Tyla Addresses Comparisons to Rihanna, Rumors of Being in the Illuminati & Postponing Her Tour Due to Injury
On entertaining at family get-togethers while she was growing up:
“Every single time, I was there performing. My mom would just be like, ‘Everybody gather, Tyla’s going to sing.’ I’d give them Justin Bieber. I’d give them Beyoncé. Adele. I loved singing Adele’s songs. Adele was especially the girl for me. Even in school, the old compositions, I loved Adele’s songs. And Whitney.”
On how her grandmother, also a singer, influenced her career:
“I love my gran so much. She would always tell us stories about being a singer and how she would have to basically sing to support her family. She’d take long bus rides to competitions and win. All those stories always inspired me and made me work harder to get to where I want to be years from now. My gran always pushed me. Always. I would sing a song and she’d make me sing it over and over again, like, ‘Sing it again. Practice. Do this.’ So I’m so happy that she’s also able to experience this now. Because these dreams aren’t only my dreams; they’re so many South Africans’ dreams. My gran always speaks about it: ‘I can’t believe, Tyla. I’m so proud of you. You made something that never felt real real.’”
On wanting to be a truly global African pop star:
“When I was younger, I would always speak about pop culture and what we would like to see from artists and what’s missing. An African pop star [is what was missing]. Like, how has that not happened yet? People have an idea of Africa and it is very stereotypical. They see it as animals everywhere or think we’re hungry, we’re thirsty. It’s just so boring! We want to change that narrative. We want people to see Africa for really what it is. We have our fashion, our stylists, our creators, our artists, our producers. We have so much and we just need the eyes. I’m happy that people are paying attention—it’s amazing. But we need more people to see Africa for what it is and not just what you guys have learned in textbooks and on National Geographic.”
On the persistent comparisons to Rihanna:
“It’s flattering because Rihanna is Rihanna. It’s a compliment. But at the same time, I’m my own artist. I’m Tyla. And I know as people get to know me and my music, they will see me as just Tyla. So I’m fine with it now. People want to tie me to something familiar to them, cool. But at the end of the day, we’re doing something no one’s done before, and it can’t really be compared to anyone.”
On what she represents:
“I represent people that didn’t know they could make it in America. I thought you had to be American to be famous. That’s why I loved Rihanna, because I was like, ‘Okay, she came from somewhere else and she did it.’”
Plus, watch her answer questions on “The Breakdown” from Cosmopolitan…
Find out more about why she was forced to postpone her first headlining tour.
