
*2007: "Kokoya" - on the soundtrack to the film ''The First Cry''
*2009: "The Place To Be" - soundtrack for GTBank
*2011: "Zarafa" - soundtrack for the animation movie ''Zarafa''
Awards and nominations
*2008: Prix Constantin
*2012: French Music Awards Victoires de la Musique nomination for "Female Artist of the Year".
See also
* List of Nigerian musicians
References
External links
Official website.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Asa
1982 births
Living people
21st-century French singer-songwriters
Black French musicians
English-language singers from France
Nigerian women singer-songwriters
French people of Nigerian descent
French people of Yoruba descent
French women singer-songwriters
Singers from Paris
21st-century Nigerian singer-songwriters
Nigerian soul musicians
Nigerian guitarists
Nigerian women guitarists
Nigerian pianists
Women pianists
The Headies winners
Yoruba-language singers of Nigeria
Yoruba women musicians
21st-century French women singers
Naïve Records artists
The Headies Award for Next Rated