Brittany Talia Hazzard, professionally known as Starrah, is an American songwriter, singer, and rapper from

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

. Best known for her songwriting work for other music industry artists, Starrah has co-written three singles that peaked atop the ''Billboard'' Hot 100: "

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Camila Cabello Karla Camila Cabello Estrabao (; ; born March 3, 1997) is an American singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence as a member of the Pop music, pop girl group Fifth Harmony, one of the List of best-selling girl groups, best-selling girl gro ...

in 2017, "

Girls Like You "Girls Like You" is a song recorded by American band Maroon 5 from their sixth studio album ''Red Pill Blues'' (2017). The track was written by lead singer Adam Levine, Starrah, Gian Stone, Cirkut, and Jason Evigan, with the latter two servi ...

" for

Maroon 5 Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. It consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Adam Levine, rhythm guitarist and keyboardist Jesse Carmichael, lead guitarist James Valentine (musician), James Valentine, d ...

the following year, and "

Savage Remix "Savage" is a song by American rapper Megan Thee Stallion. It was released on March 6, 2020, as part of her EP ''Suga'' and later sent to US contemporary hit radio on April 7, 2020, by 1501 Certified Entertainment and 300 Entertainment as the th ...

" for

Megan Thee Stallion Megan Jovon Ruth Pete (born February 15, 1995), known professionally as Megan Thee Stallion, is an American rapper and singer-songwriter. Megan initially gained recognition when videos of her freestyling began to circulate widely on social me ...

(featuring

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...

) in 2020; the latter won a

Grammy Award for Best Rap Song The Grammy Award for Best Rap Song is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality songs in the rap music genre. Honors in several c ...

. In addition, she has co-written songs that have peaked within the top 20 of the chart:

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...

's "

Needed Me "Needed Me" is a song by Barbadian singer Rihanna from her eighth studio album, '' Anti'' (2016). It was written by Rihanna, Brittany Hazard, Charles Hinshaw, Derrus Rachel, the producer DJ Mustard, and the co-producers Twice as Nice and Fra ...

Normani Normani Kordei Hamilton ( ; born May 31, 1996), known mononymously as Normani, is an American singer. She first became known as a member of the girl group Fifth Harmony, which became one of the best-selling girl groups of all time. While in t ...

's " Wild Side" (featuring

Cardi B Belcalis Marlenis Cephus (; born October 11, 1992), known professionally as Cardi B, is an American rapper. Noted for her unfiltered public image and lyrics, Cardi B is one of the most successful female rappers. From 2015 to early 2017, she ga ...

), Halsey's " Now or Never,"

Kevin Gates Kevin Jerome Gilyard (born February 5, 1986), better known by his stage name Kevin Gates, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. He is currently signed to Bread Winners' Association with a partnership with Atlantic Records ...

' " 2 Phones,"

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as the "Queen of Rap" and one of the most influential rappers of all time, she is noted for her ...

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...

and

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. He is often regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, as well as one of the greatest rappers of all ...

's " No Frauds," and Drake's " Fake Love." Her album credits include

Travis Scott Jacques Bermon Webster III (born April 30, 1991), known professionally as Travis Scott (formerly stylized as Travi$ Scott), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Scott has had five number-one hits on the U.S. ''Bil ...

's ''

Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight ''Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight'' is the second studio album by American rapper Travis Scott. It was released on September 2, 2016, through Grand Hustle Records and distributed by Epic Records. Originally promoted by the fake mixtape ''Days Be ...

'' (2016),

Calvin Harris Adam Richard Wiles (born 17 January 1984), known professionally as Calvin Harris (and sometimes under the stage name Love Regenerator), is a Scottish DJ, record producer, singer, and songwriter. His debut studio album, ''I Created Disco'' (2007 ...

's '' Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1'' (2017)—including the top 20 single " Feels" featuring

Pharrell Williams Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973), also known mononymously as Pharrell, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, and fashion designer. He first became known as one half of the music production duo ...

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. She is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists in hist ...

, and

Big Sean Sean Michael Leonard Anderson (born March 25, 1988), known professionally as Big Sean, is an American rapper. He met Kanye West as a teenager, and signed with his record label GOOD Music, an imprint of Def Jam Recordings in 2007. He gained popul ...

