19 and Dangerous: Ayra Starr unifies alté and mainstream Afrobeats

It is, however, not as immediately attention-grabbing as her EP from last year. At 33 minutes and 11 songs, 19 & Dangerous is a different beast from the 4-song EP. It is more expansive and provides Ayra Starr with an opportunity to do more and maybe show more. She indeed does more – but she doesn’t quite show more. It’s entirely possible to listen to 19 & Dangerous and not be really sure who she is supposed to be. For now, Ayra Starr is a cypher – and she may like it. Her nickname, after all, is Celestial Being. She’s also 19. Time, quite obviously, is on her side. 

What is clear for now is she can sing and can work across genres while not quite sounding like anybody else. This means she is possibly rid of the comparisons to her compatriot Tems, which was a common commentary when her first single, ‘Away’, was released. I’m not sure how she takes the comparison but it’s not anything to worry about: the comparison and its eventual disappearance are both complimentary. 

What matters is how well this first album prepares Ayra Starr for the future and what it says about Nigerian pop music at this moment.

First: for her future. 19 & Dangerous provides an opportunity for Ayra to grow into owning a sound. She is currently noncommittal, as the combination of songs from her EP and her album showcases her voice – but not much else. As I said, she’s still a cypher. By contrast, all of her older colleagues were immediately identifiable. Tiwa Savage claimed an overt sexuality as soon as she landed, Yemi Alade was sassy from the start and hasn’t lost that sass despite her self-given position as Mama Africa, Seyi Shay was the lover girl with some sophistication, Omawumi had a boisterous persona, Waje projected her vocal power, and on and on. Perhaps the times are different. Perhaps younger female acts will come on the scene nondescript until later. We’ll have to wait. 

In the meantime, the highlights from this album include the slow burner ‘In Between’, ‘Karma’, ‘Bridgerton’ and the previously released ‘Bloody Samaritan’.

Second: What does 19 & Dangerous say about Nigerian pop? Many things presumably, but one thing is quite clear now: mainstream and the so-called alté music, the two major strands Nigerian music split into only a few years ago, has coalesced into some sorta monolith. To be sure, the unification of Nigerian subgenres has been ongoing for some time but that was more about artists from one division getting featured on songs by the other. Davido was on Odunsi’s 2018 album, rare, one of Wizkid’s better songs from Made in Lagos featured alté queen Tems, who was on the same song by US act Khalid that featured mainstream king Davido. 

What Ayra Starr has shown with 19 & Dangerous and even earlier on her EP Away, is that both strands can coexist in one artist. And it is easy to see how. At 19, Ayra Starr has had her formative years encompass the epoch of the returnee boys Banky W and M.I Abaga as well as the heydays of local rappers Olamide and Phyno. Plus: her label is owned by a returnee who found massive success by deepening and spreading his local roots. Her true nickname, I propose, should be Celestial Hybrid.