The Grammy-winning singer defends her blackness and explains her mixed-race ancestry.
After social media was abuzz with claims that she denied being black, Grammy-winning singer Tyla has come forward to debunk them.
The rumor resurfaced after she sidestepped a recurring question on the Thursday episode of the radio show, The Breakfast Club: “What does it mean that she calls herself a Coloured woman from South Africa?” the host Charlamagne tha God asked.
The South African singer took to her Twitter(X) page to clarify, emphasizing her mixed race of black/Zulu, Mauritian/Indian, and Irish descent.
Defending her blackness, she wrote, “Yoh guys, I’ve never denied my blackness; I don’t know where that came from… I’m mixed with black/Zulu, Irish, Mauritian/Indian, and Coloured. In South Africa, I would be classified as a Coloured woman and in other places as a black woman. Race is classified differently in different parts of the world. I don’t expect to be identified as Coloured outside of South Africa by anyone not comfortable doing so because I understand the weight of that word outside of SA. But to close this conversation, I’m both Coloured in South Africa and a black woman.”
‘I’ve never denied my blackness’ – Tyla debunks claims she’s white
Born and raised in Johannesburg, Tyla Laura Seethal, popularly known as Tyla, embarked on her musical journey with Epic Records in 2021. Her breakthrough came in the summer of 2023, fueled by a TikTok dance challenge that catapulted her track into the top 10 of US, UK, and Australian billboards. Her distinctive blend of R&B, afrobeats, and amapiano earned her the accolade of being the first South African in 55 years to break into the Billboard Top 100.
