Aṣa

Biography

Bukola Elemide (born 17 September 1982), known professionally as Aṣa (; ASH-ə, Yoruba: [àʃá], French: [aʃa]), 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, Nigeria. Aṣa grew up in Lagos 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. These records featuring American, Nigerian and African soul classics, included artists such as Marvin Gaye, Fela Kuti, Bob Marley, Aretha Franklin, King Sunny Adé, Diana Ross, 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 song "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 Imperfection15 October 2010 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Why Can't We3:412Maybe4:153Be My Man3:394Preacher Man4:445Bimpé3:236The Way I Feel4:597OK OK3:518Dreamer Girl3:409Oré4:3910Baby Gone4:3311Broda Olé3:5412Questions4:0413Bamidélé4:05, 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×Bed of Stone25 August 2014 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Dead Again3:082Eyo3:163Satan Be Gone2:364Bed of Stone4:205Moving On4:176Grateful2:457Society3:038How Did Love Find Me3:419Ife3:4710Situation2:4011New Year3:0112The One That Never Comes4:06, 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×Good Thing14 August 2019 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Good Thing". On 11 September 2019, she announced on her Twitter page that her album, Lucid×Lucid11 October 2019 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracksA1Murder In The USA4:03A2The Beginning3:44A3Good Thing2:50A4Stay Tonight3:02A5Torn3:24B1Happy People3:37B2You And Me3:14B3Femi Mo3:27B4Makes No Sense3:33B53653:19C1Until We Try3:19C29 Lives2:59C3Don´t Let Me Go2:53C4My Dear3:56, will be released on 11 October 2019. She released her fifth studio album, V, on February 25, 2022. It comprises ten tracks and features guest appearances from Wizkid, highlife duo The Cavemen, and Ghanaian artist Amaarae.

Live albums

Live in Paris (2009)
Live in Lagos (2017)

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