| "Hot Body" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Ayra Starr | ||||
| from the album TBD | ||||
| Written | 2025 | |||
| Released | July 25, 2025 | |||
| Recorded | 2025 | |||
| Genre | Afrobeats | |||
| Length | 2:40 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriters | Sarah Oyinkansola Aderibigbe
| |||
| Producer | Ragee
| |||
| Ayra Starr singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Hot Body" on YouTube | ||||
"Hot Body" is a song by Nigerian singer Ayra Starr, released on July 25, 2025, through Mavin Records and Roc Nation. Produced by Ragee with additional input from The Elements and mixed by Johnny Drille, the track blends Afrobeats with dancehall and pop influences. It was issued as a standalone single during a period of international recognition for Starr, following her Roc Nation management deal, a supporting slot on Coldplay's Music of the Spheres World Tour, and her charting collaboration with Wizkid on "Gimme Dat".
Musically, "Hot Body" is characterized by a percussion-driven groove, layered synths, and a sultry vocal delivery. Critics described the single as a celebration of bodily freedom and agency, with Billboard calling it a steamy slow-wine groove and The Native noting how Starr projects "relaxed certitude" while turning youthful swagger into "sensual elegance." [1] Its accompanying music video, directed by Claire Bishara, was filmed in Los Angeles and features Starr leading an all-female dance crew in yacht and beach settings, evoking imagery from late 1990s and early 2000s R&B videos.
The single received widespread acclaim from African and international music outlets for its production and Starr's vocal performance, with further highlight by Rolling Stone as one of the Afropop releases shaping the summer of 2025. [2] Publication HotNewHipHop praised Starr’s self-confidence and rich-girl flexes, and Le Monde Afrique described the song as a "concentrate of sensuality." [3]
Ayra Starr gained international attention with her 2021 debut album 19 & Dangerous , which established her as a central figure in Afrobeats and contemporary African pop. By 2023, she had broken into the global market with "Rush", a Grammy-nominated single that entered the UK Singles Chart and broadened her reach beyond Africa. Her growing profile led to a management deal with Roc Nation in 2025 and live appearances as an opener on Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres World Tour, milestones that positioned her as one of Afropop’s most visible global ambassadors. [4] [5] In April 2025, Starr collaborated with Wizkid on "Gimme Dat", a single that sampled Mary J. Blige and Wyclef Jean’s "911". The track charted in Nigeria, the United Kingdom, and the United States, where Billboard reported that it debuted at number six on the U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart, marking the highest debut for a Nigerian female artist in the chart’s history. The single’s reception further cemented her reputation as a crossover act. [6]
Amid this wave of recognition, Starr released "Hot Body" on July 25, 2025, through Mavin Records in partnership with Roc Nation. The track was produced by Nigerian hitmaker Ragee with additional production from The Elements, and mixed and mastered by Johnny Drille. Starr later explained that the single had originally been scheduled for release earlier in the year but was postponed while she filmed a movie in South Africa and finalized its outro. She described her goal for the track as making "timeless" music that would not feel bound to trends. Upon release, "Hot Body" achieved immediate commercial traction. It debuted at number three on Nigeria's TurnTable Top 100, becoming Starr's 17th career entry in the chart's top ten, and set her biggest first-day streaming record in Nigeria with over 205,000 Spotify streams. [7] On radio, the single went on to spend three consecutive weeks at number one, making it her longest-running solo chart-topper on Nigerian radio. The single's release was accompanied by a music video directed by Claire Bishara, filmed in Los Angeles with yacht and beach settings and an all-female dance crew. [8] Yahoo! Entertainment said the clip was "summer fantasy personified," while Afrobeats Magazine framed it as a rejection of the male gaze, drawing on the visual language of late 1990s and early 2000s R&B. [8] Rolling Stone positioned "Hot Body" as part of the Afropop wave defining the summer of 2025, and OkayAfrica listed it among the best Afrobeats releases of July. [2] Starr also performed the track alongside Chris Martin during Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres World Tour, marking its live debut.
According to Digital Music Pool, "Hot Body" runs at 96 beats per minute in the key of D♭ minor (Camelot 12A), aligning with its midtempo, groove-driven style. It was released in multiple formats on July 25, 2025, including clean, a cappella, and instrumental versions, reflecting its adaptability for both radio and club use. [9] Critics situate the track at the crossroads of Afrobeats, dancehall, reggae, and pop. Billboard highlighted it as music "for slow whining on a humid summer night," while Afrobeats Magazine wrote that the production blends "hypnotic Afrobeats percussion with pulsing synth bass[...]." [10] [11] Xmag and Style Rave commended its magnetic, dancefloor-ready sound and noted how the “layered yet airy” mix left space for Starr’s voice to cut through with clarity. [12] [13] Writing for OkayAfrica , Tšeliso Monaheng said the song exemplified the genre-fluid experimentation propelling Afropop’s global reach. The arrangement relies on a minimalist palette of handclaps, deep synth-bass, and occasional guitar flourishes. [14] The Native 's Damilola Animashaun likened its rhythm to an "incantation," adding that Starr projects "relaxed certitude" while turning youthful swagger into "sensual elegance." Top40-Charts noted how the guitar textures weave seamlessly into the groove. [1] [15] The Netng added that its design extended beyond audio, inspiring the launch of an online dance game themed around the single. [16]
Vocally, Starr delivers with sultry poise and restraint. HotNewHipHop observed that "from the opening bars, her confidence shines through," pointing to playful lyrical flexes such as "flexing her Porsche." [17] Euphoria Magazine characterized the track as a softer, pop-leaning turn compared with her harder Afrobeats moments, [17] [18] while antiMusic called her phrasing "flirty and fiery," identifying it as one of her most compelling performances. [19] Starr herself framed "Hot Body" as part of a new "sexy era," explaining in a Capital Xtra interview that she wanted to move past earlier discomfort with presenting themes of sexual attractiveness in her music: "Before I used to be shy, but now I don’t feel cringy. I’m very comfortable in my skin." She described the recording session with producers Ragee, Dino Vader, and The Elements as unusually relaxed, recalling that it was built on "just vibes" rather than her typical meticulous studio rituals. Starr said she added the outro late in the process to "get it to a certain point where I loved it." [20] Lyrically, "Hot Body" celebrates bodily freedom and agency. Beyond status signifiers such as her Porsche reference, Starr positions desirability as empowerment, a perspective that Le Monde Afrique described as a "concentrate of sensuality." [3] OkayAfrica pointed out its emphasis on female autonomy, while The49thStreet praised its energy but questioned whether her reliance on racy imagery might eventually necessitate a rebrand. [21] [22]
| Chart (2025) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Nigeria Top 100 ( TurnTable ) [23] | 3 |
| UK Afrobeats Singles (OCC) [24] | 2 |
| US Afrobeats Songs (Billboard) [25] | 6 |
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)