DC to BC :: as your sun sets, our sun rises.

nigeria finally has some talent.

ah, my naija people! don’t take offense to the statement. listen.

this past sunday, i was over at my cousin’s place. my dad and brother sat down with a rack of family friends for a meal of jollof rice, plantain, and stew. somehow the conversation evolved into a deep conversation about nigerians and music. we all were scouring our brains for nigerians that have  made their mark in the industry relatively recently. we came up with seal, sade, and wale. (editor’s note: and chamillionaire. i swear. but in all honesty, i don’t even think he knows it. so we will leave him out of the conversation completely.) and while there’s no denying that their heritage is indeed routed in nigeria, they aren’t labeled as nigerian artists. both seal and sade grew up in england, and wale is a dmv representer all day. as far as any typical fan can tell, they don’t claim the country. and nothing is wrong with that! if you didn’t grow up there, what can you do? story of my life.

but really. let me make a bold statement: nigeria hasn’t really had an artist that both embodies the country’s culture and appeals to the masses since fela kuti. and by the way, do some research on this guy, seriously. i promise you’ll want to see hollywood make a biopic, ASAP. fela was incredibly influential on music, much like bob marley in his era. but when fela died of AIDS in ‘97, nobody made a valiant effort to take advantage of fela’s impressive pioneering. thus, the portal closed up, and other regions bogarded their way to the mainstream. see how reggae is huge over in the states? remember when you rocked those green, yellow, red and black adidas with the shirt to match? that’s because the movement in the islands was so powerful. bob led the way, and his disciples followed mercilessly.

my hypothesis is, those adidas could have been green and white for the nigerian flag, right along side the joints in the rastafarian colors. and it’s not too late! god knows how, but my uncle got his hands on an emerging artist by the name of asa (pronounced: A-sha), and she may just be the new age trailblazer for the most populated country in africa.

my cousin says that this young woman’s upcoming album, which was so exclusive that he couldn’t even give me a copy, holds down the number one spot in his car’s 6-CD changer. this is coming from a guy who wouldn’t go to a neo-soul concert if you paid him. after i heard that, i knew i had to check her out.

so i did. and i think she’s incredible. she, as well as whoever is handling her career, will see a fat check in the mail soon if all goes as planned. she was born in france, but left at 2 for lagos and never looked back. and neither will the fans she acquires as she conquers the world. so if you start to see her places, know who put you on.

check her video for her song, “jailer”:

she’s set.

hit the yupp lounge for more of her music, as well as her myspace.

bonus: fela kuti - water no get enemy

grab that track above, jam it a few times, and then you’ll understand why he was one of the all-time greats in music.

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