Tyla’s racial and cultural identity came up again in her Breakfast Club interview.
During the conversation, Charlamagne tha God asked the “Water” singer to clarify what it means to be a “South African Coloured person.” Upon hearing the question, Tyla remained silent and turned around as someone—who appeared to be her publicist—chimed in over the intercom.
“Can we not? Por favor,” the woman said.
“I like that,” Charlamagne replied, “I like when they talk from the back and say we can’t [bring up certain topics]. … That’s even better.”
The assumed publicist then added, “Next one, please.”
Tyla later clarified her thoughts in a note on X, writing, “Never denied my Blackness, idk where that came from… I’m mixed with Black/Zulu, Irish, Mauritian/Indian, and Coloured.”
She explained that she’s viewed as a “Coloured woman” in South Africa, while, in other places, she would be seen as a Black woman.
“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 close to this conversation, I’m both Coloured in South Africa and a Black [woman].”
According to the BBC, Tyla’s self-identification sparked a culture war by declaring herself to be a “Coloured South African” in a TikTok video before her rise to stardom. At the time, she said that means she “comes from a lot of different cultures.” While “Coloured” is seen as a slur in the U.S., it is an officially recognized identity in South Africa.
