When Ayra Starr walked into the Prudential Center for her set at Hot 97’s 2025 Summer Jam, the energy shifted. She didn’t need an entourage to turn heads — her walk alone made everyone stop mid-conversation and look up. "Thank you. Tell me more. Tell me more," she replied with a smile and a little strut when she was complimented. It was playful, sharp, and dripping in confidence — a teaser for the set she was about to deliver.
The Nigerian star opened the night with her 2021 hit “Fashion Killer,” setting the tone for a genre-blending performance that showcased her range. She ran through fan favorites like “Sability” and “Rush,” and brought more heat with “Gimme Dat,” her collaboration with Wizkid. When she performed “Goodbye (Warm Up),” which features Asake, the crowd caught a surprise — the instrumental to DJ Khaled’s “Wild Thoughts” played underneath, adding a familiar twist. She also brought energy with her choreography, showing the crowd she’s not just a voice — she’s a full performer. Starr stood out as one of only three African headliners at HOT 97’s 2025 Summer Jam, alongside Diamond Platnumz and Asake.
After her performance, the singer caught up with REVOLT for a quick chat about confidence, culture, and what it means to carry the “sabi girl” spirit, a title she’s claimed proudly in her music and on social media. In Nigerian Pidgin, sabi means “to know,” and the term is often used to describe someone who is confident, smart, and knows how to carry themselves. But even “sabi girls” are still figuring things out. When asked what people would be surprised to learn she’s still navigating, she said, “One thing people don't know that I'm still figuring out is life, I guess. I'm still figuring out life. Like everybody else, I'm still figuring out life.”
When it comes to artistry, Starr doesn’t stay in one lane. Her sound pulls from Afropop, R&B, and beyond. When asked about what influences she leans into most when she’s writing or performing, her answer blended tradition with global icons. “I just lean into, like, my core, my tradition, my morals, my culture, Rihanna, Beyoncé, everybody else that inspires me. My mom, God.”
It’s no secret that she adores Rihanna. The two met in April 2024 at a Fenty event in London, and just a few months later, Starr joined her during the Crop Over Festival in Barbados. “Great. I still talk about it every day,” she said, grinning about the encounters with the beauty mogul.
As her career continues to skyrocket, she has become one of the most well-known faces of Afrobeats. She is taking the genre to stages all across the world, reinforcing its importance in the global music scene and rejecting the idea that it’s just a passing trend.
“Afrobeats is going to the world. I mean, Afrobeats is already big. You know? It's just gonna go bigger and bigger and bigger. And I'm happy that I'm able to do that,” she said about performing on stages like Summer Jam. “Even though I excel at a lot of other genres, I'm happy that I get to be one of the front-facing artists for Afrobeats and able to push my culture around the world.”