Way before the fame, and before she was called “Queen of Afrobeats”, Tiwatope Omolara Savage was born on February 5, 1980, in Isale Eko, Lagos. Her family moved to London when she was age 11, and that’s where she grew up. She studied accounting at the University of Kent and even worked at the Royal Bank of Scotland for a while, nothing close to music.

Music found her anyway. At 16, she got her first proper singing job, doing backup vocals for George Michael. From there she worked with Mary J. Blige, Whitney Houston, Kelly Clarkson, Chaka Khan, and Andrea Bocelli. She also tried her luck on the UK’s X Factor, pushing for a shot at a solo career.

Photo: Instagram/@tiwasavage

She eventually dropped the accounting path completely and went to Berklee College of Music, finishing in 2007. Two years later, Sony/ATV signed her to a publishing deal.

Things really shifted in 2012, when she came back to Nigeria and signed with Don Jazzy’s Mavin Records. By 2014, she’d become the first female Nigerian artist ever nominated for a BET Award. In 2016, she signed with Roc Nation, another first for a Nigerian act. Then in November 2018, she made history again as the first woman to win Best African Act at the MTV EMAs.

Photo: Instagram/@tiwasavage

Her music has always combined Afrobeats, R&B, afropop, and a touch of hip-hop, easily switching between English and Yoruba. Albums like “Once Upon a Time,” “R.E.D,” and “Celia” showed different sides of her artistry over the years. Her 2021 EP “Water & Garri” later became the inspiration for a Nigerian film of the same title, which she starred in and produced.

In 2019, Universal Music Group signed her to a global deal. These days, she’s known as the Queen of Afrobeats, still active through her Tiwa Savage Music Foundation and her recent album, “This One Is Personal.”

Temilade Openiyi, popularly known as Tems, was born in Lagos and returned to Nigeria with her mother after her parents separated. Her childhood in Lagos was quiet and, by her own account, lonely. She wrote poems about her feelings and began writing songs at around age 11. Some were about not having friends and being called weird by classmates. The music room became an escape for her. She listened to Lauryn Hill, Lil’ Kim, Paramore and OutKast while finding her own voice.

Before pursuing music full-time, Tems studied economics in Johannesburg and later worked in marketing. In 2018, she left her corporate job to concentrate on music. She released “Mr Rebel” that year, followed by songs including “Try Me,” helped establish her as emerging voice in Nigeria’s alternative music scene.

Photo: Instagram/@temsbaby

Her international profile changed in 2020 when she appeared on Wizkid’s “Essence.” The song became a major international hit, and the remix with Justin Bieber extending it’s global reach. “Essence” brought Tems her first Grammy nomination, for Best Global Music Performance at the 2022 awards.

Tems kept on building her own catalogue, releasing her debut EP, “For Broken Ears”, in 2020, then “If Orange Was a Place” in 2021. Her collaborations picked up too: she featured on Drake’s “Fountains” from “Certified Lover Boy” in 2021 and joined Beyoncé and Grace Jones on “MOVE.” Then “Wait For U,” with Future and Drake, the song that won her first Grammy, for Best Melodic Rap Performance at the 2023 ceremony.

Photo: Instagram/@temsbaby

In 2024, she released “Born in the Wild”, her first studio album. The 18-track project draws from R&B, soul, Afrobeats and rap. “Love Me JeJe” also ties the album back to Nigerian music history, sampling elements of Seyi Sodimu’s 1997 song of the same name.

At the 2025 Grammys, “Love Me JeJe” won Best African Music Performance. The award was Tems’ second Grammy.

She’s gone from writing privately about her feelings to becoming one of the most distinct voices in Nigerian music today.

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.