I first met Tyla over Zoom, a few months after the release of her debut single, ‘Getting Late’. It was at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the chat was part of her earliest introduction to the UK audience. Six years later, she needs no introduction as her sophomore album A*Pop arrives as a landmark chapter in her journey. 

We meet again in London, where she’s nestled for her album listening party. A week before the album drops, we meet in person for a full hour to catch up on everything Tyla, from that first Zoom call to date. The meeting with Tyla comes at the perfect time for Deeds, with the introduction of "Culture Unwrapped". A raw, fast-paced Insta series that strips away the glossy filters to show the real human story behind global art, music, and fashion. The series explores how diaspora creatives navigate fame, battle industry gatekeeping, and how their cultural identity shapes their artistry, with each episode bridging heritage and modern subcultures. 

The South African Shop London in Embankment feels like a great spot for our time together. Grammy-winning Tyla is a widely travelled songbird, so bringing the South African chanteuse to this picturesque, almost secret Tube-side spot in Central London felt fitting and poetic. The store manager, Sarah, and the shop attendant, Jay, welcomed us warmly. It instantly felt like we stepped into a city in Johannesburg.  A dozen miniature country flags dominate the decor, Springbok rugby T-shirts sit on a display table, and a tray of dried-meat snacks, including Biltong (jerky) and Droëwors (sausage), sits behind the counter for anyone to try.  For myself and Tyla, it’s safe to say it felt a bit like home.  As Southern African girls, just hanging out in a South African shop in the heart of London, nostalgia was the first agenda. We begin with being away from home and what she misses most when she's gone. “My family”, she quips.  “Easy answer! I could be anywhere in the world if I have my family with me. We have such a close relationship — me, my siblings and my parents.” 

Truly, Tyla’s family are no strangers to her fanbase.  Her sister Sydney has appeared on her social media and travelled with her around the world. As we walk around the shop, her childhood memories from J’burg follow us: tales of making peppermint tart with crisp chocolate, her mother making ice pops with Oros Orange Squash, or eating Eeet Sum More biscuits and Milo straight from the container. 

She stops at the Iwisa Maize Meal on the shelf and picks it up. She held it like a tender piece of her childhood.“I should be the face of Mealie Meal, with the amount of this maize porridge that I eat. I can’t live without it,” she declares. She puts it down, then turns to the Jungle Oats on the top shelf, describing a typical Sunday in her house growing up. “There was always loud music, and you’d hear my mother shout about dishes from afar. She'd be making a mealie meal or jungle oats in the morning. Then you’d also smell detergents because we were cleaning, and then in the afternoon my mother would be cooking braai or different meats and things like that.”  This is a familiar story for any average South African child. It’s also the odyssey of a generational popstar like Tyla.   

Now, Tyla, 24, is pursuing her dreams in the grandest way a teenage version of her could have ever imagined. Yet for the girl who grew up in that modest South African household, becoming a pop star is a dream she always yearned for: “I just knew it from the time I spawned on Earth; I knew my mission”, her eyes aglow with resolve. As long as I  can remember, I always knew  I wanted to be a pop star, which is crazy because I did it.” What is even more remarkable about Tyla’s sojourn is that despite her success, she still carries the energy and the down-to-earth nature of a girl from South Africa. 

We explore childhood memories through food and other items as we walk through the shop.  Throughout the experience, one thing stood clear: Tyla is unashamedly South African, and it remains her strongest anchor as a musician.  Her new album aims to redefine what African Pop means and how it relates to her as a South African artist. “In the beginning I said let me just make music, and whatever resonated stuck. So, I was going with the flow, and eventually, I was going through a phase where I, as a person, just wanted to connect back to my roots, my upbringing and the things that I enjoyed as a child.”

The journey to arriving at A*POP has been one of returning to herself.  “I was asking myself, why do I want to become a pop star, and why did I want to do this whole thing? And through that process I started making songs that reminded me of old Tyla and just my core,” she says. She shares the thought process that shaped the album and the intent she carried into making it. Having faced criticism at various points in her career so far, she has built a thicker resilience, evident in how she presents herself in the face of trolls and biased critiques. Yet you can sense this is armour she had to learn to wear. Outside of that context, she expresses herself freely, engaging people in a way that makes you feel like somebody you can hang out with.

When I ask her which song on the album she was most excited for people to hear, she selects the closing track, “Hot Tubs.” The song speaks to how she has navigated her career and the trajectory it has taken, and how she stays true to herself in the face of complicated emotions. “I can't be a correct pop star, I tried. I generally tried to read the room, watch my words, and all those things. But I come from South Africa; we are very raw. We talk. Like it's not that serious”. The way she has navigated her career and carries herself has often been misinterpreted, especially after her breakout.  “However, that’s what inspired the song of me saying I'm not a saint, I’m not trying to be; I just want hot tubs. I want to have a good time. I’m not trying to hurt anybody; I’m not trying to do anything other than enjoy my life.”

There is a recognition that, unlike others who might live for drama and lean toward purposeful controversy,  Tyla’s only intention and goal is the music. “This is something I've dreamed of my whole life, and I just want to live that. I'm not trying to make people mad. I'm not trying to do the wrong thing, make mistakes. But if I do, it is what it is and let me learn. I'm 24. I'm growing in front of the world. It's never gonna be smooth.” 

As our conversation comes to an end, there is an assurance of where she is in her life and in her career and how it relates to the A*POP era, embarking on her first world tour which will see her taking the album to her fanbase - tygers - and mixed audiences worldwide.

The hour with Tyla ends with a short trip on the London Underground, an experience she tells us she’s never had. As we tap in at Embankment station, she feels excited to have this experience before she attends her listening party for the album later that day. We board the District line train and meet a group of school kids on a trip from Argentina. Most of whom would never have expected to encounter Tyla on the train. After they depart, we have the end of the carriage to ourselves, and our time as two Southern African girls hanging out together comes to an end—two South African girls far from home but carrying it in our hearts and through our arts, until our paths cross again. 

Tyla brings her "A*POP" World Tour to London, Glasgow and Manchester from 15 - 19 October. Full dates here: https://www.tylaworld.com/  and listen to listen here: https://tyla.lnk.to/apop 

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