South African superstar Tyla won her first MTV Video Music Award (VMA) this year, which was held at the UBS Arena in Queens, New York.
Hosted by Meagan Thee Stallion, Taylor Swift led the nominees with 12 nods of which she won 7 for the highest win of the night.
This year marked another milestone for African music, as Tyla took home the award for Best Afrobeats with her chart-topping hit “Water.” She was in the “Best Afrobeats” category alongside Burna Boy, Tems, Tyla, Davido, Ayra Starr, Lojay, and Pheelz and was also nominated for “Best New Artist,” and “Best RnB.”
In her acceptance speech, she expressed her gratitude to the organisers of the show and described her win as “a big moment for Africa,” adding that the success of “Water” not only made a global impact but also proved that “African music can be pop music too.”
“Like this is just so special but also bittersweet, because I know there’s a tendency to group all African artists under Afrobeats,” she said. “African music is so diverse, it’s more than just Afrobeats.”
