Afropop’s rising name Ayra Starr’s debut album is a wake-up call for Gen Z
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The 19-year-old Beninese-Nigerian singer has crowds screaming her name and a debut album under her belt, but beyond her superstardom are teenage worries of doing the dishes and grocery runs.
It’s a bit over six months ago that AYRA STARR released her debut single Away. Amassing a humble four million views on Youtube, we now find ourselves on the day the young star releases her debut album, 19 & Dangerous. It’s a lot for a 19-year-old. Starr apologises for her hoarse voice as we speak over Zoom, a result of the excitement of achieving this milestone. “I didn’t officially celebrate, but I was just screaming a lot,” she says.
While interacting with anyone through a screen is nothing like the real deal, the Lagos-based musician’s unreserved manner of conversing through this awkward medium feels much like a chat with a gal pal – barring the non-participating anonymous grey extras who are a part of our conversation. Perhaps this is also the reason why the Beninese-Nigerian’s voice has collected an instant following, this album being just the start of something very, very big.
Surprisingly, Starr’s talent was not a culmination of years of training. As a child, she had the dream of becoming a singer, but she grew up wanting a more practical and financially stable life, and instead went to university to study political science and international relations. “But here we are now, God had other plans,” she laughs. Growing up with siblings of whom one is a songwriter and the other a music producer, things just naturally fell into place. “Everything we did in the house was related to music. Every game we played, every show we watched had to be related to music,” explains Starr.
Shriya Zamindar: Can you describe Ayra Starr in three words?
Ayra Starr: Open-minded, free, and a creative genius.
SZ: Why did you choose Ayra Starr as your stage name?
AS: I’ve always called myself a star since I was a kid, I used to say I’m a superstar, and I grew up calling myself that. I would say that to my bullies too, I’d tell them, “You know I’m going to be a superstar one day, and you’re not going to be my friend.” Ayra was a name I found online. It’s an Arabic name for somebody who is open-minded and highly respected and it just fit with my beliefs.
Despite the instant success she has accumulated since her debut in January this year, she has no airs about stardom. “I still live with my mum. you know. Before I go do a show, I still have to do the dishes. I could be at a show with fans screaming my name, and my mom would call me up to tell me I haven’t cleaned my room,” she confesses. Even while having the confidence to live in both her realities, she does have times when doubt creeps in. “But that’s why I surround myself with people who genuinely love me, and not just because I’m Ayra Starr.” Being with her tight-knit group of friends she’s known since she was 14, and her family, she takes strength from their words. “They always encourage me and tell me they’re proud of me. Even when I don’t have the confidence, they have that confidence in me,” explains Starr.
Acapella snippets on her Instagram add to the existing proof that she does indeed have all the tools to become a superstar. Her melodic voice tackles riff after riff in the much-awaited album with ease as if doing the simplest of things, like drinking water. It’s a compendium of sounds, covering genres like Afro-pop, R&B, dancehall, trap and alté, which she combines with her raw lyrics covering a wide range of topics from sexism to drug abuse.
SZ: Who did you grow up listening to?
AS: I’m a proud Disney child, I grew up with Disney, I watched every show on Disney, it was one of the things that inspired me when I was young. Other than that, the song Hips Don’t Lie was my jam. Every party I used to go to, we had to play that. I also grew up on 2FACE IDIBIA, USHER, RIHANNA and BEYONCE.
Starr’s on-stage persona also channels her childhood icons. In particular, it was the various outfits she wore for the Away music video that was most resonant. Think everything from ARIANA GRANDE’S pastel fetish to Rihanna’s umpteen high-on-drama latex looks. “Every single outfit was my idea, and I knew what I wanted to see at every scene in the music video,” she says.
The singer also has a penchant for picking streetwear that exudes a relaxed glamour, bringing slouchy jackets layered over curve-hugging corsets and tanks into her stage wardrobe. Off-set, she is an intuitive dresser. “I don’t know if it’s because I’m a Gemini, but my style depends on my mood. Every six minutes I’m a different person,” she tells me.
SZ: Three designers that make the top of your list?
AS: LAQUAN SMITH, ANDREA IYAMAH and VIRGIL ABLOH.
Starr still carries hints of the romanticised pop-star dream from her childhood in her personality, a very teenager-turning-into-an-adult quality, which is endearing. Of all the changes she has had in her life since her debut, she gives me the least expected highlight. “I can’t go to the grocery store like I used to, which is super great because now my mum can’t tell me to go get things from the grocery store, I’m really enjoying that right now,” she replies.
Contrary to her outgoing demeanour, the album is a mood lifter but also addresses serious issues. 19 & Dangerous was born from her observations of people around her, dealing with issues like drug abuse, misogyny, sexism – things she has seen happening in her surroundings that have become prevalent issues to address to youngsters her age. “There was no way for me to help them at that time. I know a lot of people are still facing those issues and I know that my music could help somebody through that. So, this album is for people with all these different lives to find safety in,” explains Starr.
For that purpose, she hopes that her voice can bring these tribulations of 19-year-olds like herself to light. “I knew what the album was going to be two years ago, this year I went over all the songs I had and it already felt like it was delivering a message. It’s a safety net for the people from the world,” she explains. “This album is about how to feel stronger or dwell on your vulnerabilities, and how to feel strong after you’ve been vulnerable. I wanted it to be like a therapy session.”
Credit: @scrdofme
At 19, Starr’s maturity and work ethic is what has brought her this far, now signed to a leading Nigerian record label and is about to release her own album. “It’s hectic, there’s so much work. I do not have a personal life but I can’t complain at all, I’m so grateful to be here right now. It’s one of those things I’m ready to make sacrifices for because I know this album is going to help so many other 19-year-olds and I don’t mind not attending parties and not watching reality tv at home for that,” she says.
Her title track, Bloody Samaritan is a dance anthem that talks about the hypocritical behaviour of people. “It’s a figure of speech because when you read the Bible you read about the Good Samaritan and here you have people pretending to be good people but they’re not,” explains Starr, who felt cornered by the instant criticism she received after her debut single.
Starr also adds a bit of her ever-present spunk to the tracks. One of which, titled Bridgertn, was inspired by –you guessed it– the namesake Netflix series, which she admits she was obsessed with. “There was a black queen in the series, which I had never seen before. Representation matters so much, if I had seen that as an eight-year-old child, my confidence would have spiked,” she reasons.
SZ: What is your dream goal now?
AS: I do know a lot of things I want to do, but I want to keep that to myself because I don’t want to jinx it. Apart from that, I am just ready to do the work, and I am not afraid to go deep to get to where I want to be.
SZ: Do you have a life philosophy that you stick by?
AS: Patience. Sometimes I lose myself in things and I get so overwhelmed that I forget to be patient. But patience is key, Don Jazzy told me that, he’s the owner of our label and I stuck by that since the release of my EP. Just be patient and everything that is supposed to come your way will come.
Ayra Starr’s debut album, 19 & Dangerous, is available to stream on Spotify and Apple Music.