ASA - "Beautiful Imperfection" (Album Review)

“I wanted to create something that would make people feel uplifted,” Asa has said of her second album, Beautiful Imperfection. After a preliminary listen, the French singer-songwriter of Nigerian descent – born Bukola Elemide – has fulfilled her brief.

Although citing African diva Angelique Kidjo and fellow Nigerians Fela and Femi Kuti as influences, Elemide makes little use of rhythms, melodies and instrumentation from her ancestral country. As Janelle Monae’s visual doppelganger (blame the asymmetric fauxhawk and pedal pushers), Elemide’s music is more suited to a ‘Pop’ rather than ‘World’ classification; her deeply soulful croon echoes a diversity of artists including India Arie (‘Why Can’t We’), Lily Allen (‘Maybe’), Amy Winehouse (‘Be My Man’), Fiona Apple (‘Questions’) and, unexpectedly, Sneaker Pimps’ Kelli Dayton (‘Preacher Man’).


Asa captured a wide audience when she burst on the scene with her first album Asa in 2008 introducing a genre one could say she created. A year later her highly anticipated sophomore album Beautiful Imperfection has been released. Read below to find out if it lives up to the hype.

The first 3 songs on the album, Why Can’t We, May Be and the first single off the album Be My Man are not of the classic Asa sound we have come to love, but rather sees this artist shift to a genre that embodies an up-tempo soul-pop sound emulating the likes of Adele & Lily Allen.

Listening on, track #4 Preacher Man is the first ballad on the album and for me where the EP really starts to sound like the old Asa. Not for long though as Bimpe, which she performs completely in Yoruba switches back to an up-tempo track with a few rock infused instrumentals.
The Way I Feel and Ok Ok are in essence just “ok” songs and can easily come across as album fillers. Still staying in the same riffs as the 2 previous tracks Dreamer was born. Lovely lyrics and vocals from Asa makes this the first playback worthy track of the album.

At this point in the album I would have loved Asa to have another track performed in her native language Yoruba, which she did titled Ore Girl back in the classic Asa sound encompassing simplistic instrumentals and honest lyrics about friends.

Thankfully Baby Gone and Broda Ole keep the Asa sound going on and make for good easy listening. Questions the last and final track should have been the first song on the album as we finally hear the Asa we know. Deep lyrics laced on perfectly arranged percussions easily make this the best song on the album.

It’s a good listen all around, sadly though it does not live up to her debut album. As she’s going in a different [sound] direction, I think the world would also love to hear Asa feature other artists on her EPs just to add a little variation.  Nonetheless, it’s one you want to have in your collection.

 "BE MY MAN" (video)