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Afrobeats Superstar Ayra Starr Gets Personal About ‘The Year I Turned 21,’ Meeting Rihanna and Growing Up in Public
Fast-rising Afrobeats singer Ayra Star on new album, 'The Year I Turned 21,' and the thrill of meeting Rihanna: 'It doesn’t even seem like she's real!'
Since Variety spoke with Starr last year, she’s gone on to headline her debut world tour, hit a billion streams on Spotify, and scored a Grammy nomination for best African music performance with her smash hit “Rush.” The Beninese-Nigerian singer-songwriter’s sophomore album dropped today (May 31) via the recently announced Mavin-Republic Records partnership (as a part of a larger deal with Universal Music Group) and features labelmate Anitta, Afrobeat star Asake and R&B singer Giveon, among others. A lot of Starr’s signature swagger and determination — via her popular “sabi girl” catchphrase and the daring title of her debut album “19 & Dangerous” — was the mark of a young artist still defining who she was. It’s also about vulnerability and removing my ego.” The singer was instrumental in crafting the project as she co-wrote every song on the album, with several contributions from singer-songwriter Mason “Maesu” Tanner (“Angels in Tibet” by Amaarae, “No.1” by Tyla & Tems) and top producer London (“Calm Down” by Mavin labelmate Rema with Selena Gomez, “Bloody Samaritan” by Ayra Starr).
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