MTV VMA: Tyla becomes first South African to win award in Afrobeat category
Tyla has become the first South African to win a VMA, securing the Best Afrobeats award for her hit “Water.”
South African pop sensation Tyla made history on Wednesday, September 11, at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards, held at the UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, by becoming the first South African to win a VMA.
Tyla clinched the award for Best Afrobeats with her major hit, “Water,” a track that has garnered over 230 million views on YouTube and nearly 800 million streams on Spotify.
During her acceptance speech, Tyla humorously remarked about the weight of the award. “You guys know me and holding awards, yoh hai. I’m not strong enough,” she said, playfully asking Lil Nas X, who was standing next to Halle Bailey, to hold her trophy for her.
The singer expressed her gratitude to MTV, her fans—whom she affectionately calls her Tygers—her team, and God. “This is such a big moment for Africa [and] African music,” she said.
The Best Afrobeats category was first introduced to the VMAs in 2023 and was previously awarded to Rema and Selena Gomez. Tyla is the first solo artist to win in this category. She highlighted the global impact of her hit “Water,” stating, “The global impact that Water has had on the world just proves that African music can be pop music too.”
Tyla also acknowledged her roots and the broader Afrobeats community, saying, “I come from South Africa. I represent amapiano. I represent my culture, and I just want to shout out to all the Afrobeats artists in this category with me.”
She mentioned Tems, Ayra Starr, Lojay, Rema, Wizkid, and Burna Boy, concluding with a celebratory “Africa to the world.”
The Afrobeats category nominees included Giveon (with Ayra Starr), Burna Boy, Chris Brown with Davido and Lojay, Tems, and Usher with Pheelz.
