Tyla, a South African celebrity, continues to win major honors both domestically and internationally. Despite winning in the Afrobeats category, the Johannesburg-born diva declared that she represented the amapiano.
The charismatic singing sensation also had words for the organizers and their haphazard categorizing of African music.
“I come from South Africa. I represent amapiano. I represent my culture, and I just want to shout out [to] all the Afrobeats artists in this category with me.”
Tyla won the VMA for Best Afrobeats for her smash hit “Water”, she was nominated with Nigerian superstars Burna Boy, Davido, Ayra Starr, Tems and Lojay.
During her acceptance speech for her award, Tyla reflected on her win, calling it “special, but also bittersweet”.
“This is such a big moment for Africa [and] African music,” began Tyla, as she became the first South African artist to win a VMA.
“This is just so special, but also bittersweet because I know there’s a tendency to group all African artists under Afrobeat[s]. It’s a thing, and even though Afrobeats has run things and has opened so many doors for us, African music is so diverse, it is more than just Afrobeats.
“I come from South Africa. I represent amapiano. I represent my culture, and I just want to shout out [to] all the Afrobeats artists in this category with me.”
Fela Anikulapo Kuti created afrobeat music in Nigeria in the late 1960s, and it has since grown into a global phenomenon, while amapiano is a sound that originated in South African townships and has also become a global craze.
The Afrobeats category was first established in 2023, with Nigerian musician Rema winning for the remix of his global smash “Calm Down” with Selena Gomez.
Tyla’s trophy cabinet is constantly expanding; she already has a Grammy, Billboard, BET, Metro FM Music, Basadi in Music, and now an MTV Video Music Award to add to her collection.
