One of Nigeria’s biggest artistes Asa is a bit of a mystery. “No one truly has a full idea of who she is, what she’s about, how her wonderful mind works” says Joey Akan.
The music journalist had a chit-chat with the pop star, and their conversation is an eye-opener.
Read excerpts from the interview.
Why are you mysterious?I think this is natural. This is who I am. I’m very errm, I don’t know. I’m just me. Mysterious, I don’t know. Inasmuch in music, you need to be out there and you’re usually the centre of attention. You’re at a concert and everyone’s looking at you. I do like to live a very quiet, private life because it makes me happy. So my life on stage and as a musician is definitely very different when I’m home and not performing. And the contrast is that I’m on fire on stage and in the studio. I want to make sure I bring out something well-thought-out and present good work to the people because I know they expect that much from me. I’m the same person but I just like to really be quiet when I’m not on stage.How does it work? The Asa on stage is extremely expressive. I attended all your Lagos concerts. I watched you perform at the Supremacy concert, then I watched you perform your concerts at Eko Hotel. Everyone appreciates the amount of Asa they get while still yearning for more. It’s a fine balance. Is it deliberate?It’s just natural. I don’t know. I hardly celebrate birthdays. And I’m always very appreciative when I get to perform in Lagos. I don’t do that a lot but whenever I do it, I’m very happy that people came out. Some of them know me, some of them just discovered me. It’s just a good thing to be before people and perform. To me, if you ask which one do I prefer, studio or stage: stage. The stage has always been my life. What I have lived for.