#240 — Tyla — TYLA (2024)
This is filling a specific music gap.
I know about the biggest track on this album because of TikTok. It features twice on here, I assume because once it went viral they put Travis Scott in to ensure it went even further. That track is tacked on the end of this album, an afterthought.
There’s a gap in the solo female artist market, and it’s because Rihanna is busy being a billionaire and a mum and doesn’t appear to be interested in dropping another album, something for which we’re all poorer for.
However, Tyla has a really nice style with afrobeats the main differentiation point here. This is her debut, and ‘Water’ has nearly a billion streams on Spotify already which is impressive considering it came out just under a year ago.
Oh, and ‘Water’ is about asking if her sexual partner can make her squirt. There, I said it. Can we move on now.
This is well-produced afro-pop which sometimes ends up sounds a bit same, and some tracks hint as more range that Tyla’s got to sing with on this album. It’s inoffensive, it’s music you’ll hear in shops and in bars. Not sure there’s a club track in here, but hey I’m old — what do I know?
Like some of the other debuts on this list, I’d be interested to see where she goes next. Unlike some others, I won’t be able to look as it only came out last year.
The comparison to Rihanna isn’t lazy, mind you. People forget that in 2006, her first album Music of the Sun and her first big single ‘Pon de Replay were the same sort of *different* female pop music — she was from Barbados, Tyla’s from Johannesburg.
Maybe the afrobeat genre, and all of the wonderful sub-niches are ready to make it to the mainstream. Tyla’s certainly made a good start.
Tyla — TYLA — 2024
Best Track: I’m not looking past Water, there’s a reason it went viral and why it’s got so many listens. It’s a bop.
Underrated Banger: No 1 (feat Tems). It’s a nice track with a good feature and some almost UK garage-esque beat work going on in the background.
More of Tyla here on her Youtube, which has lyric videos for each track, nice: https://www.youtube.com/@Tylaofficial/videos
