Tyla Emphasizes African Music's Diversity in MTV VMAs Speech
“I come from South Africa, and I represent amapiano [and] my culture,” the Best Afrobeats award winner said.
yla in the press room at the MTV Video Music Awards 2024 held at the UBS Arena in New York on September 11, 2024.
Tyla keeps winning. At the UBS Arena in New York, the South African pop star won the second MTV Video Music Award (VMA) for Best Afrobeats, continuing her streak of dominating African music-related categories at western award shows. She won the award for “Water,” the smash hit that placed her firmly on the path to global prominence.
In her acceptance speech, Tyla described the win as “special but also bittersweet.” Her comments were in relation to the tendency of western award bodies to group all African artists under the Afrobeats umbrella. “Even though Afrobeats has run things and opened doors for us, African music is so diverse,” Tyla said.
It plays into the now long-running controversy of African artists distancing themselves from the Afrobeats tag. For more specificity, Tyla added in her speech that she represents amapiano. While the validity of her chosen genre is debatable, considering the more pop-friendly overtures in her music, she has clearly hit on a topic that’s consistently divisive.
“I come from South Africa and I represent amapiano and my culture,” she said, adding shoutouts to Tems, Ayra Starr, Burna Boy, and other artists nominated in the category.
Perhaps the most striking part of Tyla’s acceptance speech, and what should be amplified the most, was in her first sentence: “The global impact that ‘Water’ had just proves that African music can be pop music too.”
Watch her speech below:
- Tyla, Trevor Noah & Burna Boy Shine On a Significant Night For African Music at the Grammys ›
- Grammys 2024: How “Water” Placed Tyla On the Path to Global Superstardom ›
- Sammy Soso's Secret Behind Producing Tyla's "Water" and Her Debut Album ›
- Tyla is Now the Highest-Charting African Female Solo Artist Ever On the Billboard Hot 100 ›
- Tyla Keeps the Momentum of Her Debut Album With Deluxe Version - Okayplayer ›
- Opinion: Afrobeats or Amapiano - What's the Best Description for Tyla's Music? - Okayplayer ›
- Opinion: Why Are African Artists Like Tyla Forced to Strip Their Identities For Global Stardom? - Okayplayer ›
- Opinion: Can Tyla Balance Amapiano Authenticity with Global Pop Dreams? - Okayplayer ›
- Tyla Wins Big at the MTV EMAs - Okayplayer ›
The Best West African Songs of 2024
This year’s list features emerging talents and an uptick in artists reaching to the past to create new sounds.
With “Sade,” Adekunle Gold Challenged The Nigerian Music Industry
As “Sade” turns 10, we take a look at how Adekunle Gold provided an alternative template to being a Nigerian superstar by making music with soul and commercial merits.