—Nicki Minaj's ''

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

'' (2018), and ''

Madame X ''Madame X'' (original title ''La Femme X'') is a 1908 Play (theatre), play by French playwright Alexandre Bisson (1848–1912). It was novelized in English and adapted for the American stage; it was also adapted for the screen sixteen times ...

'' (2019) by

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

. As a recording artist, Starrah signed with

Diplo Thomas Wesley Pentz (born November 10, 1978), known professionally as Diplo, is an American DJ and music producer. He is a co-creator and lead member of the electronic dancehall music project Major Lazer; a member of the supergroup LSD (group), ...

Mad Decent Mad Decent is an American record label founded by Diplo. The label has helped introduce Brazilian baile funk and Angolan kuduro to clubs around the world. In the early 2010s, it popularized moombahton, a genre of electronic dance music create ...

record label to release an eponymous collaborative project with the producer (titled ''Starrah x Diplo'') in 2017. She released her debut commercial single, "How It Goes" on August 12, 2020, which preceded the release of her debut studio album, ''The Longest Interlude'' (2021).

Early life and career

Starrah grew up in Delaware as the youngest of nine siblings. She has stated that she "grew up in the ghetto" and has written lyrics about police raids she experienced as a child. Her songwriting grew from writing short stories and poems. She attended

Delaware State University Delaware State University (DSU or Del State) is a Statutory college#Outside New York State, privately governed, state-assisted Historically black colleges and universities, historically black Land-grant university, land-grant research universi ...

and moved to Los Angeles after graduation to pursue a music career. After a period of uploading music to

SoundCloud SoundCloud is a German audio streaming service owned and operated by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG. The service enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is ...

and selling samples through Instagram, a manager in the industry reached out to her. He connected her to more songwriters which led to Starrah writing " Be Real" by

Kid Ink Brian Todd Collins (born April 1, 1986), known professionally as Kid Ink, is an American rapper and singer from Los Angeles, California. His debut studio album, ''Up & Away (Kid Ink album), Up & Away'' (2012), was released independently and peake ...

in 2015, which reached No. 43 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In 2016, Starrah wrote several songs that became

top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...

hits. " 2 Phones" by

reached

double platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music Sound recording and reproduction, recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video ...

status.

's single "

" reached number seven on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and spent 42 weeks on the chart. On September 22, 2017, Starrah released a joint EP with producer

titled ''Starrah x Diplo''. In April 2019, Starrah formed a partnership with Hipgnosis Songs Fund. She worked closely with Madonna for her 2019 album ''

'', writing on six tracks. Starrah released her debut single "How It Goes" on August 12, 2020.

Artistry

Starrah stated that she writes lyrics first, and then finds a melody and production to fit them. 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.

Personal life

Due to a mixture of social anxiety and wishes for privacy, Starrah avoids being photographed and recognized in public. Starrah is

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to ...

Discography

Studio albums

*2021: ''The Longest Interlude''

EP

*''Starrah x Diplo'' (2017)

Singles

As lead artist

*2014 **Starrah – "Low" prod.

Noah "40" Shebib Noah James Shebib (born March 31, 1983), better known by his stage name 40, is a Canadian record producer, songwriter, record executive, and former child actor from Toronto, Ontario. He is best known for his production work with fellow Toronto n ...

*2016 **Starrah – "Rush / Rush (Remix)" featuring Kehlani **Starrah – "Dirty Diana" *2017 **Starrah and ''Diplo'' – "Imperfections" **Starrah and Diplo – " Swerve" *2018 **Starrah – "Codeine Cowgirl" prod. Aleksei *2020 **Starrah – "How It Goes" prod. June Nawakii **Starrah – "Keep Calm" *2021 **Starrah - "Miss This" **

Skrillex Sonny John Moore (born January 15, 1988), known professionally as Skrillex, is an American DJ, record producer, musician, singer. Raised in Northeast Los Angeles and Northern California, he began his career in 2004 as the lead vocalist of the ...

