In 2021, about two years after Tiwa Savage’s departure from Mavin Records, Don Jazzy unveiled Mavin’s current first lady Ayra Starr to the world. Her first project was well received by Nigerians, it topped the Apple Music albums chart in the country and its lead single “Away” clinched the number one spot on the songs chart. However, she achieved proper mainstream attention after the viral success of Bloody Samaritan, the lead single of her debut album 19 & Dangerous. Since then, the 20-year-old songstress has been unstoppable, dropping massive international hits like Rush, earning features with notable stars and performing at highly acclaimed music festivals. While she still has a lot to prove, she has unarguably secured her place as one of the most talented young artistes in Africa and beyond. However, recent conversations on social media suggest that her talent is now up for debate after the release of her last song, Sability.
Sability is a typical Nigerian afropop record, fun and uptempo with more effort on production and delivery than lyricism. Sability is definitely not the first of its kind, in fact, it can be argued that nigerian music charts have been dominated by songs like Sability for the longest time. While there are artistes who have managed to top charts with well-written mid-tempo songs, we cannot deny the fact that the Nigerian audience reacts more favourably to club bangers or “gbedu” as we like to call them. A quick review of the biggest hit songs in the country within the last decade suggests that lyrical content matters very little to the average nigerian. A good number of afropop and streethop artistes have topped charts and dominated the airwaves, armed with nothing but a good beat, a catchy chorus and memorable slangs or “lamba“. Tastes and trends have evolved over time but in recent times, lyrically inept club bangers still rule the charts and everyone just dances to them because Nigerians are not known for taking life too seriously.
Thus, it came as a surprise to some when Ayra Starr was subjected to harsh criticisms on Twitter after the release of Sability. The song has been tagged lyrically inept, low quality, mediocre and even trashy, with several critics attributing the song’s success on charts to Don Jazzy’s influence. However, many have come to the defense of the Mavin starlet, with some suggesting that Nigerian female artistes are held to a higher standard than their male counterparts. Some were quick to point out that “worse” songs have topped charts in Nigeria and were seemingly well received by the general public without the artiste’s talent being put up for debate. Furthermore, it is quite shocking that people are quick to label an artiste mediocre because of one “bad” song, ignoring more impressive songs in her discography. While it is true that criticism is something both male and female creatives have to deal with daily, could there be an element of truth in the claims that Sability criticisms are rooted in misogyny, and that female artistes are held to a much higher standard than male artistes? Share your thoughts below.
Some tweets in the ongoing debate about Sability.