Tyla is Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Rookie of the Month for October.
“It’s crazy just being a normal girl in South Africa, and then living this dream that I’ve always wanted to live,” she tells. I was like, ‘One day, I’m gonna be there.’ I actually used to want to be born in America only because I thought only Americans could be famous. I did not know it could happen for us because it didn’t really happen very often for people in Africa and especially South Africa.
Her unique “popiano” formula scored her a label deal with Epic Records in 2021, when she started gradually dropping singles — like the boisterous “Overdue,” featuring gqom pioneer DJ Lag and Kooldrink; the tantalizing “To Last,” which was later remixed by amapiano giant DJ Maphorisa and fellow South African singer Young Stunna; the super sleek “Been Thinking;” and the passionate “Girl Next Door” collaboration with.
And it’s very much an open place for us to work in. Everyone is welcoming. Our sessions in South Africa are not like the sessions overseas. All our sessions are open basically, so a session could be happening at this person’s house and then anybody is able to walk up and add a verse, anybody is able to come in and touch the beat. That’s why our songs have 20 people featured on it and the songs are so long.
At the time of its release, you wrote, “Even if it only gets 270 views on youtube and my career fails, I’ll just watch this video on repeat for the rest of my life and I’m pretty sure I’ll be happy.” Your video has nearly seven million views and was also nominated for music video of the year at last year’s Southcouldn’t stop watching that video, ’cause I was so proud of myself and proud of my team for pushing through it. I just love the video so much that I was like, “OK, guys. We did our best.
Being a supporting act on the European leg of Chris Brown’s Under the Influence Tour was also a big look for you. First of all, how did that opportunity come about? And what were the biggest lessons you learned from either Chris or the experience overall? ‘s Grammy party and the head of the label, Sylvia Rhone, came to me and asked me, “Do want to open for Chris Brown on his Europe tour?” I didn’t even know what to do. I was like, “What?” I wasn’t even sure I was hearing her correctly.
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