By Dipo Olowookere
Paris-born Nigerian singer and songwriter, Ms Bukola Elemide, popularly known as Asa, has joined the prestigious Spotify EQUAL Music Programme as the ambassador of the month.
Asa has described her inclusion in the programme for the month of February 2022 as an honour because of the impact of the scheme since its inception.
The Spotify EQUAL Music Programme was designed to promote gender equality in the music industry and showcase influential female musicians.
The multi-platinum selling singer is joining the EQUAL programme’s list of formidable African women making waves in music and she is not taking it for granted.
“I’m honoured to be the Spotify EQUAL ambassador of the month. It’s great to be part of something like this, a movement that’s new yet has always been.
“It’s beautiful when we are celebrated and recognised for contributions to music and art over the years. In the lead-up to the release of my album ‘V’, this is awesome,” Asa, who is one of Nigeria’s most exposed musicians, enthused.
This latest recognition for Asa by Spotify is coming after the release of her most recent single, Mayana, which was featured on the cover of Spotify’s EQUAL Africa playlist in December 2021.
With this, Asa’s track Mayana will lead the EQUAL Africa playlist and feature on the EQUAL Global playlist.
The Head of Music at Spotify for sub-Saharan Africa, Phiona Okumu, disclosed that, “We’re proud to showcase Asa, who is well known and loved for her boundless ability to create her own world through music, with timeless vocals and themes that capture the emotions of a generation.”
Okumu further noted that, “Through the EQUAL Music Programme, we continue to amplify the work of women creators by offering our resources and creating opportunities for these artists.
The Jailer crooner fuses Indie-Pop, Soul, Jazz, Afrobeats and R&B to deliver soul-blazing, chart-topping rhythms that are revered globally.
She has been a huge inspiration to alternative and contemporary African artists, both on the African continent and the world for over 15 years since the debut of her first platinum-selling self-titled album, Asa, with its discography oozing Africanism and soul. The music of Asa is best defined as a timeless classic, with a charismatic, daring and evolutionary style.
