Rolling Stone sat down with Tyla to discuss her song Water.
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00:00 [Music]
00:17 Hello, it is Tyler and this is The Breakdown.
00:20 [Music]
00:29 The first time I got in front of a mic was my last year of high school.
00:32 That whole year, every weekend, like me and my best friend would go to the studio
00:36 and just make any type of song like trap, rap, R&B,
00:40 pop, like everything. And one of the sessions we ended up making "Getting Late".
00:44 [Music]
00:50 And it just felt so special, like it felt like me, you know,
00:54 mixing my influence from pop and R&B but
00:58 with sounds from home, being I'm a piano.
01:00 [Music]
01:07 I'm usually driven by the beat initially, like when someone would
01:11 play me a beat, it has to like grab me in order for me to even wanna like
01:16 work on it. But usually I love going, listening to the beats and just
01:22 singing random things, like whatever comes to me
01:26 and then listening back and choosing what feels the best. That's usually how I
01:33 like approaching. And then after the words just, they come.
01:37 [Music]
01:51 When I'm done a song, then I'm like, okay, start recording from the beginning and
01:57 just let me go. And we literally have this long take
02:02 of just me doing random ad-libs and vocalizing over it. And I just do it
02:09 like maybe three times throughout. Then I listen back and I'm like,
02:13 okay, that one, okay, add that one, okay, take away that one,
02:16 or move this one here. And I just feel like
02:19 I like doing it that way because I don't end up thinking too much about it. Like
02:24 what should I put here now? Thinking over things over there. Like,
02:27 I just like freestyling over because I feel like it's more
02:30 of a vibe. I personally love songs that aren't direct
02:35 with the meaning. Like people that are mature and older, they know what the song
02:39 is about. But anybody can sing it. Like older
02:42 people, young people, people that don't speak or
02:45 understand English. It doesn't matter, you know, like it's
02:48 just fun, it's just a vibe. It makes people feel something which is
02:52 more important to me. A huge example that I use is "Rock the Boat" by
02:56 Aaliyah. That song is a hit. Like I used to love that song small singing
03:01 rock. I did not know what she meant by "Rock the Boat." Now I know.
03:05 But I just always loved that type of writing.
03:09 With "Water" I knew I just wanted a summer song. Like I wanted a song that
03:13 everybody can vibe to, have fun to. And yeah, the meaning of the song is a bit
03:19 mature and frisky. It's basically me letting
03:23 a guy know like, "Show me what you got to offer because
03:27 I'm done with all the talk because men will just talk
03:30 and talk and talk."
03:40 I started working with this guy called Corey,
03:43 he's Baleve, when I signed to Epic Records.
03:47 And I clicked with him, you know, from the beginning because he
03:52 loved Amo piano music. And I just would explain to everybody like, I just
03:57 wanted to sound like Africa mixed with the global R&B and
04:03 pop. Like I want it to sound good together. And we were
04:07 experimenting a lot but nothing really like stuck until I started working with
04:12 Corey like one-on-one. The songs were just coming and I just
04:17 felt like myself becoming more attached to the sound and
04:21 loving it even more. So we ended up working with him and also
04:26 Ari, Mocha, Sammy Soso on production.
04:31 And we went in knowing we wanted the summer banger for my album.
04:37 And yeah, as soon as I heard "Water" I knew like
04:40 it's over. It's over for everybody. We have the song.
04:44 And I cut it in Cape Town, South Africa. I couldn't stop playing it after.
04:51 And I just knew that it was the song really, especially when I started
04:54 performing it. And I just saw the response from people
04:58 like it was just bound to happen.
05:03 I listen to almost everything, like almost everything.
05:17 But my heart lies with Amapiano music. I've always loved the sound of South
05:24 African music. So, the log drum. The first time I heard
05:29 this, I remember I was in like maybe grade 10
05:34 and a friend of mine was playing the song called "Gong Gong".
05:37 Right? And at that time Amapiano just started like
05:41 becoming like a big thing. There wasn't really many people singing on it. It was
05:45 mainly instrumentals or people chanting and rapping or whatever.
05:49 But I heard it and I literally fell in love with it. Like
05:53 it just hit me. It was crazy. And I just love the sound of the log drum.
05:58 It's the sound that is South African, you know. Like it's a
06:03 sound that makes Amapiano really Amapiano.
06:07 And I'm just gonna play it for you and you're gonna just, you'll feel it, you know.
06:13 How like, come on.
06:19 Anything like that log drum, it's always like a finishing touch. Like
06:23 add a log drum here, add a log drum there.
06:27 "Haibo" means, I don't even, like it just is like "haibo"
06:42 like I don't even know how to explain it really. But it's just like an expression
06:46 in South Africa that people use and it can be used for
06:50 multiple things. So this, in this case, it's just like "haibo".
06:54 Like it's just like a vibe. So I really wanted to add that to the
06:59 song just to make it more South African and mean, you know. And it sounds cute.
07:03 Listen.
07:06 So cute. Amapiano music is the core of it, in my opinion. And then
07:14 just all the other influences from growing up, like Aaliyah,
07:19 Rihanna, you know, like all the R&B girlies,
07:23 R&B boys, pop girls, you know, that type of influence I love bringing into it.
07:28 Something that I really love in Afrobeat music
07:32 is when I hear those step vocals that sound like a choir
07:37 almost. And I really love the way Ashake uses it.
07:41 And yeah, like I just always love the way it sounded. So
07:45 with the chorus, this chorus is a chorus.
07:49 Obviously people can't stop singing. They can't get it out their minds, which I
07:53 love.
07:55 So I open the song like that. So you just get a little taste,
08:05 a little taste of the vibe. Then when the chorus comes in, I join and it just
08:09 takes it to a new level. Just listen.
