Tyla, Tems and Ayra Starr: A New Sound to Afropop

Afrobeats has been making a mark in the music industry in recent years. As Afropop makes a second wave of success, Tyla, Tems, and Ayra Starr have become the “women of Afrobeats,” reimagining pop music and challenging Western standards of what a pop star should be.

As for their opinion on women leading the Afrobeats movement, Tems states, “I felt it was bound to happen. There was a breakthrough, and then an influx and rise in female artists especially. It’s not surprising. It’s exactly how it should be.”

Tems is leading this current wave of Afropop. She emerged during the pandemic, which was the beginning of the Afropop boom. Her soulful vocals rooted in African traditions made her so popular that she received an Oscar and a Global Globe nomination for her songs for the Black Panther soundtrack. She has the highest chart debut for an African Artist to date.

GANG BORN IN THE WILD IS GRAMMY NOMINATED!!! 🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳 pic.twitter.com/Rb5TiphqMD

— TEMS (@temsbaby) November 8, 2024

When speaking to Kendrick Lamar, Tems commented on how her voice differs from others in the Afropop space. She says, “Everyone I asked for advice was like, ‘The only way you can do this is Afrobeats. It’s not that your music is bad, it’s just that it doesn’t fit in Nigeria. Nigerians don’t like this.“ Tems has spoken publicly on how many other women in Afrobeats have high-pitched voices while her voice is deeper.

Tems has always been an inspiration for newcomer Ayra Starr. On International Women’s Day, Ayra gave her flowers to Tems and Tyla. From an early age, Ayra wanted to be “an African teenage pop star,” citing Hannah Montana as an influence. She accomplished her dream when her hit single “Rush” from her 19 & Dangerous album was released. The music video has been viewed more than 338 million times.

Ayra’s newest album, The Year I Turned 21, has been hailed as one of the best albums in Afropop. She has fully embraced being the “face of Afrobeats” and wants her genre to expand into the global mainstream. Ayra states, “The generations of African artists who worked to this extent for people like me to be able to be global with this sound worked for this. The genre’s not being diluted, it’s becoming mainstream.” The Year I Turned 21 is an all-inclusive album with sounds like amapiano, Latin pop, and dancehall. The album itself showcases her sultry voice perfectly and it is a seamless record.

Ayra Starr’s album “The Year I Turned 21” has officially surpassed 500million streams on Spotify.

congratulations ayra ❤️. pic.twitter.com/StPd908cXS

— tega the creator✰🇳🇬 (@whereistega) August 5, 2024

Ayra and Tyla have always supported each other, even when both of their songs (Tyla’s “Water” and Starr’s “Rush”) were in the same category for Best African Performance at this year’s Grammys. “Water” ended up taking the Grammy that night. The song gained a viral dance on TikTok that pushed the Amapiano star into stardom.

Youngest African to receive a Grammy pic.twitter.com/RevP1KECYE

— Tyla (@Tyllaaaaaaa) February 7, 2024

Tyla has been pushing the envelope for amapiano, which is a house music hybrid sound created in South Africa. The songs from her self-titled debut album completely capture her melodic tone with her vocals conveying a deep sense of emotion and intimacy. Her mission has been to put her hometown on the map. With Tyla’s song “Jump,” her catchy line “They never had a pretty girl from Joburg / See me now and that’s what they prefer,” puts Johannesburg on the map. The music video was shot in Johannesburg to show off Tyla’s culture of how she grew up.

These women of Afrobeats have been taking over the Afropop stage and making less compromises to the Western music scene, unlike their predecessors. In the past decade, Afropop has been getting more and more mainstream. As Tyla, Tems, and Ayra Starr continue to reach new heights in their career, they are making history in the process.

Main Image Credits:
Ayra Starr:  Michael Loccisano / Staff  |  Getty Images
Tems:  Kevin Mazur / Contributor  |  Getty Images
Tyla:  Gareth Cattermole/MTV EMA / Contributor  |  Getty Images

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