Ghost of the past stalks Asa, Question Mark

“Asa has not released any album recently called ‘Down on Me’. It is a fraudulent act from Question Mark Entertainment to dupe people. We have put out press statement and Asa has personally warned her followers on twitter @Asa official not to buy that album! We are currently taking all the necessary measures to ensure that we stop this and protect people from being duped of their hard earned money by these criminals.”
 That was the reply from Asa’s manager, Janet, to an email query from Off the Stage on reports that Asa had dropped another album barely a year after her sophomore effort, ‘Beautiful Imperfection’ hit shelves across the country.

 In a swift move, her management had distanced itself from the album calling on fans to boycott it, insisting it was an act of fraud emanating from her ex-label, Question Mark Entertainment.

 Once upon a time, Asa was the beautiful bride on a platform that once had the likes of Wale Otegbola, Gbenga Shokenfu of the Kush fame among a host of other creative hands. However, due to reasons we don’t really understand, the tree musketeers (Kelvin Luciano, Wale Otegbola and Gbenga Shokefun) just didn’t blend and so Wale and Gbenga quit the label.

 However, Asa became the biggest act on the label, with her singles heating up the airwaves. But her union with Question Mark’s boss, Kelvin Luciano went sour and she quit the label despite attempts to make her see ‘reason’ by Kelvin. While Kelvin had gone to the media and threatened to sue Asa for all she’s worth if she left Question Mark, Asa quietly moved on with her career and released her debut self titled album, ‘Asa’ in 2007. Overnight, she became a star and surprisingly, Question Mark’s threat to sue her never materialized.
 But then insiders say the songs in the ‘Down on Me’ album had been recorded long ago when Asa was still on the label. The record label decided to release the album now because Asa has become a global brand and her music will be a sure bet for Question Mark.

 “It’s pay back time for Asa,” a source told Off the Stage. “Back in the day, Question Mark spent so much money promoting her singles including ‘Jailer’, which has become a runaway hit. But when it was time to reap, she quit the label. Kelvin is still not happy with what she did. Luckily, she had recorded these songs and Lucky feels this is his compensation for the millions he invested in her career. That’s the reason he waited this long to release her knowing fully well Nigerians will patronize anything Asa.”
 So, is Question Mark taking its pound of flesh at last? The coming weeks will shed more light on this, but right now the stage may be set for a long drawn legal battle.