“Ayra Starr’s second album ‘The Year I Turned 21’ arrives three years after her debut with clear, astute messages about the coming-of-age experience. The rising star ushers in her early twenties with colourful tales to match. Delivered with high energy and powered by her independence, on standout ‘Birds Sing of Money,’ she sings “I don’t watch my tone / ‘Cause I like how I sound, bitch,” an open co”
“Beninese-Nigerian singer-songwriter Ayra Starr has fast become one of the biggest musicians to come out of west Africa. Her debut, 19 and Dangerous, was gutsy, but there’s a noticeable jump in maturity in her latest, The Year I Turned 21. Here, she puts that big voice to work and experiments with more sounds and cadences. Alt-R&B pop track Birds Sing of Money is a statement opener: “I don’t watch”
“The singer-songwriter’s second album is a well-curated coming-of-age tale. Full of summery R&B and glitzy amapiano, it moves beyond feel-good anthems and thoughtfully tackles the insecurities of young adulthood.”
