5 Things You Didn’t Know About Ayra Starr

Ayra Starr has gone from a young singer posting covers online into one of the most recognisable names in Afrobeats. Her music has taken her from Lagos to international stages, but there are still a few details about her journey that may surprise even longtime fans.

Here are five things you may not know about Ayra Starr.

She was born in Cotonou

Photo: Instagram/@Ayrastarr

Ayra Starr, whose real name is Oyinkansola Sarah Aderibigbe, was born in Cotonou, Benin Republic, on June 14, 2002. She spent her childhood between Cotonou, Abuja and and Lagos, experiences she said shaped the way she adapts to different people and environments. Her parents are Nigerian and are both from Kwara State.

 She started out in modelling

Before pursuing music professionally, Ayra Starr modelled as a teenager. She signed with Lagos-based Quove Model Management as a teenager and was modelling at 16. She also appeared in Eri Ife’s “Dear Future Wife” music video during that period.

Starr has described modelling as something she pursued because people told her she was not tall enough to do it. Rather than giving up, she decided to prove them wrong.

She speaks four languages

She speaks Yoruba, French, English and Nigerian Pidgin. In a Pitchfork interview, she explained that her mother taught her Yoruba, which she jokingly described as the language she needed to use when talking to her aunties.

She started university Unusually Young

Photo: Instagram/@Ayrastarr

Ayra Starr began university at 15, studying International Relations and Political Science in Cotonou. She told Pitchfork that she deliberately wanted to finish her education early because she had already decided she wanted to become a teenage pop star.

She eventually graduated with a degree in International Relations and Political Science before her music career took off internationally.

She was discovered through a song she posted online

Photo: Instagram/@AyrastarrPhoto: Instagram/@Ayrastarr

Before signing with Mavin Records, Starr regularly posted song covers on Instagram. She eventually uploaded an original song, “Damage,” in December 2019 Don Jazzy reached out within hours and invited her to the studio.

Her discovery happened quickly. In an interview with GRAMMY.com, Starr recalled that after posting one of her covers, Don Jazzy reached out within hours, and she was signed days later.

From modelling as a teenager to posting music online and eventually becoming a Grammy-nominated artist, Ayra Starr’s path to the spotlight started long before her biggest hits.