Last Saturday, for daring to express one
of his biggest dreams on Twitter, singer Ayo Balogun, aka Wizkid, ran
into trouble with some movie fans on the social media platform.
Wizkid’s ‘offence’ was that he posted a
statement on his Twitter handle declaring that he wished urgently to do a
collabo with sensational Nigerian soul musician based in France, Bukola
Elemide, aka Asa.
Wizzy, as he is fondly called by his
fans, had tweeted; “Yo Asa has to be the one I want to work with so bad!
Love love her!” The next day, Twitter was awash with reactions from
music fans stating a dozen and more reasons why he should perish the
thought.
Shocked by the idea of a collabo between
the singer and a female singer, whom they obviously held in high
esteem, some of the fans urged him to worry about improving on his music
first before thinking of a doing a duet with Asa.
One respondent actually drew an amusing
comparison between Wizkid and Asa by tweeting; “Amala and salad don’t
mix.” Another fan seemed to stretch his rejection of a possible collabo
between both music stars when he warned, “Wizkid will corrupt Asa’s
lyrics.”
Yet, a third respondent, who was
obviously not a fan of Wizkid and loathed the idea of having him on
stage alongside Asa, described him as not good enough for a collabo with
the Paris-based singer.
The reactions, no doubt, showed just how
much value music fans on this side of the globe place on Asa’s music
and performances. Incidentally this revelation is coming at a more
auspicious period in the singer’s career.
Asa’s profile seems to be on the rise,
following the arrival of her third album titled ‘Bed of Stone’ and the
release of the video of ‘Satan Be Gone’.
The award-winning soul musician is currently on a playing tour of Europe with Best of Stone.
The trailer of the new video, which is available on Youtube, bears the
full stamp of her talent. Directed by filmmaker, Meji Alabi, it shows
Asa dancing in a church and singing in Yoruba – her native tongue – and
English. But it is the sheer power of her rendition and the quality of
photography, both of which combine to give life to the message in the
song, that make the video so attractive.
Asa’s works, notable for the persistent
drumbeats and the prominent guitar riffs that complement her husky
voice, have always been well received, especially on the home front
where her music takes its roots from.
The ovation that often attends her
performances is a reliable measure of her acceptance in this part of the
world. Last August, the singer performed songs from Bed Of Stone for the first time in Nigeria at the popular youth event, The Future Awards Africa. For this, she was given a standing ovation.
Asa managed to put an end to
speculations that she might be gay, when she disclosed in an interview
published online a few months ago that she was involved in a
relationship with a male English musician.
In a previous interview published in the Nigerian Entertainment Today,
she expressed the desire to work with a number of Nigerian music
artistes, including Tuface Idibia, D’banj and 9ice. But she never
mentioned Wizkid.
When
asked how it felt working with 9ice on a previous outing, she had
replied, “9ice made me speak Yoruba. When he did that I thought that if
he could do that then I can do it. And the song was better than the way I
expected it. It’s about painting a picture of a good Nigeria and
holding the country highly.”
Despite the negative publicity on
Nigeria abroad, Asa has proved to be a worthy ambassador of this country
who has never hidden the fact that she is proud of her country and she
is willing to do her proud anywhere she finds herself. It is this
feeling that drives her hard at her work.
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