South African superstar Tyla continues to take the global music scene by storm, and in a recent conversation with Dotty on Apple Music’s The Dotty Show, the singer opened up about her rapid rise, her new album, her South African roots and the exciting music still to come.
“I Bring the ‘A’ to Pop”: Tyla Talks Global Stardom, South African Roots and Her New Music with Dotty
Tyla is making waves in the music industry and she is about to make even more with her recet album that is making waves already in her hometown as well. Tyla talks global stardom, South African roots and her new music with Dotty on Apple Music interview.
[Dotty:] It’s my turn, isn’t it? We’re good, we’re good. All right, it is not summer until Tyla joins me in the Dotty Show studio. Good to have you back. How are you?
[Tyla:] I’m amazing, how are you?
[Dotty:] I’m very good. Last time I saw you was last July, so it’s been one full year.
[Tyla:] A year!
[Dotty:] It’s been a full year. I’ve seen you, like, in the streets, at the parties, but the last time you joined me on the show, one year ago. Since then, you’ve been on Travis Scott’s album, you’ve been on Cardi B’s album, you’ve been on Teyana Taylor’s album, Molly called on you for a song. What is that like going from being a newcomer to being an artist that established acts are calling on because they want some of your magic?
[Tyla:] It’s actually very interesting, it’s cool. It’s cool being hot, you know? It’s fun.
[Dotty:] Have you got a favorite feature out of those from the past year?
[Tyla:] Favorite feature? Ooh, there’s one that’s about to come out that I think is fun. Can I say? I don’t even know.
[Dotty:] You might as well.
[Tyla:] Ah, I don’t know if I’m allowed to yet, but it’s a fun one.
You know… okay, you know the “two biscuits and a…” you know that?
[Dotty:] What song’s that?
[Tyla:] Ah, you’ll find out.
[Dotty:] Oh, you’re teasing. You’re teasing. I feel like someone’s
at the door saying “do not say”.
[Tyla:] Yeah, maybe.
[Dotty:] Do not mention it.
[Tyla:] Oh, yeah? Yeah.
[Dotty:] Okay. Shout out Colin with the sign-off. All right, so talk to me, whose song are you featuring on?
[Tyla:] Okay, I don’t want to say too much now. I feel like, move on.
[Dotty:] Oh man, I thought I was about to get an exclusive. Crazy.
[Tyla:] No, that’s enough.
[Dotty:] Your debut album, Tyla, is out now. It comes just two years after your debut single. What is driving you right now? Because you haven’t taken your foot off the gas since you came out, really.
[Tyla:] What’s driving me right now? Um, I’m just, I just made an album that I really enjoy myself. Like, I actually listen to it and vibe to it and I want people to hear it. I want to perform it. I’m excited to do a tour, all the good stuff. Yeah.
[Dotty:] Yeah. When we heard the album title, it was clear that you were going for something undeniably mainstream. Is that something that’s in the back of your mind? Is that what you’re going for, the big commercial hit now?
[Tyla:] I wouldn’t say that’s what I’m going for. I think the intention behind the name is, um, the name actually came first and while I was making the album, I feel like the name started making more sense. And it just is pop through my lens, like how I imagine myself as a pop star. Yeah.
[Dotty:] And it’s… I’m not sure if it’s a nod to K-pop, but K-pop as an industry is obviously huge. They don’t just create artists, they create like global stars, these are like icons, phenomenons. Did you reference that K-pop blueprint at all when you were making the project?
[Tyla:] Nah, like making the project, no, no, no, not at all. Um, I was just making music that I wanted to make. And I know everyone’s trying to get a deep answer out of me, but genuinely, I feel like the album made itself, you know? I lived through so many different things last year and in between I was making music and just music that I wanted to make in that specific moment. So it does feel like, um, yeah, it just feels like a journey. And it’s just Tyla.
[Dotty:] And speaking of it being just Tyla, you’ve got South African features on this album. Was it important to you when kind of shooting for the big leagues that you did still create something that felt like home?
[Tyla:] Um, hmm. You know, I didn’t know what the album was going to sound like, honestly. When I got back home and I finished the album in the bush, literally in the bush, I invited a lot of South Africans for a vibe and also because they’re just artists that I really enjoy and we just started making music and those are the ones that stood out for me. And I really wanted it on, but initially I had no plans to have any features. Yeah, so Zara was the first feature and then I was like, hmm, I started making more music and getting people on to try and those are the ones that stuck. sound like, honestly. When I got back home and I finished the album in the bush, literally in the bush, I invited a lot of South Africans for a vibe and also because they’re just artists that I really enjoy and we just started making music and those are the ones that stood out for me. And I really wanted it on, but initially I had no plans to have any features. Yeah, so Zara was the first feature and then I was like, hmm, I started making more music and getting people on to try and those are the ones that stuck.
[Dotty:] Those are the ones that made the cut. Something that we recognized very early on with you is that you were making music that although rooted in South Africa, it had a global appeal. It seemed like you were always going to make music that appealed to the mainstream. Is there ever any fear in, like, making that full leap? Because on this album there are songs like “Fairytale”, for example, that feel like this is mainstream. Is there ever a fear because you mean so much to so many people back home, right? Sometimes when we make that leap, it can feel like you’ve almost outgrown where you started. Is that something you ever worry about or think about?
