There are 6 artists with this name:
1. A Finnish rap artist
2. A Nigerian singer of world/soul music (technically correct name is A?a although her own mp3s are tagged as "Asa")
3. A Norwegian singer-songwriter (often written ASA)
4. A Japanese electronic/hiphop producer - change tags to: a s a
5. A Swedish vikingrock/rac band.
6. A British dubstep artist. Listen here: http://soundcloud.com/asadubstep/ and http://asadubstep.bandcamp.com/
1. Matti Salo, better known by his stage name Asa, is a Finnish hip hop artist. He released his debut album Punainen tiili in 2001 under the moniker Avain. The debut differs significantly from the tone of Salo's later work, mainly because of its use of more "traditional" hip hop production and more straightforwardly political lyrics, as opposed to the eclectic and unconvention
al production style and more metaphorical and quirky lyricism of his other albums. Immediately after releasing the album, he ended his contract with Warner Music and has since been independent of major record companies.
In 2005, Salo, this time under the moniker Asa, released his second album Leijonaa metsästän
In 2006, Asa released the album Terveisiä Kaaoksesta, which is more about environmental issues and his relationship with the universe with less political commentary. He also released a mixtape "Foetida".
His latest release was out April 2008 and is called "Loppuasukas". The title is the logical opposite of the finnish word "alkuasukas" (meaning indigenous, native or primitive man) with a connotation of "man living the final days". The backgrounds of the songs are more versatile in many ways, with shamanistic, folk and gypsy rhytms siding with deep hip-hop grooves. Lyrically it continues the mentally expansive trend of the previous album. Asa's lyrics are politically and philosophically argumentative and anarchist, even postmodern. With his aphoristic and holistic stream of thought he is more poet than mc, related more to the line of finnish art rock writers (Alanko, Yrjänä, Martikainen, Liimatta) than his musical genre. He packs philosophy, history, cultural criticism, spirituality, science and grassroots subjectivity to an all-encompassing and schizoid flow of ideas held together only by his will power. Every song is a full thesis with its thousand plateaus, unsolvable word games and global analysis. The album won several awards in Finland, including the 40 000€ Teosto award.
Asa has planned to release his next album, Via Karelia, style of which he describes as "slavic rap", in 2009.
2.“When you catch yourself dreaming, you can sometimes sense that people nearby could hear you, and suddenly, you might feel like it’s a crime. But I’m actually the dreamer girl in that song” Asa laughs.
Born in Paris and returning to her family’s home in Lagos, Nigeria at the age of two, Asa found herself dreaming from an early age. As the only girl in a family of four, living in an African city that was both vibrant and turbulent, young Asa often sought solace in her thoughts. With a vivid imagination and dreams of musical stardom, she would often take to an imaginary stage with her imaginary microphone and perform to her imaginary audience.
Growing up listening to a diverse range of music from artists including Fela Kuti, Bob Marley, Michael Jackson and Lauryn Hill, these influences all played their part when Asa began to forge her own musical path.
Full of ambition and tenacity, she signed herself up to a music school when she was 18, learned to play the guitar and shaped her sound: songs delivered in both English and Yoruba, with a winning fusion of contemporary soul, pop, reggae and funk, complete with strong vocals and soul-stirring melodies. Asa then returned to France to cut her teeth on the Parisian music scene.
It wasn’t long before she was signed to record label naïve and in 2007, she released her debut album, which spawned the hits songs Jailer and Fire on the Mountain. The record launched Asa as a powerful songstress, unafraid to tackle serious issues with intelligence and confidence.
Asa’s debut album met recognition worldwide and was supported by an extended tour – including Europe, North America, Africa and Japan. Asa also received support from musical greats such as Lenny Kravitz, Katie Melua or Angelique Kidjo who invited her to perform duets on various occasions.
With her dreams fully in motion and with an array of experiences under her belt, Asa was in a purely positive frame of mind when crafting her new album, Beautiful Imperfection.
“It is different from the first album; it has more brightness” Asa says of Beautiful Imperfection. One of the album’s stand-out tracks is the up-tempo, country music-tinged Broda Olé – a song you can’t help but clap your hands to. Sung in Yoruba, Asa explains that the song attempts to deliver its message through comedy and irony.
In addition to the upbeat, happy tones of the album, Beautiful Imperfection also boasts gorgeous ballads with Baby Gone, Oré and the haunting, piano-driven song Questions.
Reflecting on the album’s enchanting title, Asa says: “The world has many imperfections, but in many ways, that’s what makes it beautiful. And I think that as long as we accept that it is imperfect, it will make us strive to try and make it a better place.”
Armoured with a strong sense of self and restored happiness, Asa is ready to make her mark on the music world all over again.
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