I’m taking my power back – Ayra Starr

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By Ayo Onikoyi

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Nigerian singer Ayra Starr has opened up about the personal journey behind her latest album, StarrGirl, revealing that the project represents a period of self-acceptance, freedom and taking control of her own narrative.

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The singer made this known while speaking with Nadeska Alexis on Apple Music, where she reflected on the different phases of her career and how each album has captured a different stage of her life.

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Reflecting on her evolution from her debut album, 19 & Dangerous, to The Year I Turned 21 and now Starr Girl, Ayra Starr said she has always considered herself confident and headstrong, but acknowledged that external expectations can sometimes make people question themselves.

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“I have always been confident and headstrong but at the same time there are lots of systems that will make one forget that or make one a bit doubtful. My second album was me trying to prove a point 19 and Dangerous because everyone has to know. And The Year I Turned Twenty was me explaining. It was the phase in my life. One thing about me is that I am very happy I am able to make music phases and different places where I am at.”

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For the singer, Starr Girl represents another phase, but this time, she is less interested in proving a point or explaining herself and more focused on embracing who she is.

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“So with this album is literally the same thing. It feels good to be who I am. I am comfortable. There are lots of systems that make one feel one shouldn’t be comfortable. Trying to put one in a box or to tell one what one should be. For me it’s just taking my power back and saying I love who I am sorry.”

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That idea of reclaiming her power is central to the way Ayra Starr describes this latest chapter of her career.

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After 19 & Dangerous introduced her as a young artiste determined to make her mark, and The Year I Turned 21 captured another stage of her personal and artistic development, Starr Girl finds her embracing the freedom to simply be herself.

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