[Tyla:] You know, I will always be South African. Like even if I make the most bubblegum pop song ever, I will always be South African. You know, I feel like I bring the “A” to pop. So regardless of what I’m making, I think that the fact that I was born and raised in Africa, I will always carry that with me, you know?
[Dotty:] Love that. Tell me about the song on the album that you’re proudest of.
[Tyla:] Ah, there’s all of them. Um, proudest of… ah, I was just… I really felt like an artist when I made “Hot Tubs” because the energy of the room was just so cool. We were like vibing out, we were like going back and forth, um, we made a mistake with the beat and it ended up going, like, in a weird key and we kept it that way. We were like, “Ooh!”, like we making art right now. So, um, I think I’d probably say “Hot Tubs” because it was… it’s probably like closest to like what I naturally love to make and sing.
[Dotty:] Love that. Let’s get into that one right now. Brand new from Tyla, it’s “Hot Tubs”.
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[Dotty:] That was Tyla with “Hot Tubs” which you can find on her new album, Tyla, available to stream right now. Now that you’ve got so much global attention, Tyla, and you’ve got so many eyes and ears on you, is there like a Tyla song from the vault that you would like people to revisit when they’ve finished listening to the album?
[Tyla:] Um, “Breathe Me”.
[Dotty:] Tune. Yeah. What is it about that song that you want people to rediscover?
[Tyla:] It’s just always been my favorite from the album. I just feel like the words, the lyrics, the vibe, like also when I perform it, I see what it does to people. So I would say “Breathe Me” for sure.
[Dotty:] Yeah. And “On My Body”. I feel like I reference this song all the time when I see you.
[Dotty:] Yeah. And “On My Body”. I feel like I reference this song all the time when I see you.
[Tyla:] I know.
[Dotty:] Are we just never going to get a music video for that song?
[Tyla:] I don’t know. Maybe on the 10-year anniversary of the album.
[Dotty:] Maybe. This… we need to revisit that. And “Been
Thinking”. Oh my… whenever people discover Tyla, I’m like, but dude, have you heard “Been Thinking”? You’ve got to go back and listen to that one. Um, when you look back at the last sort of three or four years, how proud are you of yourself?
[Tyla:] Hmm, I am proud. Like there’s times where I have to remind
myself though. Because when it’s you, I feel like you always like on go-go-go and you’re always just looking forward that you don’t take the time to look back and be like, “Damn girl, like you did a lot.” So I have this little book…
[Dotty:] What’s in the book?
[Tyla:] So cute.
[Dotty:] What’s in the book?
[Tyla:] It’s this little book and I like scrapbooking recently. So I would like print out a bunch of pictures and I print out things that I’ve done and things that I want to still do. So every now and then I look back at like that page of like a scrapbook of a bunch of things that I’ve done, like Grammys, like Victoria’s Secret, like the vibe, a bunch of things and I look at the page and I’m like, “Damn, like girl, you did a lot.” And then I look at the other page and I’m like, “Okay, but it’s time to look forward.”
[Dotty:] What… what have we got to do? What’s in the scrapbook that you’re aiming for that you haven’t done yet?
[Tyla:] Um, there’s a lot that I don’t want to say out loud because I want to… I just want to watch it happen. Yeah.
[Dotty:] You don’t want to jinx it?
[Tyla:] Nah. I feel like when you talk too much, then ay-ay-ay, it gets taken away. So, um, yeah.
[Dotty:] All right. Before I let you go, there’s something that I do on this show, which is ultimate song, where I try and identify somebody’s ultimate song. For you, what is the ultimate Tyla song? Like of all your records…
[Tyla:] What do you mean ultimate Tyla song?
[Dotty:] Like, if you put all of your songs in a pile…
[Tyla:] Yes.
[Dotty:] What song would you say comes at the top? Now it doesn’t need to be about numbers, it can be about what it meant at the time, how it changed things for you, but like a quintessential Tyla song. What is the go-to for you?
[Tyla:] Ooh… Yo, there’s a lot. I think for now I would say “Mr. Nonchalant”.
[Dotty:] Really?
[Tyla:] I think so. I think so. Because I think that it’s so different for me, but it’s also so me at the same time. So yeah.
[Dotty:] I thought you were going to say “Water”. And I was going to say “Water” is the obvious choice.
[Tyla:] It kind of is, you know what I mean? It’s… she’s like my baby, I love her.
[Dotty:] She’s incredible, but for me it’s “Push 2 Start”. I think that’s the ultimate Tyla song, you know.
[Tyla:] You know, ay, that question’s so hard because it could be “Water”, “Push 2 Start”. I’m only saying “Mr. Nonchalant” because that’s like fresh. That’s me right now, you know? But all of them, they’re all on top.
[Dotty:] Appreciate you. Thank you so much for coming through the Dotty Show studio. Tyla’s debut album, Tyla, is out right now.
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[Dotty:] Mhm.
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