{"id":84998,"date":"2021-08-11T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-08-11T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/?p=84998"},"modified":"2023-05-15T18:16:02","modified_gmt":"2023-05-15T16:16:02","slug":"ayra-starr-is-19-and-dangerous","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/ayra-starr-is-19-and-dangerous\/","title":{"rendered":"Ayra Starr is 19 &#038; Dangerous"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">Dangerous. That\u2019s the adjective Ayra Starr chose for her debut album, accompanied by her shockingly young age considering the Mavin signees breakout success after just an <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/mavinrecords.lnk.to\/ayrastarr\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/mavinrecords.lnk.to\/ayrastarr\" target=\"_blank\">EP<\/a> and some remixes. But Ayra had her choice of adjectives. Exciting, energetic, determined, thoughtful, and confident. These are all qualities easy enough to see during our interview, and perhaps these traits, when put together in a talented young woman, are seen as dangerous by an outmoded few. Regardless, Ayra Starr is able to channel an array of emotions and subjects that make her debut album multinational and multigenerational. It\u2019s fitting to note that the young star was \u201cdiscovered\u201d by industry titan and <a href=\"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/tag\/mavin-records\/\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/tag\/mavin-records\/\">Mavin Records<\/a> founder <a href=\"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/tag\/don-jazzy\/\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/tag\/don-jazzy\/\">Don Jazzy<\/a> after posting an original composition entitled <em>DAMAGE<\/em> on Instagram, a story which Ayra relates in our talk. The song appears on <em>19 &amp; Dangerous<\/em> as \u201cToxic<em>\u201d<\/em>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This isn\u2019t the only serendipitous confluence of imagery that revolves around Ayra\u2019s persona. Whether it\u2019s the comparison with one of Ayra\u2019s idols, Rihanna, who released the similarly empowered <em>Good Girl Gone Bad<\/em> at 19, the brother sister songwriting duo in the likes of Billie and Finneas, or the irreverence and modeling background of a young Iggy Azalea; Ayra is carrying the weight of potential on her shoulders. Comparisons aside, Ayra continuously pushes for her own identity on the debut, singing in the manifesto-esque opener \u201cCast (Gen Z Anthem)\u201d, \u201cI\u2019m gonna be who I want to be, live my life the way I wanna live, with no shame, with no haste\u2026I heard life has no limitations but the one you make\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Ayra Starr - Beggie Beggie feat. CKay (Official Music Video)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/z1Vp9gpO_OM?feature=oembed&#038;autoplay=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption>Ayra Starr &#8211; Beggie Beggie feat. CKay<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Growing up between Lagos and Cotonou in a musical household, Ayra also acquired a stylistic diversity that comes through on the debut. Bouncing between r&amp;b, afro-fusion, and rap, the young artist is ready to test anything, singing on \u201cBridgertn\u201d, \u201cbroke all the stereotypes I make my rules, I break all of your rules\u2026 yeah I\u2019m lit like that.\u201d Perhaps it\u2019s best to describe the album as a \u201cvibe\u201d, a word Ayra employs often and a feeling you\u2019ll have to hear for yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We spoke with Ayra to get a better look at the artist on the eve of her debut discussing empowerment, representation, inspiration, and her career thus far.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Can you tell us about the title of the album?<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>I always knew I wanted my first album to be <em>19 &amp; Dangerous<\/em>. I said that last year like. I just kept saying it. So I listened to the music I had and I said I should definitely have an album. I don\u2019t have to wait for anybody to tell me it\u2019s time. After my fans asked me for an album I felt like I should put out a body of work if I have a body of work to put out. I\u2019m 19 of course, that\u2019s part of the name. And dangerous\u2026 it\u2019s just the day I found out I wasn\u2019t scared of making mistakes, I wasn\u2019t scared of failing, you know? I\u2019m ready to work hard to get to where I want to. I\u2019m ready to try as many times as possible to be who I want to be. That\u2019s when I knew I was dangerous because I have nothing to lose. I\u2019m ready to fight the fight, I\u2019m ready to win the wins, I\u2019m ready to do everything. So <em>19 &amp; Dangerous<\/em> was like, yo I\u2019m 19, and I\u2019m dangerous, and I\u2019m ready.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Does the \u201cdanger\u201d fit into the themes of female empowerment that you bring up on the album?<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>Being in a Nigerian music scene you have a lot of people saying females don\u2019t last as long as men and just a lot of stereotypes that go with being a female artist. Me, I\u2019m not here for anybody\u2019s stereotypes, I break all the rules, I make my own rules, I break all the stereotypes. So the album is like a statement also. I\u2019m not here to be anyone else. You can\u2019t tell me what to do, you can\u2019t tell me how to be. Just the way it is when we talk about feminism and all that, so that\u2019s definitely one of the points.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">You also talk about being a big fan of Rihanna, Beyonc\u00e9, and others. Do you take notes from them as artists?