Speaking in an interview on Echo Room, the veteran producer said he first stumbled on the 23-year-old singer through Instagram, where her raw energy and originality stood out. For him, Ayra filled a unique gap in the Nigerian music scene—a teenage Afrobeats act with the potential to go global.
“I don’t know whether it’s a genius idea or not,” Don Jazzy admitted. “It just felt like the industry needed it… For someone like Ayra, there is a space for a young teenage Afrobeat superstar from Nigeria that we want to ensure becomes global. So it was very intentional.”
The signing, however, wasn’t a stroke of luck alone. Don Jazzy recounted how a Gen Z follower had once shared Instagram handles of young, promising talents from their school. Among the pages sent was Ayra’s, which he bookmarked and monitored.
Over time, her posts and freestyles confirmed she had the spark he was looking for. One of her videos eventually made its way back to him, reinforcing his conviction. “Luckily for me, one of those days, she saw a video where I was freestyling and sent it to me,” he recalled.
Determined to make contact, Don Jazzy first reached out to Ayra directly through a private message. When she didn’t respond, he cleverly found another way in—through her brother. “She didn’t answer me first. I saw her brother. I saw a post that she posted with her brother as well. I sent a message as well to her brother,” he explained.
Ayra Starr officially joined Mavin Records in 2020, and by January 2021, she released her debut self-titled EP. The project delivered the breakout single “Away”, which quickly climbed charts across Africa and announced her as a fresh new voice in Afrobeats.
Since then, Ayra’s rise has been meteoric. With global hits like “Rush”, international collaborations, and a Grammy nomination, she has grown into one of Nigeria’s most influential young artists—living up to Don Jazzy’s vision of creating a new generation Afrobeats superstar with worldwide appeal.