Asa

Asa set off to take flight with the release of her first single, "Fire on the Mountain," in 2007. The single (which has a surprisingly lilting melody for its accompanying lyrics warning of ecological disaster) had already received wide airplay on stations in Europe when her self-titled debut album hit stores in October of that same year. Asa (pronounced Asha) is no stranger to France, where her album was recorded and produced, having been born in the capital city of Paris. Born Bukola Elemide in 1982, the singer has only the vaguest of memories of her birth city, since she was only two years old when her family returned to Nigeria. Their time spent in Paris was brief, but Asa's fate was tied up with the City of Light and it was to Paris that Asa returned 20 years later to record her first major work in the studio. Asa grew up in Lagos, the former capital of Nigeria and a city buzzing with energy but also home to a deep-rooted spirituality. In Lagos, Asa matured amidst a population balancing the beliefs of Islam and Christianity. The influence of the city can be heard throughout Asa's first album on tracks such as "Jailer" and "Fire on the Mountain," where tentative hints of Afro-beat waft through the folksy pop. Her first album features mainly English lyrics, but she also sings in Yoruba, a West African dialect often spoken in Nigeria. Asa remains as unique as the city she grew up in, with a style lying somewhere between pop and soul -- and just a twist of reggae. ~ Celeste Rhoads, Rovi