, Starrah and

Four Tet Kieran Miles David Hebden (born September 1977), known as Four Tet, is an English electronic musician. He came to prominence as a member of the post-rock band Fridge before establishing himself as a solo artist with charting and critically acc ...

– "

Butterflies Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

As featured artist / guest appearances

*2015 **

featuring Starrah – "Blowin' Swishers Part. 2" **

Jeremih Jeremy Phillip Felton (born July 17, 1987), known professionally as Jeremih ( ), is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B singer. He embarked on a musical career after meeting record producer Mick Schultz in 2008, and signed a recording contract wi ...

featuring Starrah – "Pass Dat" **

The Weeknd Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (; born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is best known for adding Pop music, pop, electronic music, electronic and hip-hop stylings ...

featuring Starrah and

– "Pass Dat (Remix)" **

G-Eazy Gerald Earl Gillum (born May 24, 1989), better known by his stage name G-Eazy, is an American rapper. Based in Oakland, California, he began his career in 2006 and released two independent studio albums before signing with RCA Records to releas ...

featuring Starrah – " Order More" *2016 ** Belly featuring Starrah – "It's All Love" **

with

Young Thug Jeffery Lamar Williams II (born August 16, 1991), known professionally as Young Thug, is an American rapper. Known for his eccentric vocal style and fashion, he is considered an influential figure in modern hip hop music, hip hop and trap music ...

featuring

Quavo Quavious Keyate Marshall (born April 2, 1991), better known by his stage name Quavo (), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the frontman of the now-defunct hip hop group Migos. Formed with his nep ...

– " Pick Up the Phone" **

Cashmere Cat Magnus August Høiberg (born 29 November 1987), known professionally as Cashmere Cat, is a Norwegian DJ and record producer. Often in tandem with Benny Blanco, he has been credited with production work for artists including Kanye West, the Kid L ...

featuring Starrah,

2 Chainz Tauheed K. Epps (born September 12, 1977), known professionally as 2 Chainz (formerly Tity Boi), is an American rapper and actor. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, he gained recognition as one-half of the Southern hip-hop duo Playaz Ci ...

, and

Tory Lanez Daystar Shemuel Shua Peterson (born July 27, 1992), known professionally as Tory Lanez, is a Canadian singer-songwriter and record producer. First discovered by Sean Kingston, he received initial recognition for his mixtape ''Conflicts of My S ...

– "Throw Myself a Party" **

– "True Colors" *2017 **

Charli XCX Charlotte Emma Aitchison (born 2 August 1992), known professionally as Charli XCX, is a British singer and songwriter. She began posting songs on Myspace in 2008 before entering the London rave scene. Signing a recording contract with Asylum Re ...

featuring Starrah and Raye – "Dreamer" **

featuring

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popula ...

– " No Favors" **

– "Jump Out the Window" **

featuring Starrah and Flint Chozen Choir – "Bigger Than Me" **

featuring

and

Ariana Grande Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Regarded as a pop icon and an influential figure in popular music, Grande is known for her four-octave vocal range, which extends into the whistle re ...

– "

Heatstroke Heat stroke or heatstroke, also known as sun-stroke, is a severe heat illness that results in a body temperature greater than , along with red skin, headache, dizziness, and confusion. Sweating is generally present in exertional heatstroke, ...

" ** Halsey – "Now or Never" **

featuring Starrah – "No Strings" **

Major Lazer Major Lazer is an American electronic dance music and DJ trio, which includes record producer Diplo, and DJs Walshy Fire and Ape Drums. They were founded in 2008 by Diplo and Switch, with Switch leaving after three years in 2011. He was the ...

featuring

and

Camila Cabello Karla Camila Cabello Estrabao (; ; born March 3, 1997) is an American singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence as a member of the Pop music, pop girl group Fifth Harmony, one of the List of best-selling girl groups, best-selling girl gro ...

– "Know No Better" **

featuring

– "Havana"

Songwriting credits

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Starrah Living people Musicians from California 21st-century American musicians Songwriters from California African-American songwriters American hip-hop singers Grammy Award winners 21st-century American singers American pop musicians American women pop singers 1990 births 21st-century African-American women singers 21st-century American women singers