Asa is well-known for her abundant treasure of words – which she continually uses as elements of engineering nearly most of her songs and it has indeed made her collections such a mind-blowing trove. She rubs off the success of her debut album, “Asha” to create another project that is Grammy-worthy. She’s a rare talent and will make quite an impact in the entertainment world at the rate at which she is going. I’m sure those who have listened to her debut album will agree with me that it was a masterpiece with thought-provoking lyrics and well-polished production.

“Why can’t we be happy?” Asa asks in “Why Can’t We,” a song of encouragement swathed in drums and horns of her instrumental about the need to be less worrisome about the things that we don’t have control over. Instead, she is suggesting that happiness is a moment of grace that we can grasp in the palm of our hand as an alternative to being sad and weighed down by our problems.

And on the classical guitar song “Maybe,” Asa uses the song to touch on a range of topics from politics to security while garnering the listeners’ attention straight away to her critics: “Why can’t I ever be who that I wanna be, without you looking at me like a wannabe?,” she sings, echoing the voice of those without a voice. There’s no maybe about this song as it is definitely a brilliant piece.

“Be My Man” was heavily influenced by 1960s soul music which in fact sprouts out of psychedelic rock. The director (Raphaël Frydman) of the music video intelligently recreated 1960s diner, where Asa was giving his man cautionary words about the company he keeps at the beginning of the video. The shimmering song features melancholic and melodic horns, organ, bass, and drums. You can’t help but dance when it comes on.

Asa’s songwriting ability is what makes the album worthwhile. “Preacher Man” draws a clever parallel between wanting and needing God, even when she acknowledged that she is nothing but a sinner “Come ease this pain, I need you now. I’m down on my knees, I’m ready to change. Save me lord, I’m feeling low.” You might want to consider raising your voice, brighten your face and lift up your hands or maybe hold a hymnal because this song will take you to a very high spiritual realm.

“Bimpé” is a fictional character created and portrayed as a disrespectful sister-in-law who regularly disrespects Asa but she warned her throughout the song that she will not tolerate any further abuse. The song was written and recorded in Asa’s native language Yoruba.

This album bears witness to Asa’s political views. She has written quite a few political songs, but this one is one of my favorite. She expressed her feelings about society’s values and politics in “The Way I Feel” by saying, “I feel that something’s going wrong. I can’t escape it. I feel that the destiny should fill the men to be the best are in the hands of liars. Now the world is on fire”. The song runs out with some jazz compositions similar to that of Wayne Shorter which is very soothing and relaxing.

In “Ok Ok”, Asa have some inspirational words for those at the brink of giving up: “Just when life is getting better, you face coldest stormy weather. Just know it will last forever, you see”. This is an inspirational, heartwarming song that uplifts and motivates you to keep moving forward in life. This is a song you can run to when we are feeling low, facing difficulties or lost in the storm of life.

The words in the lyrics of “Dreamer Girl” have been presented very wisely and convey so many powerful interpretations. The first phrase “have you ever heard of a dreamer girl living in a world so far away” presents two interpretations that compete for your attention. At one level Asa attempts to highlight the limitation and reality of this so called “Dreamer Girl”. At another level the message of the song is very nifty and gives the listener an opportunity to participate in an elaborate mental exercise of trying to picture the world of the “Dreamer Girl”.

“Oré” is a Yoruba word for friend. Asa sings softly about friends that come to you in sheep’s clothing, but deeply they are ravening wolves: “Don’t come to my house, iwo orè éké adugbo. Don’t come to my house, iwo orè adaléru. Maya lé mi, orè kofeniferé.” The song is somewhat in relation to what Buddha said about two-faced friends, “An insincere and evil friend is more to be feared than a wild beast; a wild beast may wound your body, but an evil friend will wound your mind”. You sure definitely do not need people like that in your life.

“Baby Gone” is a maudlin and very emotional song by the Hawk (Asa). The song is a regretful song of a lover who failed to hold on to his/her lover. I guess the cliché that “You don’t know what you have until it’s gone” is true. The voice, the strings and backing sounds – everything just make this tune beautiful.

“Broda Olé” is another classic Yoruba tune off Asa’s “Beautiful Imperfection” and you’ve got to love how she sings eloquently of another fictional character she created. I think that this is an amazing song and I like how Asa portrayed her character as a menace to his society.

The last song on the album “Questions” will make you ponder a variety of diverse subjects. This is a thought-provoking song with meaningful words and you’ve got to applaud Asa’s songwriting ability again.

Track listing

1. Why Can’t We
2. Maybe
3. Be My Man
4. Preacher Man
5. Bimpé
6. The Way I Feel
7. OK OK
8. Dreamer Girl
9. Oré
10.Baby Gone
11.Broda Olé
12.Questions

ALBUM RATING: 4/5