During her acceptance speech at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs), South African superstar Tyla used her platform to highlight the distinctiveness of South African Amapiano music, despite winning the Best Afrobeats Award for her hit single “Water.” Tyla expressed gratitude for the recognition but also took the opportunity to address what she sees as a tendency to broadly categorize all African music under the Afrobeats label.
“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 during her speech. She emphasized her pride in representing South Africa and Amapiano, a genre deeply rooted in her culture.
Tyla’s comments were aimed at acknowledging the broader spectrum of African music and recognizing artists across different genres. She also used the moment to give a shout-out to other nominees in the Afrobeats category, including Rema, Tems, Ayra Starr, Burna Boy, Wizkid, and Davido.
However, her speech has drawn criticism from some Nigerian observers. Media personality and award-winning OAP Do2tun took to Instagram to challenge Tyla’s remarks. “Aunty @tyla aka am not Afrobeats, I am Amapiano. We have heard you but your song ‘Water’ isn’t Amapiano either. If you thought you were categorized in the wrong category, you should have given the award back or denounced the nomination. You clearly took an award that didn’t represent you or your sound from that statement you made,” Do2tun posted.
The debate highlights ongoing discussions about the classification and recognition of African music genres, reflecting the complexities and sensitivities involved in celebrating diverse musical traditions within the continent.
Written by: Blossom Kugbere.