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Tyla Knows She’s Black: What She Has Said About Being Coloured, Mixed-Race and Black

Tyla says she is Black and also identifies as Coloured in South Africa and mixed-race. Here is what she said in April and June 2024, and what the record does and does not establish.
Opened Runtime4 min Written byDocumentaryTube Team
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Tyla has said she is Black. She has also said she identifies as Coloured in South Africa and as mixed-race. In her own account these are not competing labels. She grew up knowing herself as Coloured, she says she never denied being Black, and she describes the two as “and,” not “or.” The question resurfaced in June 2024 after a radio interview, and this article sets out what she said, when she said it, and what the public record does and does not establish.

What Tyla said in April 2024

Her fullest explanation came in a Cosmopolitan interview with Elaine Welteroth, published April 30, 2024, under the headline “Tyla on Hit Single ‘Water,’ Postponing Tour, and Representing Africa.” Asked about the debate over her identity, she framed the Coloured label as part of her upbringing rather than a later addition:

“When people are like, ‘You’re denying your Blackness,’ it’s not that at all. I never said I am not Black. It’s just that I grew up as a South African knowing myself as Coloured. And now that I’m exposed to more things, it has made me other things too. I’m also mixed-race. I’m also Black. I know people like finding a definition for things, but it’s ‘and,’ not ‘or.'”

She also said she was glad the wider conversation was happening: “I’m happy there’s a conversation happening and that people are learning that Africa is more than just Black and white. Obviously, it gets messy and no one likes that, but I’m just happy people know we exist and have our own culture.”

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The Breakfast Club exchange, June 13, 2024

The debate became public again during a June 13, 2024 appearance on The Breakfast Club, the US radio show. Tyla did not answer the question about the debate surrounding her identity. A member of her team asked to move on, and the segment continued without a substantive answer on air. Reporting on the exchange, including Rolling Stone Canada’s piece by Mankaprr Conteh published June 13, 2024, treated the moment as the trigger for renewed online arguments rather than as a statement of her position.

This is the key distinction. Declining to answer one question on a radio program is not the same as taking a position on her identity, and the on-air moment did not include a statement either way.

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Her written statement

After the exchange, Tyla posted a written statement that Teen Vogue reproduced in a June 14, 2024 article by Kaitlyn McNab. In it she addressed the denial claim directly:

“Never denied my blackness, idk where that came from… I’m mixed with black/Zulu, Irish, Mauritian/Indian, and Coloured.”

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She closed the matter in these words: “But to close this conversation, I’m both Coloured in South Africa and a black woman. As a woman for the culture. It’s and not or.”

The statement is the most direct answer she has given to the question “Did you deny being Black?” She says she did not. It also lists the ancestries she has named, which is useful context for why she uses several labels at once.

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The three public statements compared

Date Source Setting What she said about her identity
April 30, 2024 Cosmopolitan (Elaine Welteroth) Long-form print interview Grew up knowing herself as Coloured; also describes herself as mixed-race and Black; “and,” not “or”
June 13, 2024 The Breakfast Club (US radio) Live on-air question Did not answer the question about the debate; a representative asked to move on
June 2024 (reproduced June 14, 2024) Written statement, as reproduced by Teen Vogue Posted after the radio exchange Never denied her Blackness; lists Zulu, Irish, Mauritian/Indian and Coloured ancestry; “both Coloured in South Africa and a black woman”
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Why the word reads differently across borders

Tyla has said she understands that “Coloured” carries different weight outside South Africa, and she does not expect people elsewhere to identify her with it. Cosmopolitan’s account describes Coloured as a term used in South Africa for a multiracial community, and contrasts that usage with the term’s painful associations in the United States.

That contrast is the reason the same word can produce confusion in an American radio studio and feel ordinary at home. The coverage reviewed here does not provide a full history of the term, its legal use, or its role in South African society, so this article does not make claims beyond what Tyla and the Cosmopolitan interview describe.

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What this does and does not settle

  • It settles how Tyla describes herself. She has consistently said she is Black and Coloured, and that the labels are additive.
  • It does not decide how others should label her. The public record shows her account, not a ruling on which term applies to her for other people.
  • It does not show she was evasive about the core question. She answered the denial charge in writing, but she did not answer the question on air.
  • It reflects statements from 2024. The interviews and statement cited here are dated April and June 2024. This article does not track any later comments she may have made on the subject.

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