Born Oyinkansola Sarah Aderibigbe, Ayra Starr’s stage title has all the time been her future. Her debut album 19 & Harmful introduced a confident teenage star who effortlessly and thoughtfully navigated the transition from adolescence to younger maturity in a particularly Gen Z context. The album spawned a pair of world hits — “Bloody Samaritan” (which earned a remix from R&B heavyweight Kelly Rowland) and the Grammy-nominated “Rush” — that lifted Ayra from native star to worldwide Afrobeats ambassador.
On The Yr I Turned 21, Ayra handles that change in standing by utilizing it to leverage some big-name collaborations. By way of these collabs, she fearlessly blends completely different genres and languages to paint her explorations of the intertwined themes of grief, heartbreak, empowerment and maturity.
Regardless of her wealthy, deep tone being the sharpest weapon in her arsenal, Ayra steps into her rap bag on blazing album opener “Birds Sing of Cash.” The London and Marvey Once more-helmed monitor blends stirring strings with a boom-bap impressed backbeat and a melodic Fújì (a Yoruba musical style) intro, instantly previewing the album’s seamless mix of various sounds throughout the Black diaspora. When she declares, “I run my metropolis, run my life, run my thoughts, however I by no means run away/ I’m so cautious with my vitality, please by no means communicate upon my title,” she embodies a charismatic laid-back self-assurance that solely comes with surviving your teenage years. Dripping with the bravado of Rihanna’s “B—h Higher Have My Cash,” “Birds” is an instantaneous “dangerous b—hes get cash” anthem, one whose vitality programs by means of a number of of the album’s tracks.
Pre-release single “Commas” and “Dangerous Vibes” (with Seyi Vibez) proceed the thread of Ayra specializing in getting her cash up and rejecting issues and folks that drain her vitality, however she gives extra attention-grabbing takes on these themes on “Management” and “Lady Commando.” The previous finds Ayra flipping the thought of feminine submission right into a music about wanting a person to take the lead by choosing up on her come-hither hints; “You realize my lips don’t lie/ I need you to take management,” she coos, channeling a Shakira basic.
On the latter, a multi-lingual collaboration with fellow Grammy nominees Coco Jones and Anitta, Ayra delivers a women-empowerment anthem (“Tonight e be women evening/ I no wan know your zodiac signal”) that sources its urgency and irresistibility from these pounding log drums. Huge-name crossover collaborations are inclined to collapse beneath their very own weight, however Ayra’s ear for vocal chemistry – Coco’s wealthy tone pairs fantastically with hers and Anitta’s cavalier supply solely intensifies the monitor’s swagger – is especially particular.
After all, all these hymns of independence and confidence exist in dialog with songs exploring the darker components of Ayra’s early 20s. The cycle of affection and heartbreak performs throughout the album, with the Asake-assisted “Goodbye,” “Lagos Love Story” and “Final Heartbreak Music” (with Giveon), constructing out a self-contained triptych inside the album’s bigger narrative. “Goodbye” combines notes of Afropop and amapiano to soundtrack a dialog between two lover who perceive that they’re not suitable. It’s a way more nuanced tackle younger love than the beautiful puppy-eyed “Lagos Love Story,” which options probably the most lovely melodic traces (“I don fall in love”) of the 12 months. “Let’s make infants/ We’re nonetheless younger, however I dey prepared/ Smoke some weed on the seashore/ I really feel ease after I’m with you/ Prayed Ciara’s prayer, God got here by means of,” she sings, beaming by means of the studio microphone.
Ayra’s songwriting has all the time been refreshingly sincere, however she faucets into degree of earnestness right here – which is just bolstered by the whimsical intro-recalling background strings – that captures the innate naïveté of younger love with out embarrassment or disgrace. At all times a reliable heartache crooner, Giveon’s baritone delivers an ideal complement to the Ayra’s deep voice, as the 2 try and persuade themselves that that is the final time they’ll waste their lives pining over heartbreak.
For all the big-name collaborations and maximalist pop sounds and melodies on the album, probably the most stirring moments on The Yr I Turned 21 lie within the songs the place Ayra locations her voice and lyrics entrance and heart. “21” is her de facto Adele second, a reflective, sweeping ballad that’s punctuated with Rihanna-isms just like the tongue-in-cheek, “At my grown ass age, rattling.” “Orun,” the album’s finest music, juxtaposes the jauntiness of highlife with soul-baring lyrics involved with psychological well being and despair. “Each day is simply the identical/ No worries for tomorrow/ I want I didn’t wake as we speak/ However no, I gotta face my ache,” she muses.
There’s additionally album nearer “The Children Are Alright,” a basic tearjerker that’s much less of a music and extra of a compilation of voice notes recorded by Ayra and her siblings devoted to their late father. When Ayra nails the seemingly countless riff on the final observe of “Put in phrase for me” — a reference to her father chatting with God in Heaven – her voice swells not simply with grief and loss, but in addition the catharsis that comes with accepting your circumstances and permitting them to construct you right into a stronger particular person.
There actually isn’t a low second of Ayra’s sophomore LP: Her pristine sequencing permits songs with acquainted themes to really feel contemporary, and at a decent 15 tracks the file doesn’t overstay its welcome. The one obvious misstep is the inclusion of “Santa,” her hit collaboration with Rauw Alejandro and Rvssian. In no way is “Santa” a nasty music, however it’s jarring shift from the album’s established narrative and a transparent ploy at number-farming that undercuts how authentically the album relays Ayra’s story.
The Yr I Turned 21 efficiently achieves a steadiness that evades many sophomore albums. Ayra builds on the confessional nature of her debut and enlists new collaborators that considerably add to her sonic universe with out sacrificing her Afrobeats basis. In an period the place many Afrobeats stars are eager to reject that label, Ayra absolutely embraces its previous and current, whereas fashioning a future for the style that’s refreshingly female-forward.