South African singer Tyla has addressed controversy surrounding her use of the term "coloured" to describe herself, a designation that sparked backlash and accusations of igniting a "culture war" in the United States.
Tyla, 24, a Grammy Award winner from Johannesburg, explained that the term "coloured" in South Africa refers to people of mixed-race descent. This designation was one of four racial categories codified into law during the apartheid era, alongside white, black, and Indian.
"I was just always myself and at the time – 22 years of my life – all I knew was that I'm coloured and that's what I was told. It's what like I had to tick on boxes back home," Tyla said in an interview with Apple Music. Her father is of Indian and Mauritian descent, and her mother is of Irish and Zulu heritage.
The controversy gained traction in 2023 when a three-year-old TikTok video resurfaced. In the video, Tyla styled her hair into Bantu knots and wore a beaded necklace, with the text "I am a coloured South African" appearing. This led to American fans expressing offense, as the term "coloured" in the U.S. is often perceived as a slur, historically linked to the Jim Crow era and segregationist laws.
"When I was able to travel the world and learn more about the world, I then learned just how big the world is, you know, and how different each country is, how different context is," Tyla stated. "So when I learned about what it means here, I was like, whoa, this is going to be a difficult conversation to have."
She acknowledged that the term can be triggering in the U.S. due to its historical context. "In South Africa we also have a derogatory term. So I feel like if someone were to come to our country and say they were that I get why it would be triggering," she explained.
Tyla emphasized that "coloured" represents her culture within her South African context, while also identifying as Black. She noted that the historical classification of "coloured" in South Africa stemmed from a painful past of racial segregation.
"Being coloured is something that happened through a lot of pain. Our South African history is very painful. We were separated from each other and given these names and color became our culture. So, it's still something that we're very prideful about," she said. "I think it was a very important thing for me to go through and learn and for the conversations to just open up."
Tyla also accepted that the differing meanings of the term globally mean the conversation may not reach a universal resolution. "Everywhere you go it means something else. It's just a conversation that's never ending. I'm off that train," she told The Times.
Tyla's music career began in 2019, and her 2023 hit single "Water" achieved global success, reaching top 10 charts in the UK, U.S., and South Africa. She made history as the youngest African artist to win a Grammy Award, receiving the inaugural award for Best African Music Performance for "Water."