Tyla Separates Herself From Afrobeats Music At The VMAs

Tyla Laura Seethal, more popularly known as Tyla, publicly separated herself from the Afrobeats genre of African music, claiming that she is in fact, an Amapiano singer.

She said this during her acceptance speech at the 2024 VMAs, after winning the Afrobeats category with her song ‘Water’.

“I know there’s a tendency to group all African artists as Afrobeats. Even though Afrobeats has run things and opened doors for us, African music is so diverse,” Tyla said.

“I come from South Africa and I represent Amapiano and my culture,” Tyla added before shouting out to Rema, Tems, Ayra Starr, Burna Boy, Wikzid, Davido, and other Afrobeats acts with whom she was nominated.