Grammy-winning South African singer Tyla has credited late music icons Brenda Fassie and Lebo Mathosa as her primary musical influences in a Glamour interview released October 23.
The 23-year-old artist, named Glamour’s Global Woman of the Year after appearing on five international covers, identified the two South African legends as the women who shaped her musical ambitions during a “Girlhood” Q&A segment.
“I really admired Brenda Fassie and Lebo Mathosa,” Tyla told Glamour. “They were like our pop stars.”
The artist explained how the musicians’ widespread impact shaped her childhood in South Africa. “Their music was just so infectious, it was everywhere. And they were women, it’s something I’ve always wanted to do.”
Fassie, known as the “Queen of African Pop,” dominated South African music charts throughout the 1990s with hits including “Weekend Special” and “Too Late for Mama.” She died in 2004 after slipping into a coma, with former presidents Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki among her hospital visitors.
Mathosa rose to fame at age 15 with the group Boom Shaka before launching a successful solo career in 2000. She died in a car crash in 2006 at age 29.
Tyla became the youngest African artist to win a Grammy Award when she received the inaugural Best African Music Performance trophy for “Water” at age 22 in February. The single marked the first entry by a South African soloist on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 55 years.
Fans praised the acknowledgment on social media, describing her tribute as touching and necessary for highlighting South Africa’s musical heritage.
Supporters celebrated Tyla for giving the two icons “their flowers” on a global stage, with one commenting that “most people, when they get a chance at global success, just want to assimilate. And my girl is like NO, the world will know about us.”
The singer’s musical style, which she calls “popiano,” blends pop with amapiano, a South African house music subgenre. Like Fassie and Mathosa, Tyla’s music has transcended South African stages to reach international acclaim.
