Nigerian singer, Oyinkansola Sarah Aderibigbe, who is widely recognized as Ayra Starr, recently disclosed the origins of her stage name.
In an interview, she mentioned that her stage name was influenced in part by her record label manager, Don Jazzy. She explained that she came up with the term “Ayra” while Don Jazzy suggested adding the suffix “Starr.”
Prior to joining Mavin Records, Ayra Starr was typically referred to as “Oyin,” a derivative of her first 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.”
