• Providence: Nigeria
• From social media singer to global Afrobeat superstar
• African heritage and a future-forward music
• The road to success
• The future is Black Female

A Starr is born

Before pursuing a career in music, a then 16-year-old Oyinkansola Sarah Aderibigb was a promising teenage model in the Nigerian fashion industry. Her mother, a former singer, and an aunt who rapped, would encourage her from an early age to fine-tune and develop her natural talent. Unfiltered and raw, the young Nigerian artist’s career as a singer kicked off covering songs by popular artists on Instagram, garnering 1000s of views and engagement.  Afrobeat star-maker, Don Jazzy soon found her after she posted her first original song, ‘Damaged,’ in December 2019. In fact it took him just three hours to reach out after the video posted. By June 2020, Ayra Starr was born and signed to Don’s label, Mavin Records. Roughly a year after her first studio session, Ayra released her first studio EP, a self-titled debut ‘Ayra Starr,’ and with Jazzy in her corner, the 19-year-old gained instant fame and success.

Her music –  past, present and future

With roots in Benin and Nigeria, Ayra stays true to her heritage by preserving and weaving in African sounds, rhythms, and the language she grew up with, into her work. Singing in English, Pidgin English, and Yoruba, she tells stories of heartbreak, the unpredictability of life and of taking control. With an uncharacteristic maturity, Ayra transformed the passing of her father, into a source of vision within her song-writing, and all other aspects of her life.

“My Dad was a go-getter, he lived his life the way he wanted, created his own rules and was unapologetic about it, he was the real O.G,” she writes on her Instagram.

Powerful, yet delicate in her vocals, Ayra draws inspiration from other Nigerian musicians such as Tiwa Savage, and looks to the past to find a muse in the funky, political Nigerian female frontwomen of the 60’s to 80’s, the Lijadu Sisters. Her songs are filled with mystic percussion and poetic flair, and she even samples the 60’s singer, activist, comedian and dancer, Eartha Kitt’s advice – that she offered in a 2001 interview on freedom of expression – in the opening of her latest EP ‘19 & Dangerous’.

Looking towards the future, Ayra wants to empower young black girls through her music, encouraging them to relentlessly chase their dreams and personal freedom. Her vision is of a music industry brimming with strong female influence and leadership, maintaining the perfect equilibrium between a respect for African heritage and embracing the power of future-forward female artistes.

Star bound…

Only two years into her professional career, Ayra is paving her own road to success. 2021 proved to be the year of Ayra Starr as her breakout single, ‘Away’, spent two consecutive weeks at #4 on Nigeria’s TurnTable Top 50 and went to #17 on the US Billboard Top Triller Global Chart. The success led to the release of her first full-length studio album, ‘19 & Dangerous’ in August which debuted on Pandora Predictions chart and, by August 28, she ranked #2 on Billboard’s Next Big Sound, generating two top 40 hits in Nigeria. That same month, Ayra earned her first cover of Apple Music’s biggest African playlist, ‘Africa Now’, with her track ‘Snitch’ featuring Fousheé. With features in Rolling Stone, Vanguard, Bella Naija, BBC, MTV UK, NME, GQ and OkayAfrica, it comes as no surprise that Ayra featured on Shazam’s list of artists to watch in 2022 alongside global artists including DannyLux, Lyn Lapid, Sad Night Dynamite and STAYC.

The Future calls

Ayra is determined to make younger girls feel like they’ve been heard when listening to her music. Bold, brave, and unbothered, she continues to speak up for what she believes in, pulling her weight in laying the foundation for a brighter, female-forward future.