Ayra Starr’s The Year I Turned 21 LP is a Potential Album of the Year
Ayra Starr has been in our faces since the last three years, it becomes harder to ignore in the last twelve months. She has been scoring up collaborations, shout outs from music greats like Rihanna, Brandy and others. The constant comparison with Tems and Tyla has not stopped, yet the music continues to pierce through.
Three years after the release of her fine debut album, the Mavin act returned with a new body of work “The year I turned 21,” she turns twenty two in this year, could this album be a summation of work done last year?
Rush, one of the tracks in her debut project shot her to stratosphere. The journey changed from there, the leverage, the PR and constant X trend all collided to bring her to where she is . With the release of “Comma,” this year, the mood for a sophomore album was cemented. On 30 May 2024, she released the project after weeks of roll out plans.
The Year I Turned 21 finds the singer crisscrossing between Highlife, Afro-Jazz, Afrobeats with R&B taking a copious spot in the frame of work. The topics revolve around love, sex, party, grief and self assertion. On the opening song, an unnamed Fuji artiste praised her, this laid the work for her to brag, use expletives. It is a hubris type of song. Asake and Ayra Starr bounce each other’s energy on “Goodbye,” just like the title states, it is a heartbreak song. While Ayra is vicious, Asake brags about his sex appeal.
American singer Coco Jones and Ayra Starr fronted the woman emancipation movement on “Women Commando,” “Control,” find Ayra getting infatuated with a man, the story continues in the track that follows.
On the title track, Ayra lent out some of her wins and losses since she was born. The Jazzy flow makes the song easy to flow along.
Giveon added his spice to “Last Heartbreak Song,” when an R&B head comes on your song, you better come out straight or don’t come at all. Giveon took the shine off her on this song. By the time Seyi Vibez came through on “Bad Vibes,” Ayra Starr made up for the previous song lapses. A cheesy track, cheesy lines with both artistes struggling to stay on topic.
On this album, Ayra Starr stretches her range, on the guitar’s spiced, Highlife powered “Orun,” she trends on positivity, affirmation,etc. The P-Prime produced “Jazzy Song,” interpolate Wande Coal’s “You Bad,” topically, it a continuation of the previous track. “The Kids Are Alright,” is a tribute to the singer’s late dad. The previously released “Santa,” ends the album.
A chunk of albums have been released this year nevertheless Ayra Starr’s The Year I Turned 21 ranks high. This is a summation of hard work, pristine production, thoughtful collaborations and a highly focused artiste. Less than three months after she lost a Grammy award, Ayra Starr is back for good. This album might be snatching up a Grammy awards nomination for 2025 edition.
4/5.
