The 2024 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) lit up the UBS Arena in New York on Wednesday, September 11, and South Africa’s very own Tyla made history by taking home the coveted Best Afrobeats award for her chart-topping hit, “Water.” She is now the first South African female to win a VMA.
Receiving her award, Tyla used her acceptance speech as an opportunity to educate the audience on the categorisation of her music, highlighting the difference between her genre and the Best Afrobeats category in which she was recognised.
“This is just so special, but also bittersweet because I know there’s a tendency to group all African artists under Afrobeats,” she stated. “It’s a thing, and even though Afrobeats has opened so many doors for us, African music is so diverse. It’s more than just Afrobeats.”
Tyla then spoke about how she specifically makes amapiano music, a South African genre that fuses house, jazz, and the ’90s-originated sound known as kwaito. “I come from South Africa. I represent Amapiano. I represent my culture,” she said before praising her peers and others nominated in the Afrobeats category. “Africa to the world,” she added.
The Best Afrobeats nominees included Ayra Starr featuring Giveon for “Last Heartbreak Song,” Burna Boy for “City Boys,” Chris Brown featuring Davido and Lojay for “Sensational,” Tems for “Love Me JeJe,” and Usher and Pheelz for “Run.”
Last year, the VMAs made history by introducing the “Best Afrobeats” category. The nominees included some of the genre’s most prominent artists from West Africa, the birthplace of Afrobeats: Ayra Starr, Burna Boy, Davido, Fireboy DML, Libianca, Rema (winner), and Wizkid. The debut of this category was a significant milestone that highlighted the global relevance of Afrobeats.
