Two-time Grammy nominee Ayra Starr, aka Sarah Aderibigbe, has revealed her desire to collaborate with Afrobeats star Damini Ogulu, popularly known as Burna Boy, describing him as her top choice for a future musical partnership.
The Beninese-born singer disclosed during a Billboard interview shared on Thursday while speaking with Love Island USA star Chelley Bissainthe about her 2026 Grammy nominations.
“Everybody knows Burna Boy is like my number one person I want to collaborate with.
“I’ve collaborated with a lot of people, and I still want to collaborate with many more people,” Ayra Starr said.
Burna Boy, 34, has made history with his live performances and won a Grammy Award in 2021 for his album Twice As Tall.
The Afro-fusion singer and record producer released his eighth studio album, No Sign of Weakness, in July 2025.
He is the first African artist to surpass 2.5 billion streams on Spotify and one billion streams on Audiomack as a lead artist.
Burna Boy also leads the Nigerian contingent at the 2026 Grammy Awards with two nominations.
Grammy Nomination
Ayra Starr earned a nomination for Best African Music Performance at the 2026 Grammy Awards for Gimme Dat, her collaboration with Wizkid, released on April 25, 2025.
The nominations were announced in November 2025, ahead of the awards ceremony scheduled for February 1, 2026.
Reacting to the recognition, the ‘Sabi Girl’ singer described the nomination as a reassuring moment in her career journey.
“I remember I was so excited. I was like, ‘Oh my God. Oh my God. I knew it. I knew it.
“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,’” she said.
Comparing her first and second Grammy nominations, Ayra noted a shift in how she now views her craft.
“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 and just like, ‘Oh, I’m good at this. I know what I’m doing,’” she said.
The 23-year-old added, “Maybe I need to trust God and myself a bit more.”
‘Gimme Dat,’ Wizkid
Speaking on the inspiration behind Gimme Dat, which samples 911 by Wyclef Jean and Mary J. Blige, the singer revealed that she only discovered the origin of the sample during the recording process.
“To be honest, I was born in 2002, so I didn’t really know exactly. I didn’t really know until I was recording the song and Don Jazzy was like, ‘Okay, this is a 911 sample.’ Then I went and did my research, and I was like, Wow.
“The crazy thing was that the studio I was recording in was also Wyclef’s studio, and I did not know that at the time. So it felt like everything was just meant to be,” she said.
Ayra Starr also opened up about the vocal challenges she faced while recording the track.
“First of all, I sounded horrible. The engineer knew I sounded horrible. I sounded bad the first day.
“My voice was still all over the place, but I was very, very determined. I wanted to sound great. I gave my all, and we thank God for technology. It came out beautiful,” she said.
She further disclosed that Gimme Dat was originally intended to be a solo single before Wizkid joined the project.
“I recorded this song maybe six or eight months before it actually came out. This was before Wizkid even jumped on it. It was supposed to be just my single.
“When we got Wizkid on the track, I was like, ‘You know what? It’s time.’ It came together perfectly at the right time,” she said.
Reflecting on the growing global recognition of African music, Ayra Starr described the moment as a long-awaited shift.
“I feel like it’s Africa’s time music-wise. We’ve always made amazing music, and the world is just catching up,” she said
The songstress also revealed she is working on new music and expanding into other creative pursuits.
“One thing I’m doing this year is creating whatever I want to exist. ’m working on an album. I’m not done. By God’s grace, a book,” she said.
