South African Grammy winner Tyla has sparked a transcontinental stir by publicly distancing herself from Nigerian superstar Tiwa Savage’s unsolicited apology to Black Americans over her use of the term “coloured” to describe her racial identity. During a electrifying performance at the Global Citizen Festival in Central Park on Saturday, the 22-year-old singer declared to a roaring crowd of 60,000, “Sorry, I am not sorry,” before diving into her track “Mr. Media”—a moment widely interpreted as a direct clapback at Savage’s well-intentioned but controversial intervention.
The drama traces back to Tyla’s unapologetic embrace of “coloured,” a term rooted in South Africa’s apartheid-era classifications for people of mixed-race heritage, which she has proudly claimed in interviews and her BET Awards acceptance speech earlier this year. While innocuous in her cultural context, the label drew sharp backlash from African-American audiences in the U.S., who view it as a painful relic of segregation and racism. “I’m coloured in South Africa, and that’s my identity—it’s not up for debate,” Tyla had stated defiantly in a prior chat, but the outcry amplified online, with hashtags like #TylaColoured trending amid accusations of colorism.
Enter Tiwa Savage, 45, who positioned herself as a protective “elder” during a recent appearance on U.S. radio show The Breakfast Club. “On behalf of this person, we are sorry,” Savage said, explaining she didn’t believe Tyla’s words stemmed from malice but aimed to smooth ruffled feathers in the diaspora. The gesture, meant to foster unity, backfired spectacularly—igniting fury from South African fans who slammed it as overreach and cultural erasure. “Who asked you to speak for us? Stay in your lane, aunty,” tweeted one user, while radio host Penny Lebyane called it “disrespectful.” The backlash highlighted simmering pan-African tensions over who gets to define Blackness across borders.
Tyla’s festival retort—timed just days after Savage’s comments—has been hailed as a masterclass in boundary-setting. Clips of the moment, shared by fans like @BALUCIAGA, have exploded on X, amassing millions of views and spawning memes of Tyla as the “unbothered queen.” “Tyla knows we got her. She’s not sorry,” one supporter posted, while another quipped, “From Water to waving off apologies—South Africa stands tall! 🇿🇦.” Fellow South Africans, including influencers and artists, have rallied around her, praising the stand as empowerment amid global scrutiny. Savage, yet to respond publicly, has faced memes juxtaposing her Koroba era with Tyla’s viral “Water” dance challenge, underscoring the generational and national divide.
This isn’t Tyla’s first brush with identity debates—her 2024 BET win over competitors like SZA already stirred whispers of “not Black enough”—but her response reframes the narrative on her terms. As Afrobeats and Amapiano continue blurring borders (Tyla’s streams just hit 3 billion on Spotify), the episode underscores the complexities of diaspora solidarity: Intentions may unite, but authenticity reigns supreme.
With Tyla’s North American tour underway and Savage prepping new music, will this simmer into a teachable moment or escalate? Fans are betting on the former—after all, in the words of the star herself, some apologies just don’t stick.