Birth Name: Oyinkansola Sarah Aderibigbe
Nickname: Ayra Starr
Birth Date: June 14, 2002
Genres: Afropop, R&B, Soul
Occupation(s): Singer, Songwriter, Model
Years Active: 2021 – Present
Labels: Mavins Record
Net Worth: Unknown
Personal Life
Ayra Starr was born on June 14, 2002, at Cotonou, Benin Republic to parents from Edo state, Nigeria. She had her early life in Cotonou before moving to Lagos, Nigeria. Because she was born in the Benin Republic, she has dual nationality and speaks French. Ayra is an Arabic name that means ‘Respected’ or ‘Woke’ which represents what the young talented songstress stands for.
While young, Ayra joined her church choir where she served as a vocalist. At the age of 10, she sang in a high school choir and began writing songs with her brother, Dami Aderibigbe, who is also a musical act. Her passion for music stemmed from being raised in a music-loving family. According to her, her mother keyed into her musical career and was really supportive.
Education
Ayra Starr got into the Les Cours Sonou University at the age of 14 and graduated with a degree in International Relations and Political Science. While in the University, her coursemates bullied her because of her age and appearance. To counter the feelings she experienced from being picked on, she turned to music.
Career
Ayra Starr started going to a recording studio with her brother and also recorded covers of hit songs which she posted on her Instagram page.
Luck shone on her when Mavins Record boss, Don Jazzy discovered her singing her original work ‘Damage’ in a video on Twitter. Don Jazzy messaged her in December 2019 but used the entire 2020 to work on improving her music. She was signed into the Mavins family in 2020 and subsequently released her 5-track EP on January 21, 2021. The video of the first song off her EP ‘Away’ was dropped on the same day the EP was released. Ayra co-wrote all but one of the songs on the EP with her brother. The EP became the number-one album on Nigeria iTunes and Apple Music shortly after its release. As at March 2021, it reached the same position on Apple Music in 4 other countries, racking up over 11 million streams across Spotify, YouTube & Audiomack.
Prior to her joining Mavins, she was a model signed with Quove Models, a modeling agency based in Lagos city. From there, she modeled for companies such as Mazelle Studio, Complete Fashion Magazine, and Esperanza Woman.
Discography
2021 – EP – Away
Ija
DITR
Sare
Memories