Nigerian music mogul Don Jazzy has shared a heartfelt tribute to his protégé, Ayra Starr, revealing that the young singer has profoundly transformed his own life just as he helped launch hers.

The Mavin Records boss made the revelation while responding to a post on X (formerly Twitter) from user @_Fabianszn, who shared an old photo of Ayra Starr and praised Don Jazzy for giving her career a breakthrough. The fan wrote: “Don Jazzy really saved Ayra Starr if not she for still dey teach kindergarten children.”

But in a twist that caught many by surprise, the veteran producer turned the compliment around, insisting that Ayra Starr had been just as instrumental in his own journey. Recalling how he first discovered her through an Instagram freestyle video, Don Jazzy wrote: “I bless the day I was shown her Instagram freestyle o. She has most definitely changed my own life too. And she has been nothing but a dream Starrgirl.”

Don Jazzy signed Ayra Starr to Mavin Records in 2020 after her viral freestyles and song covers caught his attention on social media. Since then, the singer has risen to global fame, becoming one of the brightest stars in the Afrobeat scene—and, as her mentor now admits, an inspiration to the very man who discovered her.