Nigerian singer and songwriter Oluwajuwonlo Iledare popularly known as Jaywon, has apologised to his colleague Oyinkansola Aderibigbe known as Ayra Starr, after he was accused of mocking her over being snubbed by the Grammys.
The nominees for the 67th Grammys were recently announced and Ayra Starr failed to get on the list of nominees despite her remarkable run this year.
Jaywon who has been involved in an online beef with Ayra Starr, shared a photo of himself posing with two Grammy awards, which many believed was a shade at Ayra Starr. This happened shortly after the announcement
Following the public response against him, Jaywon has now apologised for his action.
He said he believes that Ayra Starr is one of the best female African vocalists. The singer noted that he doesn’t pull people down but elevates them for future purposes.
Jaywon wrote “If you see Ayra Starr, tell her I’m sorry she wasn’t nominated for this year’s Grammys. I’m a huge fan of her music, and I believe she’s one of the best female vocalists Africa has.
On this side, we don’t pull people down. We elevate, not just for today, but for the future. Ola Inu Kan”.
In 2009, the Nigerian Music Video Awards presented Jaywon with the Best New Artist award. He also won the award for Best Recording at The Headies 2013 and the Tush Awards for ‘This Year’ song. Jaywon founded the Next World Music record label in 2013. He is a voting member of the Recording Academy, the organisers of the Grammys.
The singer premiered the remix for “Madantin” in 2014 featuring Phyno, Olamide and May D under the Next World Music imprint then following up with ‘Tanawole’ featuring Reminisce weeks after. Jaywon also worked with rapper Vector tha Viper on ‘Back to Sender.’
Ayra Starr on the other hand achieved mainstream international recognition in 2022, with the release of her song “Rush”. The song charted in several territories, including Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Ireland where it peaked at number 24. It earned her a nomination at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards for Best African Music Performance.
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. In August 2021, she was ranked number three on Billboard’s Next Big Sound.
