Twitter is where I find out about most things. Even when I’m not tweeting, scrolling through my timeline is a daily ritual that I hardly ever miss.
So when I saw Don Jazzy’s tweet about his latest signing to Mavin Records, I could feel excitement rushing from my eardrums right through my body. Everybody knows that the Don never misses, and any talent he chooses to work with definitely has the potential to serve good music.
The first thing that caught my attention was the name “Ayra Starr”. For a moment, I read it as “Arya Stark”, one of my favourite characters in popular TV series, Game of Thrones. I don’t know if it was deliberate, but if it was, kudos to her for coining that name.
To be honest, I didn’t know what to expect from this 18-year old. Of course she must have been doing music underground, but there’s no discography anywhere to get a glimpse of what she’s capable of. The release time was set for 12am and I just couldn’t wait for the music to drop.
After listening to Ayra Starr’s debut EP, I can tell that she is truly special. Her music, though bearing similarities with Tems, stands out with scintillating melodies delivered by a fluid voice that will give you goosebumps. No wonder the lead track on the EP, “Away”, is already topping the charts.
Ayra’s talent aside, one cannot also overrule the influence of Don Jazzy on her almost instant stardom. We’ve seen him do it with a lot of artistes; D’banj, Wande Coal, Korede Bello, Reekardo Banks, Tiwa Savage, Rema, Johnny Drille and others. Even when Iyanya needed a boost in his career, moving to Don Jazzy’s camp worked (albeit short-lived). Don Jazzy understands the market and knows how to bend it to his will. He is also actively doing things to evolve, stay relevant and keep his personal brand alive.
With a first attempt as good as this, we can only expect more from Ayra Starr in the coming years. It is also good to see more female acts stepping up to take the centre stage in a male-dominated music industry such as our.
What’s your favourite track off “Ayra Starr the EP”?
Kindly share in the comment section below.