\u00a0<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>Yeah, from their music and from their career just the rebranding and never giving up. It\u2019s very easy. The way females rebrand themselves isn\u2019t the way males have to rebrand. We have a male artist that wears shirts and has the same hairstyle for like 10 years and people still listen to his music. But when it comes to females, people want to see something new every time. People have really short attention spans when it comes to females. But that didn\u2019t stop Nicki Minaj, that didn\u2019t stop Rihanna, that didn\u2019t stop Beyonc\u00e9. They want to do it and are ready to work. They have to work a hundred times harder than most people. And it\u2019s just the most uplifting thing and it inspires me so much.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1010\" height=\"1515\" src=\"https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ayra_sarr___photo_cr_wJiqE-1010x1515.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-85000\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ayra_sarr___photo_cr_wJiqE-1010x1515.jpg 1010w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ayra_sarr___photo_cr_wJiqE-759x1139.jpg 759w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ayra_sarr___photo_cr_wJiqE-2048x3072.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ayra_sarr___photo_cr_wJiqE-1440x2160.jpg 1440w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ayra_sarr___photo_cr_wJiqE-661x992.jpg 661w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ayra_sarr___photo_cr_wJiqE-465x698.jpg 465w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ayra_sarr___photo_cr_wJiqE-375x563.jpg 375w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ayra_sarr___photo_cr_wJiqE.jpg 3136w\" sizes=\"(min-width:1010px) 759px,100vw\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><figcaption>Ayra Starr \u00a9scrdofme<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">You\u2019ve also mentioned that you have this ability to translate experiences from real life, but also from TV shows. Can you tell us about how you pull this inspiration?\u00a0<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the songs on the album is called \u201cBridgertn\u201d and I got the idea from the TV Show Bridgerton. And that\u2019s just it. When I heard the beat I was like, \u201coh my god where do I notice this from?\u201d. Just reminds me so much of the Netflix series Bridgerton. You know, representation is so important. I never knew how important representation was until I saw a black queen on that TV Show. Just imagine a 10 year old me seeing a black queen. That would have changed my whole stance in life. I would have been so confident. Because we never got to see that. TV doesn\u2019t show all that. So as a teenager seeing a black powerful queen, it inspired me to write the song. The chorus is like, \u201cI\u2019m the queen bow down\u201d and all that. Even when I say I got opal in my grills, I don\u2019t know anything about grills, I\u2019ve never had grills, but I saw a post from Kim Kardashian who said she had opal in her grills and I put that in a song. So sometimes it\u2019s just like whatever I feel I get. Even \u201cSnitch\u201d, I was hearing the beat and I was on Twitter and I saw a female celebrity ranting about her ex boyfriend and I said, \u201cOh yeah I should write about this\u201d and I did.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">You\u2019re also releasing \u201cDAMAGE\u201d (now \u201cToxic\u201d) the track that got you discovered by Don Jazzy. How does it feel to come full circle and officially release this track?<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>It was one of the best things because after I dropped the original song on Instagram, Don Jazzy messaged me and when I had come to the studio he had already made the beat. I was like, \u201cWhat, he did the beat?!\u201d I was so excited that Don Jazzy made a beat for me. That\u2019s crazy. So I was so excited to record that. The beat was so perfect that I had to record as many times as possible so I could be on the same level as the beat.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">There\u2019s also a huge blend of a bunch of different genres. How do you bring all of these influences together?\u00a0<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019m the most spontaneous person when it comes to music and I\u2019m so adventurous. Like I can come into the studio one day because I was listening to Micheal Jackson and I want to make a funk song, and we just put afro on that and like afro-funk. One minute I\u2019m listening to Burna Boy and I want to make afro-fusion. It\u2019s just like whatever I\u2019m listening to. Also I grew up listening to a lot of different genres. I grew up in Nigeria but I also lived in Cotonou. So I grew up with diversity. My older sister loved reggae, my auntie loved r&amp;b, my mom loved reggae. I just listened to a lot of music growing up. That\u2019s what I try to work into the songs. I want to speak to people from different parts of the world regardless of what I sing or where I\u2019m from. I want people to love me from all parts. I want people to hear my story and I want people to hear their own story in my music. So I try to go into different genres and I just try to do as much as I can when it comes to being diverse in music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1010\" height=\"1515\" src=\"https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ayra_sarr___photo_cr_QM6sS-1010x1515.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-84999\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ayra_sarr___photo_cr_QM6sS-1010x1515.jpg 1010w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ayra_sarr___photo_cr_QM6sS-759x1139.jpg 759w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ayra_sarr___photo_cr_QM6sS-2048x3072.