Asa is a French-Nigerian artist most popularly known for her music which can be categorized as jazz. She is big in France and has won musical awards there.

From her song “Jailer” from her album “Asa” the africanism themes present are polyrhythm (piano & guitar) and group participation (back up singer, adding to the beat with sounds like “ahhh”). This song is about comparing the people in power or in the government/ people that control others as victims as well to the people they victimize. So the end message is that they should consider others they have power over as people too and respect them because we are all the same. In general the song is about “societal oppressors”.

Jazz music originated from the blues and ragtime. Jazz was first introduced as a way for artists to go against the standards of popular culture in society. The creation of jazz was to challenge present and relevant issues, that is why Asa’s music is usually described as jazz. Her music talks about the pressing issues of society, not only in France, but it can relate to different countries all over the world. Like hip-pop, I enjoy jazz music for the rhythm. I also enjoy the messages being told through the music, I believe they usually have important themes connected to the music. 

By: Toluwanimi Araromi