‘I’m literally a superstar!’: the irresistible confidence of Nigerian singer-songwriter Ayra Starr
![‘I’m literally a superstar!’: the irresistible confidence of Nigerian singer-songwriter Ayra Starr](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/e6a1713f21a05403160adf41a9c2961ca048e7b2/320_1059_3276_1966/master/3276.jpg?width=460&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=a21271768994b9b9c002a245d18f81cd)
Moving around a lot as a child taught the 22-year-old to listen and absorb myriad musical influences. Now she’s combined them into a Grammy-nominated cocktail of R&B and Afrobeats and is ready to conquer Glasto
Three years ago, to mark the release of Nigerian singer Ayra Starr’s debut EP, Starr’s brother paid a Lagos singer of fújì, a Yoruba genre incorporating elements of poetry, to chant praises at her. That melodic verse opens Starr’s sophomore album The Year I Turned 21, and sees the artist – born Oyinkansola Sarah Aderibigbe – labelled “the glorious child”.
It’s a moniker Starr isn’t exactly scared of embracing. “One thing you’ll notice about me is I’m very audacious,” she says. “I like to shock people and I always show temerity in any way possible.” The audaciousness is what grips you – while you’re taken in by the beautiful, rhythmic fújì melodies, you’re then hit with Starr’s bold vocals, and lines like “I run up blocks, I run ’em myself” and “I don’t watch my tone cause I like how I sound, bitch”.
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