This year has undeniably marked the rise of the popstar Tyla to global stardom. Inspired by her South African roots, she dropped her debut album earlier in March racking up over 630 million global streams within its first week, making it the fastest African album to reach this milestone (a title previously held by Burna Boy). The star has also gone to win 16 awards this year alone. However, her rise to fame has not been welcomed by all with open arms. While many Western artists have been glorified as ‘divas’ for their confidence, Tyla’s own has been received by many of the same audiences as ‘uppity’ or ‘entitled’. That response is not isolated but highlights the deeper bias against African artists within the Western media. Time and time again, African artists are expected to miminise their achievements while other artists are praised for creating new standards.
Why does this double standard exist, and what does it say about how the world views African talent?
The word ‘uppity’ means refers to someone perceived as arrogant or snobbish. Historically, this has been used as a derogatory term to describe black people, specifically those exhibiting pride or independence. During the Jim Crow, African Americans carrying such traits were seen as threats to racial hierarchy; thus the label of ‘uppity’ was used as a silencing mechanism as a means to reinforce the inferiority and subordination of black individuals. It seems ironic how this word has now been used to by the same demographic that it was used against, to create a divide between black people.
In recent years, African artists have been increasingly showcasing their talent on a global platform, with names such as Wizkid, Rema and Tyla becoming well known internationally. Despite this success, there seems to have been a persistent, unspoken expectation for these artists to conform to Western standards and occupy secondary roles.
Afrobeats are accepted more globally when ‘diluted’ with Western elements and collaborations.
For example, as of June the most streamed Afrobeats song in the US was Calm Down by Rema featuring Selena Gomez. This trend suggests that the genre alone is not fully accepted without such collaborations.
Equally, the language used to describe African artists within the media also operates as a mechanism to undermine the achievements of these artists. In popular culture, the term “diva” has been coined to described famous female stars known for their confidence and talent. Artists like Rihanna and Britney Spears have been passionately described as divas for their big personas and high standards; yet African creatives are rarely afforded this title. For instance, after Tyla asked Lil Nas X to hold her VMA award as it was too heavy, she was dismissed by the media as ‘uppity’ instead of being praised as a ‘diva’. When these artists radiate confidence, the media picks it up as presumptuous.
The underlying message here is clear: African artists must stay humble and forever grateful to their Western counterparts to be successful.
Beyoncé’s work on the Lion King album provides another example of this. Although the album features multiple successful Afrobeats artists, including Yemi Alade, Wizkid and Mr Eazi, the media portrayed it as Beyoncé “introducing” these sounds to a global audience rather than as a partnership among equals. This narrative limits these artists freedom to fully express themselves as they continue to be treated as second-rate.
Rather than reinforcing outdated stereotypes, the media must now move to embrace a more inclusive community. African artists deserve to be acknowledged as equal players on the global stage and celebrated accordingly for their ambition and achievements. There is no greater time than now for these artists to be given the freedom to be unapologetically ambitious. So here’s to African artists taking up all the space they want.
After all, why settle for second best when they’re already redefining the game?
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