French-Nigerian Asa comes to İş Sanat

ISTANBUL

Young Nigerian-French musician Asa will be at Istanbul’s İş Sanat stage with her latest album, “Bed of Stone,” on May 7. 

Named Bukola Elemide at birth, Asa was born in Paris and grew up in Alagbole, a border town of the Ogun state near Lagos, in south-western Nigeria. Twenty years later, she returned to Paris where her life as an artist took off.

Asa, meaning hawk in Yoruba, became an artist in Lagos and was signed by a French label. She is one of the most exciting artists to have emerged in the last decade. She’s highly in demand by festivals across the world and radios give her a special place on their playlists.

In 2004, Asa met her manager and friend, Janet Nwose, who introduced her to Cobhams Emmanuel Asuquo, who in turn became her musical partner and producer. 

Partnered with Cobhams, and with the new involvement of Christophe Dupouy, she produced her first album, “Asa.” The release of the album saw the artist win the prestigious French Constantin Award in 2008, where she was voted best fresh talent out of 10 singers or groups by a jury of 19 music-industry specialists in Paris.

The artist’s second album, “Beautiful Imperfection,” was released on 25 October, 2010. The lead single from Beautiful Imperfection, entitled “Be My Man,” was released in late September 2014. A video for the song was released in mid-October. She also performed with Fefe at the 2011 Sydney Festival.