During a special Christmas interview on Arise TV, the sensational Afropop singer, Oyinkansola Sarah Aderibigbe, shared the story behind her stage name, “Ayra Starr”.
She disclosed that her label boss, Michael “Don Jazzy” Ajereh, played a significant role in creating the name.
Speaking about the origin of her stage name, the gifted musician explained that she came up with the term “Ayra”, which symbolizes being awake and broad-minded.
Additionally, she credited Jazzy for adding the suffix “Starr” to complete the name.
Ayra Starr further disclosed that her previous stage name, prior to joining 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.”
