Nigerian Afrobeats superstar Ayra Starr is getting her hair blow-dried when she casually mentions that she has a plane to catch in an hour. It is less than 48 hours before release day, and our conversation has already been moved around to accommodate her recovery from surgery (the specific reason for which she has not disclosed). Somewhere between answering questions, getting ready, and preparing to travel, Starr admits she initially felt pressure to “push, push, push” before accepting that “I can’t do anything more than my body will allow me.” There’s often plenty of chatter about whether the younger generation of pop stars has the appetite for the traditional grind of superstardom.
Watching the machinery moving around the 24-year-old Nigerian singer suggests something more complicated. Despite being in recovery, Starr made time for our conversation, hosted listening parties in New York and Los Angeles, and still managed to do an early outing on the “Today” show. She has simply gotten very good at making the grind look effortless.
Starr’s third studio album, “Starrgirl,” is out today (Aug. 14), and poses some answers to questions like, What does it look like when you move to NYC, trust in yourself more, and remove the noise and expectations from yourself, your environment, and, most of all, the internet? The new collection of songs finds Starr experimenting with new sounds while keeping a foundation in the Afrobeats that brought her to global attention, and it’s her voice that is the throughline. The album is stacked with features from Zayn Malik, Leon Thomas, fellow Grammy nominee Wizkid, Kwn, Rema, Danny Ocean, Theodora, and more.
The album finds Starr at a junction in her career. Where does the Nigerian baddie go after racking up Afrobeats hits and cementing herself as a top contender in music with two Grammy nominations, touring stadiums while opening for Coldplay, and landing an upcoming debut role in the Gina Prince-Bythewood’s upcoming fantasy-adventure film “Children of Blood and Bone”? Third studio albums can often be a time for doubling down on sonic and visual identity or leaning toward a rebrand.
And as her sonic offering continues to expand, she still found ways to incorporate her Nigerian culture through the traditional Yoruba gele head wrap worn on the album’s cover art. Geles are typically worn at celebratory events, and Starr and photographer Axle Jozeph transform it into an Afrofuturist icon alongside sci-fi lasers. The choice shows that Starr’s evolution doesn’t require leaving her Nigerian identity behind.
Instead, she is taking something traditional and pushing it into a new, futuristic context. The move to New York was a catalyst for much of the change that was to come for Starr. Now, she only asks that listeners approach it with “a clean mind” and allow themselves “45 minutes of enjoyment.” The last time we spoke, you told me that experience had taught you to become more patient with yourself.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
