Update: South African Singer Tyla Sets The Record Straight After Refusing To Address Her Racial Identity: I ‘Never Denied My Blackness’

Tyla

Update: South African Singer Tyla Sets The Record Straight After Refusing To Address Her Racial Identity: I ‘Never Denied My Blackness’

Update: (June 13, 2024): Race can sometimes be a complicated thing.

South African singer Tyla recently took to her socials to explain why she refused to answer questions about her racial identity as a ‘coloured’ woman during her interview with The Breakfast Club, which aired today (June 13).

In a text post shared with her millions of followers, she wrote,

“Never denied my blackness, idk where that came from… I’m mixed with black/Zulu, irish, Mauritian/Indian and Coloured. In Southa I would be classified as a Coloured woman and other places I would be classified as a black women.”

She continued,

“Race is classified differently in different parts of the world. I don’t expect to be identified as Coloured outside of Southa 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 women… As a woman for the culture. It’s and not or… with that being said ASAMBEEE”

Original Story: (June 13, 2024): Rising singer Tyla doesn’t want to engage in race conversations any further.

The South African native made it clear during a recent interview that she will no longer be answering questions about identifying as a ‘coloured’ woman.

Tyla

Tyla, 22, was asked about her racial identity during a newly aired interview with The Breakfast Club. After host Charlamagne tha God asked the “Water” singer about what she meant when she previously shared her heritage, Tyla looked back at a member of her team who simply responded:

“Yea, can we not?”

Though Charlamagne tha God pressed the matter a bit further, the individual insisted that the interview move on to the next question. If you recall, Tyla sparked a ton of online controversy back in November of last year after explaining that in her country she grew up identifying as a “coloured” woman. The word where she’s from refers to someone who has mixed-race ancestry.

Tyla

Seeing as though the term has a more derogatory connotation in America, it sparked a heated discussion among internet users, with Black Americans accusing her of attempting to disassociate herself from the Black culture despite making R&B music. However, many South Africans came to her defense, arguing that there is a stark difference between the way South Africans and Americans use the term.

It seems as though Tyla has learned her lesson this time around as she maintained her stance of not speaking on the topic throughout the remainder of the interview. Social media users caused the Grammy Award winner to trend while reacting to her silence, with many expressing their support for her decision.

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