Ayra Starr’s confidence precedes her. Not in a damn-you-diva, make sure her coffee is on the table at the exact temperature of 93 degrees, perfume sprayed as she walks through the door, never look her directly in the eyes type of way (in fact, she’s quite the opposite). The 22-year-old self-proclaimed African superstar simply knows her worth, and she’s not about to give it up — for anyone. Instead, Ayra does one thing:
Dare to Dream. Such is the name of her recent hit Amazon documentary, tracking her international journey from Oyinkansola Sarah Aderibigbe, the Beninese-Nigerian girl from Cotonou; to Ayra Starr, the “Black Hannah Montana” inspiring African women all over the world on the global stage. And boy, haven’t all her fantasies come true.

Case in point: With “Rush” she became the only female artist from Nigeria to chart a solo song on the UK official Singles Chart. And, with lead single “Commas” from her latest, bare-it-all album, she exceeded 100 million streams across all platforms in just two months, spending five weeks on top of the UK Afrobeats Chart. She’s collaborated with some of music’s biggest names –– from Giveon to Wizkid, Tyla to Kelly Rowland, Anitta to Coco Jones. Meanwhile, her history-making Glastonbury debut this year was a defining moment for the globalisation of Afrobeats and an indelible marker that Ayra Starr’s time –– definitely –– is now. She was just waiting for you to catch up, Ayra knew this much was true as an infant. “I just had this childlike faith that I don’t know how to explain,” she knowingly smiles. Is that why she calls herself a celestial being…?

Anyway, we digress. She’s hot in the charts, hotting up the stage, and hotter-than-hot on the set of Wonderland’s cover shoot in New York. After which, she reunites with our Editor-in-Chief Toni-Blaze Ibekwe to talk those RiRi rumours, the making of The Year I Turned 21 and the future of Afrobeats.

Toni-Blaze Ibekwe: Ayra, my love, how are you?
Ayra Starr: I’m doing amazing, thank you. How are you?

TBI: I’m good. How did you find the shoot? You’re now a Wonderbabe.
AS: I’m a Wonderbabe now. It was amazing. You know, I feel like it was one of the best shoots I’ve done—definitely.

TBI: Oh, girl, don’t just say it because I’m here.
AS: No, for real!

TBI: To be honest—I know we’ve worked together before—just seeing how you’ve progressed and how you move, you’ve always had a star quality to you.
AS: Thank you.

TBI: I watched [Amazon’s music’s Ayra Starr: Dare to Dream] documentary and I saw you calling yourself a star from a very, very young age. To kick things off, why do you think you started your career with such confidence? How did you know you had that feeling of being a star?
AS: To be honest, there’s no other way to explain it—I just knew. You know when we were kids, there was this childlike feeling that could never be replaced. It slowly leaves us when we grow up. As children, we have faith when a child says, ‘I want to be a superhero,’ that he really feels like he’s gonna be a superhero, you know? That was the same thing I had. I knew I wanted to be a superstar. I would get into arguments over it and everything, but I just had this childlike faith that I don’t know how to explain. Even as an adult, I still want to be able to channel that.

To read the full interview, pre-order the issue now here.