In a candid Billboard interview that has set the Afrobeats community abuzz, rising global sensation Ayra Starr has doubled down on her long-held ambition for a collaboration with fellow Nigerian superstar Burna Boy while offering rare insights into her Grammy-nominated collaboration with Wizkid.
The 23-year-old singer, speaking with Love Island USA personality Chelley on Thursday, was unequivocal about her dream collaborator. “Everybody knows Burna Boy is like my number one person I want to collaborate with,” Starr declared, underscoring a desire she has expressed publicly on multiple occasions. “I’ve collaborated with a lot of people, and I still want to collaborate with many more people.”
Starr’s latest Grammy recognition came in November 2025, when she earned her second career nomination in the Best African Music Performance category for “Gimme Dat,” her collaboration with Afrobeats titan Wizkid. The track, released on April 25, 2025, showcases both artists at their creative peak, blending contemporary Afrobeats with a classic hip-hop sample.
For the “Sabi Girl” hitmaker, the second nomination carried a different emotional weight than her first. “I remember I was so excited. I was like, ‘Oh my God. Oh my God. I knew it. I knew it,'” she recalled, her enthusiasm palpable even in print. “Every day I feel happy. I’m very grateful. Every day it’s like a new feeling—”Oh, I’m actually a two-time Grammy nominee.”
Reflecting on the evolution of her reaction to Grammy recognition, Starr offered a revealing glimpse into her artistic growth. “The first time I got nominated, it was like, ‘Oh my God, I got nominated. This is crazy.’ But the second time felt like reassurance, like, ‘Oh, I’m good at this. I know what I’m doing. ‘Maybe I need to trust God and myself a bit more.”
Perhaps the most compelling revelations in the interview centered on the creation of “Gimme Dat” itself—a track built on a sample of Wyclef Jean and Mary J. Blige’s 2000 hit “911.” Born in 2002, Starr admitted she was unfamiliar with the original until her legendary producer, Don Jazzy, pointed it out during recording sessions.
“I didn’t really know until I was recording the song and Don Jazzy said, ‘Okay, this is a 911 sample.’ Then I went to do my research, and I was like, “Wow,” she explained, revealing the generational gap that often defines contemporary music sampling.
The coincidences surrounding the track’s creation border on the mystical. Starr disclosed that she unknowingly recorded the song in a studio owned by Wyclef Jean himself—a fact she only discovered after the fact. “The crazy thing was that the studio I was recording in was also Wyclef’s studio, and I didn’t know that at the time. So it felt like everything was just meant to be,” she said.
The production timeline also reveals the organic nature of high-level Afrobeats collaborations. Starr confirmed that “Gimme Dat” was initially conceived as a solo single, recorded six to eight months before Wizkid joined the project. “This was before Wizkid even jumped on it. It was supposed to be just my single,” she disclosed.
The recording process wasn’t without its challenges. Starr admitted to struggling vocally during initial sessions but persevered—a testament to the work ethic that has propelled her to international stardom in just a few short years.
As the music industry counts down to the Grammy Awards ceremony scheduled for February 1, 2026, Ayra Starr stands as one of Afrobeats’ brightest contemporary voices, representing a new generation of Nigerian artists commanding global attention. Whether she takes home the golden gramophone remains to be seen, but her trajectory suggests this second nomination is far from her last.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
Two-time Grammy nominee Ayra Starr has reaffirmed that Burna Boy remains her top collaboration dream while celebrating her second Grammy nomination for “Gimme Dat” with Wizkid. The 23-year-old artist says this second nod feels like “reassurance” rather than surprise, marking her growing confidence as a global Afrobeats star.
Behind the scenes, the Grammy-nominated track came together through a remarkable coincidence—recorded in Wyclef Jean’s own studio (sampling his 2000 hit “911”) without Starr initially knowing and originally intended as her solo single before Wizkid joined months later. As she heads toward the February 1, 2026, ceremony, Starr represents Afrobeats’ ascending generation on the world stage.