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ayra_sarr___photo_cr_QM6sS-1440x2160.jpg 1440w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ayra_sarr___photo_cr_QM6sS-661x992.jpg 661w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ayra_sarr___photo_cr_QM6sS-465x698.jpg 465w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ayra_sarr___photo_cr_QM6sS-375x563.jpg 375w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ayra_sarr___photo_cr_QM6sS.jpg 3136w\" sizes=\"(min-width:1010px) 759px,100vw\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><figcaption>Ayra Starr \u00a9scrdofme<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">You\u2019ve also got your track \u201cFashion Killer\u201d which seems like an ode to your modeling days. How do those two worlds come together?\u00a0<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>I used to model and I remember like when I would practice runway in my house and in my room music always made it better. By listening to music I\u2019m like okay. If I\u2019m going to walk on a Versace runway it has to be this song that\u2019s gonna play. It has to be \u201cThis is What You Came For\u201d. Calvin Harris \u201cThis is What You Came For\u201d was my jam, that\u2019s the song I wanted to walk on every runway. So when I used to model I used to say I can\u2019t wait to walk on this music with this energy. So that\u2019s the energy I want to bring to \u201cFashion Killer\u201d. When I heard the beat I told my brother, because I write most of my songs with my brother, \u201cYou know let\u2019s do this for the runway, let\u2019s do this for the models\u201d. I knew the type of songs that I wanted to listen to on the runway so I tried to put that energy into \u201cFashion Killer\u201d. And that\u2019s the energy we came with, just fashion and just being a vibe. That\u2019s it.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Is your brother co-writing any of the songs?\u00a0<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>Yeah we wrote \u201cFashion Killer\u201d<em> <\/em>together and we wrote most of the songs together.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">You talk a lot about empowerment in your music. Why is it important for you to empower people?\u00a0<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>Growing up I knew how music made me feel better. I know how much music helped my life growing up from being bullied in school to just wanting that confidence. When I first entered uni I was very depressed and I know that music just made everything better. Music was therapy for me. So I tried to put that into my music. I want my music to be a therapy session for people. Go in and when you\u2019re done you immediately feel better. So that\u2019s what I tried to put inside, I want people to feel empowered. Young women, or men. I used to say I want young women, but now with the EP release I realised my music moved young men. It was so crazy how many men loved the music so now I\u2019m trying to put it on for everyone. Everyone, I want you to come to the music and I want you to feel empowered. I want you to feel powerful just the way I felt when I heard other music.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">So what\u2019s next for Ayra Starr?<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>This Corona should just leave us alone because once the Corona goes it\u2019s gonna be just travelling around, shows definitely, more music, features and all that. I\u2019ve been working on a lot of features. So a lot of stuff.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><em>19 &amp; Dangerous<\/em> is out <a href=\"https:\/\/ayrastarr.lnk.to\/19-NDangerous\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/ayrastarr.lnk.to\/19-NDangerous\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">now<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1010\" height=\"1010\" src=\"https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ayra_starr_album_art_TJSd8-1010x1010.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-85003\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ayra_starr_album_art_TJSd8-1010x1010.jpg 1010w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ayra_starr_album_art_TJSd8-759x759.jpg 759w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ayra_starr_album_art_TJSd8-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ayra_starr_album_art_TJSd8-2048x2048.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ayra_starr_album_art_TJSd8-1440x1440.jpg 1440w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ayra_starr_album_art_TJSd8-661x661.jpg 661w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ayra_starr_album_art_TJSd8-465x465.jpg 465w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ayra_starr_album_art_TJSd8-375x375.jpg 375w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ayra_starr_album_art_TJSd8-200x200.jpg 200w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ayra_starr_album_art_TJSd8-85x85.jpg 85w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ayra_starr_album_art_TJSd8-73x73.jpg 73w, https:\/\/pan-african-music-production.fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ayra_starr_album_art_TJSd8.jpg 3000w\" sizes=\"(min-width:1010px) 759px,100vw\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ayra Starr talks about the release of her debut album 19 &#038; Dangerous, a project imbued with an eager sense of youth, the collage of internet culture, and the empowerment that comes from music and its icons.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52,"featured_media":85016,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7833,7835,87],"tags":[31436,6226],"location":[8172],"yst_prominent_words":[8403,8511,18368,37867,18366,8402,8435,8945,11353,18004],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84998"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/52"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84998"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84998\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84998"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84998"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84998"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=84998"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pan-african-music.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=84998"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}