AMG Review of Asa

Charity Stafford
All Music Guide

European and American audiences often somewhat patronizingly think of African pop music as being somehow more "pure" and "elemental" than their own. However, the marvelous thing about the first full-length album by Nigerian soul belter Asa is that the singer/songwriter has created an album that's as immediately accessible as Duffy's Rockferry or Adele's 19 in its blend of R&B, pop, and vintage soul. Even the one track in Asa's native tongue, "Eye Adaba," wouldn't sound out of place on a Corinne Bailey Rae album.