“African songs can be pop music too” – Tyla condemns Afrobeats grouping

South African singer, Tyla has expressed concerns about the Western entertainment industry’s tendency to label all African music as Afrobeats.

While accepting her award for Best Afrobeats Song at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards on Wednesday night, Tyla acknowledged that Afrobeats has created many opportunities for African music.

However, she emphasized that it’s faulty to group all music from the continent under this genre. She clarified that she hails from South Africa and represents the Amapiano genre.

“The impact that ‘Water’ has had on the world proves that African music can be pop music, too. This is so special but also bittersweet. Because I know there’s a tendency to group all African artists under Afrobeats.

“Even though Afrobeats has run things and has opened so many doors for us, African music is so diverse. It’s more than just Afrobeats.

“I come from South Africa, I represent Amapiano. I present my culture. And I just want to shout out all the Afrobeats artists in this category with me. Shout out to all the Afrobeats artistes Tems, Ayra Starr, Wizkid, Burna Boy, Rema and Lojay,” she stated.