“She Represents Amapiano”: South African Tyla Fans Come to Singer’s Rescue Amid Gloomy EP Sales

• Two South African teenagers came to Tyla's rescue after a woman criticised the singer after her EP underperformed in sales
• The teens addressed claims that people wanted to make Tyla the face of Afrobeats, and also discussed Tyla’s identification as a Coloured woman
• Social media users took to the comment section to express their thoughts about what the woman and the teens had to say

After a woman claimed that Tyla didn’t care about the Black American audience following her poor EP sales, two South African teenagers came to her defence.

The X page Chart Data reported that We Wanna Party sold 3 700 units in the first week in the United States.

On 14 August, 2025, a girl named Kayla and her friend Kesha addressed a woman, who was assumed to be American-Nigerian, who made many claims about Tyla.

The woman alleged that people tried to make Tyla the face of Afrobeats. Kayla replied to the claims with her opinion, saying:

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"Do you understand that Tyla is a pop artist? Pop is generally quite diverse. She mixes R&B, amapiano, and Afrobeats. In her VMAs speech, she said that she represents amapiano. Yes, she includes Afrobeats, but that is not the sole genre of her music."

Among other things, Kayla also touched on the Americans' issue with Tyla identifying as a Coloured woman when she hit the international shores.

In America, the term 'Coloured' is seen as derogatory to the Black community, as it is associated with the racial segregation era.

"Tyla never said she wasn't Black. The only thing Tyla ever said was, 'I am Coloured.' The people from the US interpreted it as her saying she wasn't Black.

Kayla also provided a brief breakdown of the history of the Coloured community, responding to the woman's statement that Tyla arrived in America with an "apartheid mentality." She noted that the group existed in the early days of colonisation as a result of European settlers having sexual relations (often forced) with enslaved Africans and Asians.

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"We didn't come out of thin air during apartheid. We were classified as Coloured then, but we existed before that. That's the thing that a lot of people aren't understanding."

Internet users enter the Tyla discourse

Thousands of members of the online community expressed their thoughts about how Black Americans treated Tyla and what the teenagers had to say in the viral video.

@cybersukehiroooo shared their opinion:

"People in the United States don't understand that the world isn't limited to their criteria."

@whatsgoodthickyy stated in the comments:

"I don’t understand what they want from Tyla. It seems like they want Tyla to go around America introducing herself as a Black South African, which would be ripping her off from her roots and identity because she is Coloured. It’s her race, and it’s her identity."

@leeannh52 said to the online community:

"Why are people so triggered by 'Coloured?' In our country, we are Coloured. Please, man, let us live in peace."

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@darkl3g3nd2 laughed and pointed out:

"South African children schooling an adult who said a lot of nothing."

@baxolelemhlongo wrote in the comment section:

"I'm certain all schools in the United States are like 'High School Musical,' no learning, just vibes."

@ctnn33 rolled their eyes, saying:

"They want her to flop so bad."

Take a look at the TikTok video below:

3 Other stories about Tyla

• In another article, Briefly News reported that Tyla shared that her parents were "lit" after she confessed that she and her siblings would go to the clubs with them.
• Tyla made history in the United States amid backlash from the Black American community. She dominated the Billboard Afrobeats Chart, bringing in some success after the release of her low-performing EP.
• The Truth or Dare singer is reportedly at the centre of a legal battle with the producers of her breakout track Water. Two songwriters/producers alleged that they were not credited and missed out on the royalties.

Source: Briefly News