Grammy winning artist, Tyla, released her debut album after having had an incredible year with her record “Water” which crushed the charts and landed her the biggest award in the music industry. Her new album titled “Tyla” blends beautiful RnB and pop tones with diluted Amapiano drum patterns, which help to inform the rhythm for a majority of the tracks.
There were zero skips on this album. All the tracks blended well into one another. They told the story of a young African lady who is just at the precipice of becoming one of the greatest performers of our time, who is ready to conquer and take over the world. She does not see South Africa as her market, rather as a starting point, with America as the turbo-charge launchpad that is going to make her one of the greatest entertainers of the 2020s. And I believe that this album is paving the way for that to happen.
This project was a collaborative effort from musicians and artists representing a wide range of genres, cultural backgrounds and nationalities. We have the likes of veteran American producer, Tricky Stewart, who is a legend in the RnB genre and definition of a titan in the music industry. The level of expertise, knowledge, and just sheer talent that he brings to this project is an incredible value add.
Then we also have British producers and writers Sammy Soso and Ari PenSmith coming into this project with a wealth of experience in the African music category. Sammy Soso’s production has helped to define Tyla’s fusion sound with Ari PenSmith co-writing 11 songs that formed a consistency in lyrical themes and flows.
Across this project, we encounter an avenger of incredible writers and producers resembling the sort of production level that you’d expect from the likes of Beyoncé. Corey Marlon Lindsay Kaay was another writer who played a crucial role in the overall creation of this album.
What makes this album so unique is the fact that Tyla is not the typical Pop-RnB singer, nor is she the typical Amapiano artist. Her sound is not one that you’d interact with on the streets of Joburg, New York City, or London. But it is definitely a sound that takes the best of all of these different cities and reveals itself in the voice and image that is Tyla Seethal.
The diluted amapiano patterns that you encounter throughout this album gives her a certain commercial edge over other artists who are within and outside of that category. Music fans are in search of new sounds, something that brings a certain level of adventure in their day-to-day life. Tyla represents that not only in her music but in her identity.
While discussing this album with a friend, they brought up the fact that they believe Tyla’s emergence is very similar to that of Rihanna when she started. They both came from outside of the U.S., bringing with them a different identity, accent, look and sound. People are fascinated with Tyla’s cultural background the same way that fans were of Rihanna’s Bajan heritage, it was not the typical.
Now there are layers to the ways in which this fascination with identity plays out today vs. when Rihanna came up on the scene, but nonetheless the sense of interest is there. What that does is create a constant feed of fan commentary around this new artist’s cultural background and the implications that it has on the market they are appealing to; mainstream America with the caveat of Black audiences being the core of that fanbase. These two artists both have accents from their respective countries, so it adds another layer of intrigue that you may not typically get with an American artist.
Beyond the identity and image aspect, these two artists bring a different musical influence to the Pop-RnB category. Rihanna brought her Island gyal, Bajan musical traditions to her music whereas Tyla brings the Amapiano element that is not typical of mainstream RnB.
The air of cultural, identity and musical intrigue is a brand equity that works to the benefit of both Tyla and Rihanna’s careers in the states.
This album’s intro was a teaser of a possible track that Kelvin Momo and Tyla made together. For those who don’t know, Kelvin Momo is one of South Africa’s most prolific Amapiano DJs and producers. My guess is that we will have this record released on a deluxe album, and may signal more South African collaborations to come for Tyla.
This album included all five tracks from Tyla’s EP that dropped back in december. Which included her hit record, “Water,” as well as “Truth or Dare” and more.
Tyla had features from Tems, Gunna, Skillibeng, Becky G, and Travis Scott.
The feature with Tems was for her record “No.1.” This track was beautifully done, and you could tell that there was thought put into it. The overlapping of these two artists’ voices worked extremely well. Their voices complimented each other. This collaboration was a stark contrast to Tyla's project with Ayra Starr, which felt more like an industry push just to get the two hottest African female artists on a track and hope that it performs well. But nothing is ever guaranteed and it wasn't the hit that they were looking for, as the record sounded rushed. All in all, I hope to see more work between Tyla and Tems.
The other feature that we had was with Gunna and Skillibeing for Tyla’s record, “Jump.” Overall it was a good collaborative effort between the three artists, with Gunna’s verse acting as a melodic rap flow fished out of the shores of Montego Bay.
