The Year of Tyla
Images by Anthony Bila
The last few weeks have been a whirlwind for 19-year-old Tyla. A song she released while finishing high school in 2019 has recently flung her into the spotlight. Having premiered the music video for her single “Getting Late” featuring Kooldrink less than a month ago, Tyla has raked in over a million streams, and counting.
I sit down with her more than a year after its initial release-the video for “Getting Late” has breathed new life into the single, and has given Tyla a chance to reintroduce herself to the world. A fusion of Pop and popular South Africa dance genre Amapiano, the single seems to emerge in a genre of its own.
Tyla explains that this was a result of her very first recording sessions with producer Kooldrink, and that it was birthed from experimenting with a range of different sounds and genres, “I have been a fan of Amapiano for the longest time, but I never thought I could make it. While recording with Kooldrink, we were kind of playing around with a lot of different genres, and ‘Getting Late’ just happened to be the thing we liked the most-it wasn’t intentional but I’m really glad it worked out that way,”.
Tyla is soft-spoken, but she doesn’t mince words when it comes to her music. She relays her determination in wanting to make this happen for herself, and doing everything she could to realize a dream that hasn’t left her side since she was a little girl.
As she manages hypervisibility and high expectations, Tyla’s only goal is to remain grounded in where she comes from, “I’m literally taking things day by day at this point. I’m keeping my head down and making music that I enjoy and hopefully, when the time is right I get to share it with everyone. I think it’s important to maintain my identity and where I come from”, she shares.
In our interview, she speaks to the extractive nature of people being inspired by the continent, but not doing anything to plough back into the source: “We are used as a place where people just come and take what they like, but we need people to represent those things. I’d like to be one of those people”.
For more on what guides Tylas’s music as well as her plans for the future, see the full interview below.
This interview has been lightly edited for the purpose of clarity and context.
Talk to me about how and where you grew up-and where music fit into all of that?
Tyla: I was born and raised in Edenvale [in Johannesburg, South Africa] and I’ve never left. I’m one of 5 kids, so as you can imagine the house is never quiet! Part of that noise was music, which was always playing in the house, so that’s how I grew up. Music is in my family and I’ve known since I was a little girl that I wanted to be a singer.
Really? How did your parents feel about that?
Initially, I don’t think anyone took me seriously but I don’t blame them-which 9 year old doesn’t want to be a pop star?[Laughs] But as time went on, this dream never left me and that was whe they knew that I was really determined to make this happen. Of course, they emphasized the importance of school in relation to music but I always knew this was going to be the most important thing in my life do eventually they got on board!
At the time of the initial release of your single “Getting Late” You were just 17 years old. How did it all come about and what was that process like for you?
Around high school, I got discovered by my manager singing covers and some stuff I wrote on Instagram. I was in my final year of high school when I went into the studio with him and [producer] Kooldrink. “Getting Late” was one of the first songs to come out of those sessions. I was trying to juggle school and music which wasn’t easy-but I have to give it to my dad for driving me across Joburg every single weekend to get to the studio!
How did you decide on a sound that blended elements of Amapiano and Pop? And is that going to be your sound going forward or are you still at a stage where you are experimenting?
So I have been a fan of Amapiano for the longest time, but I never thought I could make it. While recording with Kooldrink, we were kind of playing around with a lot of different genres, and “Getting Late” just happened to be the thing we liked the most-it wasn’t intentional but I’m really glad it worked out that way. As for my sound going forward, my voice is very Pop and R7B, so I plan to fuse that with different genres- not only Amapiano.
Who are some of the artists who have influenced your sound?
If you grew up in a Coloured home, you would know that I grew up listening to a lot of old school R&B [laughs] so that definitely has something to do with my sound. Women like Cassie and Aaliyah are where I also draw a lot of inspiration from.
Who would be your dream collaboration?
I have so many! On the continent, it has to be Wizkid. Globally, Doja Cat is really up there for me!
Now that getting Late is out and there’s a general sense of wondering what’s next for you..how do you manage those expectations?
I’m literally taking things day by day at this point-because I could never have predicted how this song would be received. I’m keeping my head down and making music that I enjoy and hopefully, when the time is right I get to share it with everyone. I think it’s important to maintain my identity and where I come from.
Do you think that becomes harder for artists when fame comes around?
Absolutely, and I really don’t want that to happen to me. I want people to know where i come from-we are used as a place where people just come and take what they like, but we need people to represent those things. I’d like to be one of those people.
Do you plan on using this momentum into releasing a project or is that still a little far off for you?
Well at the moment, I have a bunch of singles ready to go out as well as a music video. I kind of want to use this time to focus on putting each of those things out in the best way possible, and hopefully work towards an EP somewhere further down the line.
Who do you make music for?
I make music for people, for myself, and for God.
What would people be surprised to know about you?
I think the fact that if I wasn’t in music, that I would be pursuing a degree in mining engineering is pretty surprising! [laughs]
What excites you about the future?
I’m excited to travel, to meet new people, to make more music, and for people to listen!
For a lot of people, it may appear that this just happened overnight for you-when in reality this is a song you put out more than a year ago. For those who don’t know, what happened between then and now?
When we created “Getting Late”, it was more about exploring and experimenting with this sound. We went on to release it in November 2019 and there was a little buzz here and there around the release, but nothing major. We shot the video and covid hit so we had to pause everything-that caused the delay in the release but since we put it out in January it completely blew up-and I am so grateful!
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