Ayra Starr dropped Starrgirl today and spent the lead-up to it counting down from a hospital bed, which for an album rollout is not the kind of commitment you see every week. The week had more going on. Here is what else deserved attention.

Ayra Starr dropped Starrgirl 

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Starrgirl dropped today. The album, spanning sixteen tracks, with guest features from Wizkid, Rema, ZAYN and Leon Thomas, seems to be a new chapter in Ayra’s journey. Even before its release, the purple gele on the cover had inspired people online to film themselves tying their own.  She has described the project as being about existing in multitudes, and the tracklist backs that idea up:a Wizkid duet sits next to a ZAYN ballad and Rema’s appearance on "Who's Dat Girl." Early reviews keep calling it her most complete work. That's a better compliment than "biggest."

Meji Meji Takes On New York In  North American Tour

Meji Meji began itsNorth American Tour, Home Is Not One Place, with eight stops scheduled between Houston in June and Washington D.C.. in September. The routes changed when several dates were postponed  mid-tour. The brand directly apologized to fans directly saying it needed time to put the "the necessary provisions” in place.  Atlanta resumed the journey on July 26 at Haus 419 under the theme Home Is Within Us. Toronto followed on Aug. 2 at The Annex Hotel’s lobby bar. Held during Caribana for the second consecutive year, the stop carried the theme Home in the Rhythm. New York is the tour’s current destination, teased through Instagram Stories, with Minneapolis, Los Angeles and Washington DC still on the schedule.. For the Minneapolis stop on Aug. 22, Meji Meji partnered with Samambo World for a cruise down Hennepin Avenue and created an exclusive piece for the city. Tolu Oye founded Meji Meji aroundNollywood graphics and Y2K silhouettes. The brand has picked up partnerships with Nordstrom, Topicals and Nike along the way, expanding its reach. Every tour caption runs through a maternal voice the brand calls Mama, which turns a pop-up tour into something closer to a family visiting each city in turn.

JT Keeps Picking Brands That Actually Fit Her

Topicals just added JT to its Faded lineup, fronting the new Dark Spot Peel Pads under the hashtag #FadedByAnyMeans. It's a multi-acid and retinol pad, out now on the topicals website and Sephora. Topicals has built its identity on working with Black women who use the products they're promoting, and JT reads as an actual fit, not a paid detour. The brand talks about skin conditions and mental health in the same breath, which is still rare for skincare marketing that usually keeps those two things apart.

OB70 Slipped a Womenswear Line Into Its Beach Collection

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OB70 made its name on Lekki streetwear.  It was founded by ClassyKinging who named the label after a childhood nickname from his father's 70th birthday. This month, the brand released Expansion Pack, a collection built around beach afternoons and Lagos coastal light -- bright and sun-soaked in a way that reads like heat rather than describing it. Inside that same drop sits OB70 Babes, the brand's first womenswear line, carrying the same colors and cuts as the men's pieces it was folded into rather than launching as its own separate rollout.

Old Navy Made Itself Look Expensive

Cardi B frontsOld Navy's "Most Wanted Denim" campaign with Wisdom Kaye, Quen Blackwell, Paloma Elsesser, Brooks Nader and Haley Baylee.  Shot on a desert set, the campaign borrows the visual language of a Western. It is the second chapter in Old Navy’s “It’s Old Navy” series, which began with Paris Hilton earlier this summer. The clothes moved quickly after the campaign launched, with several washes selling out soon afterwards. Cardi B also talked about growing up shopping there for Fourth of July outfits, which does more marketing work than a slogan could. It's rare to watch a mall brand borrow luxury pacing, a cast, a set, a story, without the price tag following it there. The jeans start at $22.The campaign also arrived during the week “WAP” earned Diamond certification, becoming Cardi’s fourth single to reach the milestone. August is simply confirming things about Cardi that were already clear.  

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