Ayra Starr deserves her flowers, and for the Mavin act’s first single of 2023, she gives herself some. Currently, the number 1 song in Nigeria, and follow up to her 19 and Dangerous Deluxe and hit single- Rush, her latest, Sabillity, is an Afrobeats record written in self-adulation and doctored to make you dance. With London’s production as a bedrock, Ayra Starr interpolates Congolese legend, Awilo Longomba on the record, invoking nostalgia by adding a new generation element to a classic sound.
Bold, and with a lot more bounce, Ayra Starr’s curtain raiser for the year superimposes elements of contemporary Afropop with the emerging themes of street hop- a dynamic that was also present in her single- Rush. In fact, the title of her latest is a play on the phrase ‘Sabi Girl’- a moniker she has adopted since her last release. Sabi is street slang that literally translates to ‘expertise’.
Ever in her element, Ayra Starr sits gracefully in the enviable divide of Gen Z proclivity, and ‘street cool’. Here, she masters her craft well enough to bring her followers closer to the street culture that continues to inspire the best of Afrobeats. With Sability, there is no doubt that she is set to continue her prolific chart onslaught.
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