Tyla is on the forefront of a current boom in the global popularity of music from Africa, carrying with her a unique style of fusion and pride in her South African roots. However, the rise in appreciation for music from the continent comes with concerns about the potential exploitation and appropriation of African art.
Recently, African music has found increased traction in the United States. With nearly 60% of the continent’s population under the age of 25, Africa is a huge potential market for the music industry. Spotify disclosed that in 2023, revenues produced by Nigerian artists exceeded $16 million. Between 2019 and 2023, revenues from South African artists increased nearly 240%, earning over $14 million last year.
Tyla is in the vanguard of African artists receiving increased attention globally. This September, her debut album became the most streamed by an African woman in Spotify history, surpassing 1.3 billion streams.
As social media and streaming increasingly define the mainstream, less influence rests with record labels. “There’s less power in the industry because people now have the power,” Lick-Wilmerding High School music teacher Tony Asaro said.
As technology evolves, music from foreign countries has gained unprecedented success in the US. In the 2010s, the meteoric rise of K-pop crossed oceans, finding a loyal American fanbase. Similarly, the popularity of Latin music in the US has progressed rapidly, experiencing a 15.1% rise in streams from June 2023 to 2024, and becoming the fastest-growing genre on American streaming services.
Now, the US is seeing increased attention for African artists. Nigerian singer Rema’s remix of “Calm Down” featuring Selena Gomez peaked
No. 3 on the Billboard 100, and Davido’s Timeless broke the record for largest opening day African album on Apple Music. This spring, that success resulted in the Grammys’ new award for “Best African Music Performance,” which Tyla won.
Marco Senghor, owner of popular Senegalese restaurant and dance floor Bissap Baobab, states that this boom in revenue has potential to uplift Africa beyond its music industry. “Everybody on the chain can create jobs, and then people are happier and eventually create a sustainable economy,” he said.
Tyla proudly represents South Africa, where music has long resisted colonial oppression. “Jump,” featuring American rapper Gunna and Jamaican DJ Skillibeng, celebrates her home city. “They never had a pretty girl from Jo’burg, see me now and that’s what they prefer,” she sings. Nicknamed the “princess of popiano,” her blend of pop and amapiano, a South African subgenre of house, has led her to success.
Fusion plays a key role in helping African music permeate the American mainstream. Tyla has pushed the boundaries of amapiano, collaborating with rappers like Travis Scott, and Latina singer Becky G. Similarly, Tems, a Nigerian singer who last year became the first African artist to debut No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100, has created a name for herself through her unique Afrobeats-infused R&B.
“I think music is like food,” Senghor said. “People love to put together the best of what they can find, and they love to incorporate and create something original and beautiful.”
But this rise in representation for African artists is not without challenges. Tyla won three MTV awards this September, including “Best Afrobeats Video.” In her acceptance speech, she pointed out the misrepresentation of her style as Afrobeats, which is often misused to generalize all African music. She also sparked controversy earlier this year by identifying as “colored,” a racially charged word in the US that in South Africa is commonly used to identify people of mixed ancestry.
This incident opened the door to conversation about varying perceptions of race in different places, and perhaps, has created opportunity to broaden American understanding of cultural differences across the world.
“Maybe this will provide a little bit of a window for Americans who don’t really like to learn anything,” LWHS History teacher Shaun Lopez said. “We think it’s all about us. And maybe the music will create a space for us to actually learn a little bit about Africa and how diverse it is.”
photo courtesy of @Tyla
While fusion can push the boundaries of music, it is a precarious line between innovation and stealing. Senghor voiced concerns about foreign record labels taking advantage of African musicians, pointing to the history of colonial powers stealing resources from the continent.
“Africa has always been a continent of creation,” Senghor said. “And I’m talking about many, many levels… anywhere you can go, you can dig behind, and you will see there will be an African man behind. But they’ve never been acknowledged for what they’ve been doing.”
He is not alone in worrying about potential exploitation of artists of color. Tabatha Robinson, LWHS dance teacher, described the possible downsides of increased access to art from around the globe. Given the ease of creating and sharing content in our world, it can be challenging to filter through the genuine and the fabricated.
“I love it, and I’m scared at the same time,” she said. “I just want it to be in its most authentic way. And I think Tyla does that. I mean, she really focuses on what feels good to her and what’s comfortable to her.”
But Robinson still has optimism that this moment can expand representation and celebrate African art. “My hope is that people will continue to be open to learning and learning from the right people,” Robinson said. “I want to introduce people to the diaspora, and the glory and the love of it. Instead of all the things that people stereotype.”
Senghor shared Robinson’s hope around this rise in appreciation for African music, voicing faith in the wide-reaching power of music to connect with people. “The music has no frontier,” he said. “It’s a virus of love.”
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