Tyla is setting the record straight.
The ‘Water’ singer stopped by The Breakfast Club today to discuss her meteoric rise.
However, things took a somewhat awkward turn when host Charlamagne Tha God quizzed the South African-born belle on the online discourse about her race. Specifically, the talk around the term “colored” (which, for context, is widely used in her home country).
Rather than answer the question, Tyla’s rep intervened advising that the conversation move on. A point Charlamagne referenced at the end of the interview as something that isn’t the move on the popular show.
Now, Tyla is responding after the blip ignited further chatter about her race.
Full story below…
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Taking to social media, the GRAMMY winner offered the following clarification:
“Yoh guys
Never denied my blackness, idk where that came
from…
I’m mixed with black/Zulu, irish, Mauritian/Indian and
Coloured.
In Southa I would be classified as a Coloured woman
and other places I would be classified as a black
women.
Race is classified differently in different parts of the
world.
I don’t expect to be identified as Coloured outside of
Southa by anyone not comfortable doing so because i
understand the weight of that word outside of SA,
But to close this conversation, I’m both Coloured in
South Africa and a black women…
As a woman for the culture. It’s and not or… with that
being said ASAMBEEE”
Well, that’s that!
Check out the full interview:
This is a case where we African Americans need to mind our business. South Africa’s racial designations are set up differently from ours. Where here in the US we consider biracial (Black/white) people Black, that is NOT the case in South Africa. In South Africa, biracial people are their own distinct category–neither Black nor white, but colored.
If Charlamagne was as intelligent as he portrays, he should have known this.
It’s a lil different all over the world, Americans can be very ignorant about other cultures but to be fair most people our ignorant about other cultures that they are not apart of, so…
*are (stfu)
Or African/Black Americans find the term colored offensive.
Charlamagne is an idiot. Always has been.
This is wild. America isnt the centre of the world and doesnt dictate racial designations and meanings for the planet.
In the UK she would be classed as Mixed race. Here we dont expect bi-racial people to identify as black. We say what they genetically are….mixed race.
In South Africa they call Mixed Race coloured.
Her telling you she’s coloured isnt a denial of her black heritage. Its acknowledging her blackness is one of the things she encompasses.
I hate us Americans sometimes. Like y’all the way things work here is NOT how it works in most of the world. Dumb asf. But we also the best folk too, some of us just dumb
I can see that she will marry a rich White man in the future , I don’t blame her
Welp! Being a star comes with ignorant scrutiny and trifling media personalities looking for a moment. She better buckle up if she plans on staying on this ride.
I’ve seen her family and none of them are black. She’s probably is 15% black and mostly Indian.
She was being too much of a diva in that interview. They asked about her race and she didn’t even answer. Just looked back at her publicist who scolded them for asking. If you can’t answer a basic question about what race/ethnicity you are, then you know it’s because you aren’t Black. If she knew she was a Black woman she would have said right then and there “What issue? I’m a Black woman.” Since she’s Indian she can’t do that though.
Youre dumbbbb. She didn’t want to answer because it was a stupid question, and she didn’t want to end up saying the wrong thing. Stop making other people play into your racist insecurities
She even gave an attitude to Charlamagne and said why do you want to know about my injury? Like?? Bc you cancelled a whole tour? We know it was a lie and the tickets weren’t selling. Hang it up FLATSCREEN.