South African pop star Tyla won the 2024 MTV Video Music Award in the Best Afrobeats category on Wednesday at the UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, becoming the first South African to achieve this feat.
She earned the award for her hit song Water, whose music video has over 230 million views on YouTube and nearly 800 million streams on Spotify.
Accepting her award, Tyla joked about the trophy’s weight, saying, “You guys know me and holding awards, yoh hai. I’m not strong enough,” before asking Lil Nas X, who stood beside Halle Bailey, to hold it for her.
She thanked MTV, her fans (whom she calls her Tygers), her team, and God. “This is such a big moment for Africa [and] African music,” she said.
The Afrobeats category, introduced at the VMAs in 2023, was previously awarded to Rema and Selena Gomez. Tyla is the first solo act to win the award.
*“The global impact that *Water* has had proves that African music can be pop music too,”* she continued.
Tyla added, “This is special, but also bittersweet because there’s a tendency to group all African artists under Afrobeats. Afrobeats has opened many doors, but African music is so diverse. It’s more than just Afrobeats.”
She went on to highlight her South African roots, stating, “I represent amapiano and my culture, and I want to shout out to all the Afrobeats artists in this category with me.”
Tyla mentioned artists like Tems, Ayra Starr, Lojay, Rema, Wizkid, and Burna Boy, closing with, “Africa to the world.”
Other nominees in the Best Afrobeats category included Giveon (with Ayra Starr), Burna Boy, Chris Brown (with Davido and Lojay), Tems, and Usher (with Pheelz).
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Tyla also received nominations for Best New Artist and Best R&B.
At the event, Taylor Swift was the big winner, taking home seven awards, including Video of the Year for Fortnight with Post Malone. Sabrina Carpenter won Song of the Year, and Chappell Roan was named Best New Artist. Other winners included SZA, Eminem, Lenny Kravitz, and Blackpink’s Lisa.
