Benin-born singer/songwriter, Oyinkansola Sarah Aderibigbe, aka Ayra Starr, has debunked the rumour that she is dating her colleague and label mate Rema.

Ayra Starr, 20, and Rema, 22, are both signed to Don Jazzy’s Mavin Records. The latter is also tied to D’Prince’s Jonzing World.

In an interview, Ayra Starr, who describes herself as a “celestial being”, labelled Rema her brother in Christ.

The ‘Bloody Samaritan’ singer added that she had never heard a such rumour.

In her words: “I don’t know. I haven’t heard that before,” she said when questioned about the alleged relationship. That’s my brother in Christ o.”

Ayra Starr was born in Cotonou, Benin and began a fashion career at the age of 16 with Quove Model Management before deciding to pursue her musical career properly.

After covering several songs by popular artists on Instagram, she posted her first original song on her page in December 2019. This brought her to the attention of Don Jazzy and led to her signing with Mavin Records.

She posted her first original song on her page in December 2019. This brought her to the attention of record executive Don Jazzy, and led to her signing to Mavin Records.

In early 2021, Ayra Starr achieved mainstream recognition with her eponymous debut extended play and its hit track “Away” which spent two consecutive weeks at number four on Nigeria’s TurnTable Top 50 and went to number 17 on US Billboard Top Triller Global, paving the way for the release of her first full-length mixtape, 19 & Dangerous in August 2021.

Categorized mainly as Afropop and R’nB, the album has been met with favorable critical reception. It spawned two top forty hits in Nigeria. The lead single “Bloody Samaritan” peaked atop the Top 50 chart, becoming the first solo song by a female artist to reach the number-one position.

Ayra Starr debuted on Pandora Predictions chart, and on 28 August 2021, she ranked number three on Billboard’s Next Big Sound.