South African singer Tyla has voiced her frustration with the Western tendency to label all African music as Afrobeats.
During her acceptance speech for Best Afrobeats Song at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards on the 11th of September, 2024, Tyla acknowledged that while Afrobeats has significantly elevated African music globally, it’s misleading to classify the diverse sounds of the continent under one genre.
Highlighting her roots, she proudly stated that she represents Amapiano, a genre born from South Africa’s vibrant music scene.
She said: “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.”