Media personality Do2dtun has expressed his disdain of South African artist Tyla’s acceptance speech at the VMA’s, where she won the Best Afrobeats Award.
Do2dtun criticised Tyla on Instagram for her remarks regarding the diversity of African music and her identify as an Amapiano musician rather than an Afrobeats performer.
Do2dtun saw Tyla’s speech as a misrepresentation of African music genres, despite the fact that it sought to highlight the diversity of African music outside Afrobeats.
If Tyla felt misclassified, he contended, she ought to have withdrawn the nomination or the medal.
The topic triggered a heated debate on social media, with Do2dtun further condemning the situation on X.
What they’re saying
“Aunty @tyla, I am not Afrobeats; I am Amapiano.” We heard you, but your song “Water” is not amapiano either.
If you think you were put in the wrong category, you should have returned the prize or denied the nomination. You plainly accepted an award that did not represent you or your sound based on your statement.
“Again, you see why you “ESAUS” need to reconsider. You all traded our birthrights for peanuts.
The misconception stems from the fact that Afrobeat is not synonymous with Afrobeats. He added.
He criticised certain people of rebranding an existing genre for personal gain and stressed the need of allowing original creators to teach the world about African music.
“A few selfish individuals renamed an established genre to please their paymasters.
Again, you can see why it is best to allow the originators to educate the world. Tyla getting Best Afrobeat song is a miss in my opinion, but how can you say it isn’t when it has a few extra “s”?
“Afrobeats was a hasty set-up for a quick payday. Now you understand why most of your favourites have stopped connecting with it.
It was swiftly corrected to address an identity issue caused by the paymasters’ mistaken belief that it had one. In another post, he stated, “Now they define it as a few sold it to them.”
Bottom Line
Do2dtun’s argument that Tyla should have declined the award if she felt misrepresented suggests that artists have a responsibility to protect the authenticity of their genre.
His deeper point about the dilution of African music genres for commercial purposes also raises important concerns.
As African music continues to grow internationally, it’s crucial to maintain the integrity of its various genres, whether Afrobeats, Amapiano, or others.
