Opinion: Can Tyla Balance Amapiano Authenticity with Global Pop Dreams?
For the past year, Tyla has been rewriting the narrative for African artists on the global stage. But, in an industry still learning how to place her, who is she really for?
“My first mistake was thinking I can be everything,”Tyla sings in "Priorities,” the penultimate track from her self-titled debut album that dropped this past March. “How many places can I be at once? How many people can I be at once? How many people can I please at once?”
Though she may be singing about the trials of love, the lyrics echo the balancing act that the South African global sensation is trying to manage. In her burgeoning career, Tyla has constantly had to navigate the desire to connect to a global pop audience while staying true to her South African roots.
With her infectious melodies, dynamic stage presence, and unique style that blends amapiano with pop and R&B — which she calls “popiano” — Tyla, at just 22, is part of a growing wave of African artists aiming for mainstream global success.
Tyla’s rise has been remarkable by any standard. Her viral hit, “Water,” climbed to No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned her the first-ever Grammy for African Music Performance. She has graced stages at major festivals and award shows around the world, landed on numerous Best Dressed Lists at this year’s Met Gala, and appeared on magazine covers from Elle to V Magazine. Alongside all of this, she’s collaborated with top global stars like Travis Scott, Becky G and Skillibeng.
All of this has unfolded in just one year. And as the singer released her new deluxe album, Tyla +, earlier this month, she did so knowingly entering a different hemisphere of fame and recognition.Of course, Tyla’s not the only African artist shining. However, most of her African contemporaries with this level of global recognition hail from Nigeria, often categorized under the Afrobeats genre. Their crossover success has frequently come through high-profile collaborations with global stars like Ed Sheeran, Rihanna, Selena Gomez and Beyoncé.
The solo success of “Water,” combined with the relatively few songs she had to her name when it became a hit, meant that the world was introduced to Tyla without much previous information about her. She became known largely through the power of her own music, undeniable charisma, and the help of TikTok virality.
In her acceptance speech after winning the Best Afrobeats Award at the MTV VMAs last month — a category that many found problematic — she declared that the success of “Water” showed that “African music can be pop music, too.”
Her statement raises a critical question: where does Tyla fit in this global music world? Is she a pop star, or is she an African artist trying to balance the pressure of being everything to everyone at once?
Tyla is Always South African First
One place to look is at her music. Her self-titled album opens with “Intro,” a song in which you can hear South Africa’s Kelvin Molmo speaking in isiZulu over an amapiano beat. In just 41 seconds, the length of the song, she makes it clear that this is a quintessentially South African-influenced album.
The subsequent tracks further underscore Tyla’s South African sensibilities. “I always wanted to mix [amapiano] with other styles that I enjoy, like R&B and pop — and make it my own,” she explained in an interview with Elle. “I felt it was so special, and it needed to be shared. I did my own version of it in hopes of getting people to go deeper and discover the other artists we have and the origins of my sound.”
It’s evident that Tyla embraces the role of a cultural ambassador, proudly carrying the sound of amapiano to a global stage. In her aforementioned acceptance speech at the MTV Video Music Awards, she was clear: “I come from South Africa, and I represent amapiano and my culture.”
The first wave of Tyla’s marketing after the success of “Water” signaled a clear push towards the American market. Now living full-time in NYC, her team has embraced the U.S. as a launchpad for her international career.
And perhaps that’s where the difficulty lies. In the American market, Tyla has faced an industry and media that struggle to place her within the rigid categories that typically define global artists. As a Coloured, female, African — but also South African — artist, she brings a unique intersectionality that the industry seems unsure how to navigate. This uncertainty is evident in moments like her winning the “Best Afrobeats Song” award despite her roots in amapiano, being labeled an “uppity African” and the controversy over her self-identifying as Coloured.Tyla has consciously avoided engaging in discussions about race and colorism in America, a topic that is as charged in her home country as it is in the U.S. Her interview with The Breakfast Club, where she sidestepped questions about her Coloured identity, drew criticism, exposing the cultural disconnect she faces. She was later forced to answer the question on her social media.
Tyla Beyond America
This raises another question: Is Tyla’s appeal truly tied to the U.S. or does it extend far beyond? Her recent tours to Japan and Brazil highlight her global reach outside Africa, as she’s developed a strong following in these regions.
Yet, it might be time to give Tyla some grace. No African artist has reached her level of visibility and success in such a short span of time. In an industry that has historically embraced Afrobeats as the primary representation of African music, Tyla’s amapiano-rooted sound has been both a strength and a source of confusion for those who tend to lump all African music together.
And she’s learning as she goes.
“It’s been scary, because not only did my life completely change, I’m in a different country and so many things are different culturally that I’m still trying to navigate,” she said to Elle. As someone who is closely involved in every aspect of her music and brand, it’s understandable that she might stumble through the cultural nuances.
Her new music in Tyla + may provide hints about the direction she is heading. South Africa’s Tony Duardo and Optimist, alongside U.S.-based Maestro, feature on a track titled “Shake Ah,” signaling that Tyla is continuing to experiment with amapiano while carving out a unique space for herself.
Ultimately, in a whirlwind year that has taken her across continents, Tyla has announced that she will end it with two shows in South Africa. If this decision says anything, it’s that after a long year away, she is ultimately heading back to her roots.
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