''Lucid'' is the fourth studio album by French-Nigerian singer

Aṣa Bukola Elemide (born 17 September 1982),"There's 'Fi ...

, released on October 11, 2019, via Chapter Two Records and

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. Labeled a

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

, and

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

album, ''Lucid'' incorporates elements of

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

folk rock Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

and

neo-soul Neo soul (sometimes called progressive soul) is a genre of popular music. As a term, it was coined by music industry entrepreneur Kedar Massenburg during the late 1990s to market and describe a style of music that emerged from soul and contem ...

. Drummer Marlon B was largely in charge of the production. ''Lucid'' employs piano-led

ballads A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

, strings, and soft brass to portray a story of the heartbroken. The album's singles "The Beginning", "Good Thing", and "My Dear" were all released in 2019. ''Lucid'' received generally positive reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

, who commended it for being about love. The album was supported by a tour, which commenced in November 2019.

Background and promotion

After releasing '' Bed of Stone'' in 2014, Aṣa took a five-year hiatus from music before revealing plans to release ''Lucid''. On

France 24 France 24 ( in French) is a French state-owned publicly funded international news television network based in Paris. Its channels, broadcast in French, English, Arabic and Spanish, are aimed at the overseas market. Based in the Paris suburb ...

, she recalled making an attempt to "live normal" during her hiatus. In September 2019, Aṣa announced the album's title, cover art, and release date simultaneously. In an interview with ''Griot'' magazine the following month, she said some of the songs were written in her flat in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

while others were written at her studio 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 ...

. She also said she wrote the album like a diary and poured all of her "joy, heartbreak, laughter and longing" on it. ''Lucid''s lead single, "The Beginning", was released on May 14, 2019. Aṣa teased the song on

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prior to its release. The album's second single, "Good Thing", was released on June 25, 2019. The song's accompanying music video was directed by Sesan and released two months later. The video features two women with

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. On September 27, 2019, Aṣa released the third and final single, "My Dear", along with a live rendition video recorded at Studios Ferber in Paris. In November 2019, Aṣa embarked on the Lucid album tour. She performed in major cities of France, Germany, and Switzerland. Aṣa was scheduled to headline the Asa Live in Lagos concert, which would have occurred at the Eko Convention Centre on April 11, 2020. However, she ended up canceling the concert and her remaining tour dates due to the

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Music and lyrics

Composed of fourteen tracks, ''Lucid'' is a

and

album that incorporates elements of

and

. The record employs piano-led

, strings, and soft brass to portray a story of the heartbroken. ''Pulse Nigeria''s Motolani Alake described "The Beginning" as a "lo-fi, melodious post-break-up song that details the residual love still between the warring partners". Zama Mdoda of Afropunk.com praised Aṣa's vocal tone and said the song "lifts and uplifts". "Good Thing" features a

pop-soul Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in African-American communities throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Catchy rhythms, stressed by handclaps and extemporaneous body movements, are an important hall ...

instrumental arrangement. The guitar ballad "Torn" has Aṣa singing of her desire to get revenge after a heartbreak. In the ballad "Happy People", she forgets her problems while enjoying an evening out in the town. "You and Me" has been described as the "happiest song on the album". "Femi Mo" (English: "Don't Want Me Anymore"), which was performed entirely in Yoruba, addresses the breakup of a long-term relationship. "365" and "Don't Let Me Go" are also about the end of relationships. "Makes No Sense" portrays Aṣa as someone who has been hurt. Leslie Addo of ''Pop Magazine'' described "9 Lives" as "a message to Aṣa's former lover on the strength of her character". Logan February said the song "falls short as a formidable statement, but works as a humanistic representation of the damage endured even by the strong". In the closing track to ''Lucid'', "My Dear", Aṣa sings about her absent love interest.

Critical reception

''Lucid'' was met with generally positive reviews from

. ''Pulse Nigeria''s Motolani Alake acknowledged the album for capturing a variety of scenarios and said it is "excellent with new themes". Conversely, Alake believes the album's track listing "fails to promote cohesion" and that its themes lack "sonic uniqueness". Chuks Nwanne from ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' said ''Lucid'' is "about love in different guises" and praised Aṣa for "amplifying her voice on it". Leslie Addo of ''Pop Magazine'' characterized the album as "a masterpiece and personal diary for anyone dealing with a broken heart"; Addo also said Aṣa's lyrical delivery will "give you the imaginative powers to transport yourself to another place". Writing for '' The Lagos Review'', Logan February considers ''Lucid'' to be Aṣa's "most emotionally robust record yet" and said it "honors the highs and lows of love, and the journey of learning to be alone after the party ends". Culture Custodian's Michael Kolawole described the album as "a whiplash of emotion, a carefully crafted blow to the heart, an end-product of a wizened soul, and a letter of self-discovery". Kolawole also notes that while the album does not break new ground, it is still a "beautiful album that's designed for the brokenhearted". In a less enthusiastic review, Carl Terver of ''Praxis Magazine'' said Aṣa failed to outdo her last offering with the album and that her lyrics have "become weakened by a preference for popular songwriting". Music critic Dami Ajayi, whose review was published by the website ''This Is Lagos'', said ''Lucid'' is her "ambitious attempt to collapse the ethos of all her previous albums into a formidable product to keep fans swooning for another half decade".

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from Aṣa's interview with ''Griot'' magazine. *Bukola Elemide – performer *Marlon B – producer

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2019 albums Aṣa albums Yoruba-language albums