Bukola Elemide (September 17, 1982) is Nigeria’s foremost pop icon. The 5 feet tall vocalist is known professionally as Asa.
She is a singer, songwriter and recording artist who has distinguished herself by her powerful vocals and lyrics.
A professional guitarist, she came to limelight after she dropped her debut album, Asha.
With four studio albums and several concerts to her credit, Asa is one of the biggest music artists to have emerged from the African continent.
Early Life
Asa has dual citizenship. She was born to Nigerian parents in the city of Paris on the 17th of September 1982.
Her parents had migrated few years before her birth to France in search of greener pastures. The Elemides were working and studying in the city prior to her birth. She was given the first name, Bukola, by her parents.
In 1990 (two years after her birth), her parents decided to move back to their fatherland, Nigeria. The family took up residence in the city of Lagos where Mr Elemide worked as a cinematographer. Asides filmmaking, her father had an deep likeness for good music so he collected a lot of records in their home. The records were a mix of different genres, featuring songs from American and African artistes.
Her father’s favourites include the likes of Fela Kuti, Miriam Makebe, Diana Ross, Nina Simones, Bob Marley and Aretha Franklin. As Asa grew up listening to these artists, she developed a passion for music and expressed her artistic ability by composing songs and singing at talent shows in her community.
Asa spent about eighteen years in Lagos State, the music hub of Africa before migrating overseas to her birth city – Paris. She moved to Paris because she wanted to improve her music skills. While she was in Lagos, she had built up a name for herself as an artist to watch out for. Having taught herself how to play the guitar, she specialized in Pop, Jazz and Indie Pop genres.
Education
Asa‘s education journey started in the mainland part of Lagos where her parents enrolled her in a good kindergarten school. On graduating from pre-school, she attended elementary school in the city.
She studied at an all-girls school for her secondary school education. She graduated from the institution with flying colors, having obtained a her WASSCE.
She initially applied to study at the IMFP school of Jazz Music. However, her instructors advised against the idea and told her to go into music full-time. This is because she had already acquired all the knowledge needed to become a great music artist. So, there was no need for her study at the school anymore.
Career
Asa‘s music journey took a new turn when she befriended Janet Nwose. The latter would become her manager and was the one who linked her up with A-list producer, Cobhams Asuquo. Cobhams‘ received credit for producing Asa‘s debut album – Asha.
Her debut single is Eiye Adaba which received massive airplay on many radio and TV stations in the countrywithin months of its release. This song positioned Asa has the newest shining star in the industry. The success of the single secured her a record deal with Naive Records. After Asa dropping her debut album, her fame rose higher as thousands of people listened to her songs. The album topped many charts in Africa, Europe and Asia.
Her sophomore album, Beautiful Imperfection was released in October 2010. She collaborated with French musician, Nicolas Mollard on the project. The album was a huge success as it went platinum in 2011. She reportedly sold 400,000 copies of the album worldwide.
The year 2014 saw Asa release more appealing music with singles such as Eyo, Satan Be Gone, Moving On and Dead Again. These singles are a part of her third studio album – Bed Of Stone.
After much speculation, Asa put smiles on her fans’ face with her fourth album, Lucid. The album is composed of singles such as Murder In USA, The Beginning and Good Thing. The project was released on the 11th of October 2019.
Awards and Nominations
She won the Prix Constantin Award in 2008. She was nominated for the Female Artist Of The Year at the 2011 French Music Awards Victoires de la Musique.
Social Media
Due to her fame, the music star, Asa has a large following on social media. She has over 475k followers on Instagram and over 796k followers on Twitter.
Instagram handle – @asaofficial
Twitter handle – @Asa_official
Personal Life
Asa has a deep love for dreadlocks and has been wearing the hairdo for years. She is dark skinned and has a short stature. She always wears eyeglass.
When she is not touring the world, she can be found in her mansion in Lagos. She is a big inspiration to other alternative musicians on the continent. She is one of the highly paid music artists in Africa.
She was in a serious relationship with a handsome young entrepreneur few years ago. However, she and her partner broke off the relationship due to irreconcilable differences. Nevertheless, they still remain friends. She is currently single.
Net Worth
Over the years, Asa has amassed a fortune for herself. She has an estimated net worth of $800,000-$1,500,000.
