Sensational Afropop singer, Oyinkansola Sarah Aderibigbe shares the story behind her stage name, “[Ayra Starr]”.
While speaking during a for the Christmas interview special on Arise TV the talented musician said that her label boss, Michael “[Don Jazzy]” Ajereh, helped come up with the moniker.
Singer, Ayra Starr. Photo source: Instagram.
The “Sabi” vocalist stated that she came up with the word “[Ayra]”, which means “[woke and open-minded]”, and that Jazzy contributed the suffix “[Starr]”.
Ayra Starr revealed that her stage name prior to signing with [Mavin Records] was “[Oyin]”, a nickname derived from her given name, Oyinkansola.
She said;
“There is this Yoruba name called [Ira], I wanted people to pronounce it as ‘[Aira].’ And I was like the only way the can pronounce it is by spelling it ‘[A Y R A].’ So, I was thinking about it and something just told me to go ‘[A Y R A].’
And went I did, everything just came together: The meaning of the name, it felt like God was speaking to me. And ‘[Starr]’ was Don Jazzy’s idea. [Ayra] means ‘[woke and open-minded].’ And that’s what I want. I want to be honoured and respected.”
English (US)