Starrah

Starrah grew up in Delaware as the youngest of nine siblings.[5] She has stated that she "grew up in the ghetto" and has written lyrics about police raids she experienced as a child.[5][6] Her songwriting grew from writing short stories and poems.[7] She attended Delaware State University and moved to Los Angeles after graduation to pursue a music career.[5][6] After a period of uploading music to SoundCloud and selling samples through Instagram, a manager in the industry reached out to her.[7] He connected her to more songwriters which led to Starrah writing "Be Real" by Kid Ink in 2015, which reached No. 43 on the Billboard Hot 100.[7]

In 2016, Starrah wrote several songs that became top 40 hits. "2 Phones" by Kevin Gates reached double platinum status.[8] Rihanna's single "Needed Me" reached number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent 42 weeks on the chart.[8]

On September 22, 2017, Starrah released a joint EP with producer Diplo titled Starrah x Diplo.[9]

In April 2019, Starrah formed a partnership with Hipgnosis Songs Fund.[10][11] She worked closely with Madonna for her 2019 album Madame X, writing on six tracks.[6]

Starrah released her debut single "How It Goes" on August 12, 2020.[12][3]

Starrah stated that she writes lyrics first, and then finds a melody and production to fit them.[5][6] In her early career, she was sometimes turned away from studio sessions for being "too urban", but later found success with urban crossover into mainstream pop music.[5]

Due to a mixture of social anxiety and wishes for privacy, Starrah avoids being photographed and recognized in public.[5][6] Starrah identifies as queer.[5][13]

• Brittany Hazzard at AllMusic
• Starrah at AllMusic
• Starrah on Twitter