08:13 [Music]
08:29 So the stacks, it won't hit the same if it was just me.
08:36 Like stacking the vocals. Like it'll be cute,
08:39 but I feel like using a bunch of people's different vocals
08:43 brought a texture, you know what I mean? And it made it sound more like a vibe.
08:47 Like everyone's in the party just screaming the song.
08:50 Literally me, Ari, Mocha, Corey, maybe even Sammi there,
08:57 screaming on this mic, making the vibe. And
09:00 it ended up sounding so beautiful, which I love.
09:05 [Music]
09:13 Dancing is something I always love incorporating
09:17 with my work because it's literally a part of me.
09:22 Being from Africa, in South Africa especially, like dancing is just
09:26 a huge part of our culture in general, you know. When
09:29 it came to water, just like you, I couldn't stop dancing when I heard the
09:33 song. And I just knew that, I don't know, like
09:37 everything kind of came naturally, you know. I never went in saying, "Okay, we
09:40 must make a dance challenge. We must do this."
09:43 Like it all kind of flowed and happened naturally.
09:46 So I ended up working with like my choreographer, Lachey,
09:50 from South Africa. And I was like, "Let's try Bakadi for the song." And
09:57 Bakadi is like a dance style from South Africa,
09:59 but it's not done with this type of music. So it was kind of like,
10:03 "Are you sure?" But it ended up looking amazing, I'm not gonna lie.
10:09 [Music]
10:26 I just feel like you can feel the energy when it's performed
10:30 because it's not really just dance moves for us. It's not really just
10:33 Amapiano music for us. It's really a part of our culture, being from South
10:38 Africa. And I feel that like that translates.
10:41 [Music]
10:48 So Asambe means like, "Let's go." Like it's just something that
10:56 makes us feel like, "Yay!" You know? It livens it up. So
11:00 I don't know, like when I was performing, I was just like, you know, feeling that I
11:04 want people to push now on this part and just take it to
11:07 the next level. So I just said, "Hey, Asam!"
11:09 You know? And yeah, I love that I said it because South Africa is crying.
11:14 They love that I added that little touch and I like that people are liking it,
11:18 you know? I just always, when I was younger, I always wanted to see like
11:23 a pop star from South Africa amongst the Rihannas and the Britney Spears
11:30 of the Michael Jacksons, you know? Like I always wanted to see someone
11:34 from where I was from, there. So that's basically my goal. I really
11:40 want to be the biggest pop star and for people back
11:43 home, not only South Africa but Africa in general,
11:46 to see someone from the continent be on that level
11:49 because, I mean, when I was younger, even though I felt,
11:52 I always felt like this was gonna happen for me, I always felt like it was my
11:55 calling. But there was all, there was obviously
11:59 like some level of doubt because I never had that person that
12:05 opened that door, you know? So basically, I'm
12:09 trying to be that girl that opens that door for the rest
12:12 of the people that also have the same dream as me.
12:16 I've always been a hard worker. When I'm too chilled, then I feel like
12:26 I'm not doing enough and then I start overthinking. So, I mean,
12:29 in general, like I do work a lot but now, like it's obviously become more because
12:35 people love water, they're very thirsty for water, so,
12:38 you know, but I'm really just enjoying it. Like my best friend is on the road with
12:43 me. Specifically with this song, I actually
12:46 had a dream which is crazy because people are gonna
12:49 be like, "You're lying, you're lying!" But for real, like before I dropped the
12:53 song, I literally had a dream where I was
12:57 watching this Spotify streams just rising, like in real time,
13:02 like it was just going... I didn't tell a lot of people this but
13:06 it felt like a real life. It didn't feel like a dream,
13:09 you know, it felt like I was really there and it was really happening.
13:12 Then I woke up and I was just like, "Thank you, God." I was like, "I'm receiving it
13:17 and it's gonna happen." And it happened, which is crazy because now I feel like
13:23 I have superpowers. I'm just gonna dream like this for every
13:26 song. But yeah, like, I'm not a witch
13:32 but I had that dream. I did have that dream.
13:38 I've really gotten to a point where my sound feels like it's a sound
13:43 now. Obviously, it's been something that I've been making but
13:47 now I feel like it's solidified and especially with water, you know,
13:52 being the example. It's definitely pressure in general because, I mean,
13:57 I have this big song and people are like, "What's next? What's next? They're hungry
14:01 for more," which I love. But I try not to think about that
14:06 too much because that will make me go "Nazio."
14:10 So I'm just really just trying to make good music that I love listening to,
14:14 that my friends and family love listening to,
14:17 you know, and I believe in what I make. So I trust that whatever happens is
14:24 meant to happen. There's this song on the EP called
14:29 "Truth or Dare." It's too good. Like, it's way too good. Like, I love that song but
14:35 also, like, there's a few others that are more chill,
14:38 different vibe. I really want to show my versatility
14:43 because I don't like being tied down to one thing. Like, I might want to make
14:46 a straight pop song one day or straight R&B song one day, you know.
14:50 But in general, definitely my sound being pop piano,
14:54 mixing pop R&B with a piano and apple beats
14:58 and I would describe "Water" as definitely it's a song of the year.
15:03 Definitely. It's Africa. It's the sounds of Africa.
15:08 And I just feel like it's not only for Africa but it's for the world,
15:14 which excites me so much because I've always just wanted to bring
15:19 Africa to the world. And it's happening, you know, with
15:22 "Water," with the dancing for the song, the song, like me,
15:28 my team. Like, it's literally me bringing Africa to the world, which is making me so happy.
15:36 [Music]
15:55 [MUSIC PLAYING]