Ayra Starr and Rema are two of the biggest names in Nigerian and African pop music. Aside from being artists under Mavin Records and Universal Music Group, both stars are leading Gen Z voices pushing Afrobeats’ creative and commercial boundaries on the global stage.
When they recently announced their highly anticipated collaboration, it naturally generated excitement among fans eager to experience the musical product of the obvious synergy between them. The collaboration is coming just weeks after their chemistry on the Global Citizen stage sparked rumours of a potential romance.
Building on this interest from fans, Ayra Starr and Rema’s new song gives them more to talk about. There’s also the posibility that the music video whenever it drops, will lead to louder calls from those romantically pairing them up.
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On October 17, 2025, Ayra Starr released her single ‘Who’s Dat Girl’ featuring Rema, as both stars continue their fine form.
Being their first-ever collaboration, expectations were high on whether the song could deliver the big moment it was supposed to be.
Did ‘Who’s Dat Girl’ Live Up To The Hype?
The single combines a vibrant Dancehall bounce interspersed with Arabian strings and melodies, over which Ayra Starr delivers sensual Dancehall and R&B melodies alongside familiar chest-thumping Afrobeats lyricism. Rema also shows up guns blazing with a swashbuckling verse, effortlessly floating across Pop, Dancehall, and Hip-Hop territory.
The track, produced by Ragee and The Elements, embraces global influences, with the presence of Afrobeats existing mainly in the use of pidgin and Yoruba lyrics.
While the global influences that define the track are a testament to the status of both stars, whose listenership spans all continents, it does little to excite Afrobeats fans or energize the Nigerian dance floor.
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‘Who’s Dat Girl’ is a great song. Every element of the track comes together well to deliver a record that flatters both stars and the producers. However, it doesn’t flatter the average Afrobeats fan, ike this writer, who might have expected a bigger moment from two of the genre’s leading voices.
This song caters more to the algorithm, where it will attract tens of millions of streams from a global audience, rather than excite the sensibilities or offer greater utility to local fans.
Based on its sonic properties and how it largely trims down familiar Afrobeats elements, the success of this song will likely be determined by streaming numbers and the reception of its global audience, rather than its popularity on the Nigerian dance floor.
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To put it simply, ‘Who’s Dat Girl’ is for the algorithm rather than for the street. It’s a top record that doesn’t quite deliver the big moment you’d expect when two of Afrobeats’ leading stars collaborate.
Perhaps this is the reality of the streaming era, where artists struggle to balance catering to the algorithm and to the streets.
A few years ago, a collaboration of this nature would have been groundbreaking in both its quality and street impact. It would have been crafted to dominate speakers across the country, rather than playlists across strategic global markets.
But then, this is not new. When last did a big collaboration truly live up to the hype?
Did Ayra Starr and Rema’s ‘Who’s Dat Girl’ Live up to the Hype? Read More
