TYLA IS A*POP. YES.. POP

There is a weird discussion right now, and let’s talk about it. Whenever an African artist achieves global success, instead of allowing them to grow, experiment and become bigger, people immediately start building a box around them.

Apparently, one long drum enters the room and suddenly, every African woman making music filed under Afrobeats.

That is the issue. That misunderstanding sits ate the centre of a lot of harsh reactions to Tyla’s new album, A*Pop. People are judging the album based on who they decided Tyla was, rather than listening to who she consistenty shown herself to be.

So, we all know the success of ‘Water’, the easiest and safest option would have been to recreate that song another 13 times. She could have spent the new years chasing the same dance routine, give the audience the same dance challenge, the same long drum and the same viral moment until everybody eventually complained that she has no range ( WE KNOW HOW WE ARE..)

Instead, she used her second album to Mak e her positioning very CLEAR.

RIGHT NOW

DOUBLE BLIND

THAT GIRL

MR NONCHALNANT

KISS KISS

It is very clear where she is standing.

Tyla is South African. Amapiano is central to her music identity but also Rnb, Pop, Dance music and South African Club culture. She has never been solely a one genre artist. Her vocal ability is soft, intimate and very breathy. ah comes from an Rnb tradition. Her hooks, visuals, choreography, fashion and oversaw performance style are the foundation of a pop star. The delivery such as the rhythms and movement is still deeply connected to South Africa.

ALL OF THOSE THINGS CAN EXIST TOGETHER GUYS.

The problem is no that Tyla is confused about her genre. The problem us that some listens only know how to understand African artists through one commercially familiar label.

Tyla has described the thinking behind A*POP clearly. Rather than changing herself to fit an existing version of pop, she wanted to shape pop AROUND HER.

She has called the project African pop and argued that Africa music shield already be understood as part of pop music, not something permanently positioned outside it.

That is the real intention behind the album title.

The ‘A’ is not a disclaimer. It is not Tyla asking for special little African corner of the pop industry. SHE IS PLACING AFRICA AT THE BEGINNING OF THE CONVERSATION.

The album has been on REPEAT for me. THAT GIRL.DOUBLE BLIND.FEEL SOMETHING. RIGHT NOW. MR NONCHALANT. CRAZY OF ME.

The album is playful, sensual and very polished, which is exactly where her strength sits imo. Some criticism is fair. The bigger risk is Tyla entering the global pop space without removing her identity.

LOVE IT!!

For example, Tems has always felt more rooted in Rnb, soul and alt music. Tyla and Tems do not need sound alike or repent an entire continent just because they are both African women.

Nobody hears every British artist and assumes they make the same genre because they share a passport. So why do we keep flattening African music into one sound??

Bycreating a visible lane for African pop, Tyla creates more soave for her peers.

One artist can lean into Amapiano, another into Rnb, electronic music, soul or something that does not have a neat label yet.

The pop-girl realm is not an invite-only WhatsApp group with space for one African woman btw.

Tyla is still early in her career. She does not need to have her entire legacy figured out on album two. We claim we want proper pop stars, then become scared when somebody shows ambition, fashion, personality and a clear vision.

A*POP is not the final destination. It is the foundation.

People can debate whether every song works, but overall move is right. Tyla is not running away from African music. She is showing that African music already belongs inside pop.

MAYBE THE ISSUE IS NOT WHETHER TYLA IS ‘AFROBEATS ENOUGH’. Maybe people’s understanding of POP is SIMPLY TOO SMALL.