It was not too surprising seeing Gunna on this project, as he recently worked with Sarz and Asake, who are Nigerian artists, on a record called “Happiness.” He also jumped on the remix of a Nigerian gospel song called “This Year" by Victor Thompson. The similarities that we see throughout these various records is a melodic-first Gunna versus his traditional trap rap flow that we’ve come to know him for. This signals a possible rebranding and shift in his artistic style.
Then you also have Skillibeng, one of the biggest current Jamaican artists. His role on this track was to help level-set the fact that this was a dancehall track by rapping the intro and outro hook with the modern Jamaican sound we associate him with from records like “Crocodile Teeth.”
Tyla’s flow was more of a moment for her to talk her talk, letting everyone know that she is the full package. From Jersey to Ibizza, she is the catch.
We also got a feature with Becky G, who has worked with Kizz Daniel on a remake of his hit record, “Cough.” Becky G is working hard to dominate the category of Latin American and African music collaborations, helping to define the sound and lane. The track she’s featured on is called, “On My Body,” and you can definitely get hints of reggaeton rhythm within the beat. The collaboration worked well and both artists’ verses flowed easily into the fusion record with zero sense of discomfort.
The last feature we had on this project was with Travis Scott, who jumped on a remix of “Water.” Let me just say that this collaboration was truly unnecessary, I don’t think there is a single Tyla fan who was wishing for this to take place. Purely from an artistic point of view, Travis Scott added zero value especially with his overdone auto-tuned vocals. If her team was hoping for a more enriched artistic “Water,” they should have chosen anybody but Travis Scott. Now, on the other hand he is one of the biggest artists in the world so commercially it didn’t hurt to have him on there.
In her record, “Butterflies,” Tyla was able to showcase her rich vocal tones and allowed them to shine and take center stage. It was a purely contemporary RnB sound that leaned into the “moody” sound that we see from the likes of Jhené Aiko, SZA, and Brent Faiyaz of this world. Which brings us to my next point, I would love to potentially see a remix of this record with the likes of Jhené Aiko, Summer Walker, Chloe Bailey, or Coco Jones. Any one of these four artists would be an amazing addition to what is already a beautiful record. If Tyla’s team sees this, please get us a remix with one of these artists on a deluxe album. This record was co-written by Marcus Semaj, Sir Nolan, Ari PenSmith and Tyla. Sir Nolan also produced this track, coming to this project with a breadth of production and writing experience for the likes of Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Daniel Caesar, Nick Jonas and more.
Another track that I wanted to point out was, “On and On,” which played into nostalgia by reviving the 90s RnB dance rhythms. Tyla hinted to that nostalgia effect when she said “party like it’s 95,” while still incorporating those diluted amapiano drum patterns in the background. This record was co-written by Corey Marlon Lindsay Kaay and Tyla, while being produced by Believve.
The album release was accompanied with various media appearances from Tyla. She was sitting courtside at a New York Knicks game, sat next to Lebron James at a Lakers Game, and joined Kai Cenat (one of the biggest streamers in the world) on his live stream.
I would have liked to have seen more features with local South African artists. Listening through the album, these two African artists came to mind as individuals she should have considered to include, Lloyiso and Ami Faku. Lloyiso has an incredibly rich and powerful voice with an abundance of soul in his delivery of lyrics. Ami Faku has brought us beautiful vocals behind some of the most cherished amapiano tracks of all time like “Abalele" and “Asibe Happy.” I am also anticipating the track that is to come from the intro teaser that I was talking about with Kelvin Momo.
Tyla told all of us to get ready for summer and I can’t wait to be on a Brooklyn rooftop listening to this project as soon as the temperature hits 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
This was an incredible work of art that Tyla and her team ought to be commended. The ability to be able to take the old and contemporary mixed with new to create a fusion sound that translates across various genres and nations is music at its best. Experimentation paired with seasoned and new talent made this album.
Tyla had to unfortunately cancel her upcoming European and North American tour due to health issues. So praying for her recovery and improved health. When she is back on tour, you can be assured that I will be in attendance for her New York City concert.
All around amazing album and can’t wait to see what more we get from this rising superstar, Tyla.
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