Mavin Records Princess, Oyinkansola Sarah Aderibigbe has opened up on the inspiration behind her stage name ‘Ayra Starr’.
The Nigerian singer who sat down for a chat in the Christmas interview special with Arise TV, revealed that her label boss, Michael ”Don Jazzy” Ajereh contributed to the creation of the name.
According to the ‘Sabi’ crooner, she coined “Ayra” which means woke and open minded, while Jazzy added the suffix “Starr.”
Ayra Starr said before she joined Mavin Records, her stage name was “Oyin” – which is a moniker carved out of her real 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.”
Meanwhile, in similar news…
Budding Afrobeats singer, Ahmed Ololade alias Asake, has revealed why he is using his mother’s name as his stage name.
The ‘Joha’ crooner said he decided to go by the stage name because members of the cultural group he was part of used to call him ‘Omo Asake’ and after a while it stuck.
Asake disclosed this in Pause Magazine’s Autumn 2023 edition, noting that he thought it was cool and decided to fully embrace it. The YBNL artiste also said said he would continue to use it because the name has brought him this far in life.
“My stage name is actually my mother’s. While I was in the cultural group, people used to call me ‘omo Asake,’ which means child of Asake in Yoruba. And after a while, it just stuck.
People stopped adding the ‘omo’ and left ‘Asake.’ I thought it was cool and decided to go by it. It is very important to me, and I am not going to lose it. It is what has brought me this far, and I continue to keep it that way,” he said.
