Afrobeats singer Ayra Starr has shared how her creative process has evolved since her debut, saying she now prioritises sonic experimentation over emotion-driven songwriting.

On the Creatorium Podcast, the Mavin Records singer explained that she no longer waits for emotional inspiration to start a song.

According to her, the process now begins with trying ideas, whether that’s playing with chords, sampling a sound, or aiming to create something fun and different.

“It depends on what I am going for. Lately for me, creating just starts with trying. Not emotion; just trying, then we see where it takes us. It may start with chords or sounds, or a specific sound I want to sample. Sometimes, I just want to do something fun or make something that sounds different,” she said.

She contrasted this with her first album, which she said was built around sad themes and emotional concepts.

Her current work focuses more on exploring sounds and seeing where new ideas lead.

“For my first album, it was more about trying something sad, something that matches emotion. But now, it’s more about experimenting sonically and indulging in different ideas to see where they lead,” she added.

Ayra Starr also recalled writing her early track Beggie Beggie during a bus ride home.

The title came after she heard a woman on the bus tell a beggar, “See this one, beggie beggie.”

“My first album has a song called Beggie Beggie. I literally wrote it in a bus. I was going back home and just wrote it there. Somebody was begging inside the bus, and a woman said, ‘See this one, beggie beggie,’” she recalled.

Speaking on the demands of her career, the singer said success requires love, passion, and discipline.

She noted that behind the glamour is intense work, preparation, and difficult days, adding that weeks of rehearsal can be undone by one sound issue on stage.

“You have to have a certain type of love and passion for what you do to be able to do this. The glamour is the glamour, but behind the scenes, it’s a lot of work. It’s a lot of preparation. It’s a lot of not-so-amazing days. Sometimes, after rehearsing for two weeks, one sound can ruin the whole performance on stage,” she said.