At the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards, South African artist Tyla took home the Best Afrobeats award, presented by Halle Bailey and Lil Nas X. In a lighthearted moment, Tyla jokingly asked Nas X to hold her Moonman trophy, saying “I’m not strong enough. Are you able to hold [the award] for me? Thank you, I’m sorry.” However, she clarified on Twitter that her comment wasn’t directed at Bailey, stating “Y’all make everything weird. I was not asking my girl Halle. We [are] just girls. [Shut the f**k up], I won a VMA.”
During her acceptance speech, Tyla highlighted the global impact of her hit single “Water” and emphasized the diversity of African music. “The global impact that ‘Water’ has had on the world just proves that African music can be pop music, too. This is just so special but also bittersweet because I know there’s a tendency to group all African artists under Afrobeats,” she said. “It’s a thing, and even though Afrobeats has run things and opened so many doors for us, African music is so diverse.”
Tyla’s “Water” won over tracks by other notable Afrobeats artists such as Tems, Chris Brown, Burna Boy, Ayra Starr, and Usher. She also gave a shout-out to her fellow nominees, saying “I just want to [give a] shout-out [to] all the Afrobeats artists in this category with me. Shout-out [to] Tems, Ayra Starr. Shout-out [to] Lojay. Shout-out [to] Rema, Wizkid, Burna Boy, all of us. Love you guys.”
Tyla’s fashion choice for the event was equally eye-catching. She wore a strapless neon yellow dress from AREA, paired with turquoise briefs that peeked through the cutouts, making a bold statement on the red carpet.