Do2dtun slams South African’s Tyla over VMAs acceptance speech on Afrobeats category

By Oluwapelumi Oluwayemi

Popular Nigerian On-Air Personality, Do2dtun, has publicly criticized South African singer Tyla following her acceptance speech at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards (VMA).

Tyla, who was nominated alongside Nigerian stars such as Tems, Ayra Starr, Davido, and Burna Boy, won the prestigious Best Afrobeats Award.

In her acceptance speech, Tyla raised concerns about the categorization of African artistes under the Afrobeats label, despite the genre’s global influence and success.

She further stated that she identifies as an Amapiano artiste, not Afrobeats.

Do2dtun, reacting to her comments, took to his X (formerly Twitter) handle to express his displeasure.

He criticized Tyla for accepting an award that, according to her, did not align with her musical identity.

“Aunty @tyla aka am not Afrobeats, I am Amapiano. We have heard you but your song ‘Water’ is not Amapiano either,” Do2dtun wrote. “If you thought you were categorized in a wrong category, you should have given the award back or denounced the nomination.”

The Nigerian OAP went on to note what he perceived as inconsistency in Tyla’s stance, stating, “You clearly took an award that didn’t represent you or your sound from that statement you made.”