Mmm, Tyla! Pop Music With A Touch Of African Spice [INTERVIEW]

Source: Epic Records / Sony

Pop music is at an apex right now, especially if you happen to be a female artist.

Women in rap are currently dominating hip-hop — sorry, fellas! — and Alt-R&B superstar SZA’s latest album, SOS, is the most successful album of the year thus far. Her No.1 streak on the Billboard 200, which literally just ended after an impressively record-breaking 10-week run on top, showed just how powerful women in music are at the moment.

They’ll soon be making room for one more with the stateside debut of burgeoning South African pop star, Tyla. Already borrowing the one-name persona like idols Beyoncé, Rihanna and the late Aaliyah before her — more on that later! — Tyla has already seen substantial success in her career since dropping her first music video back in 2020 for her infectiously thumping debut single, “Getting Late.” It currently boasts 5.9 million views and counting on YouTube.

Now as one of Epic Records’ most promising new signees, Tyla is ready to take American pop music by storm as she readies her upcoming debut LP for a summer 2023 release. To give people a dose of what she calls her “South African spice,” the 21-year-old Johannesburg native recently dropped the music video for “Been Thinking,” her latest banger produced by superproducers Tricky Stewart, Theron Thomas and Ph.D-Lovely.

We had the pleasure of speaking with the international pop sensation not too long after the song’s release, which caused some buzz on social media. There was even a few interesting comparisons to Tinashe, another pop star in the game with South African roots.

Source: Epic Records / Sony

Thankfully we think there’s enough room for both dancing divas to shine, especially with the promise that Tyla showed in our exclusive interview with her. Although we had to check in virtually, her presence and bubbly energy shined even through the computer monitor as she spoke on making her debut during the pandemic, being seen as an international star and what we can expect from her debut album this summer.