You Took an Award That Didn’t Represent You - Do2dtun Lays Into Tyla Over VMA Acceptance Speech

Nigerian on-air personality (OAP) Do2dtun has publicly criticized South African singer Tyla for her acceptance speech at the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs).

Tyla had won the Best Afrobeats Award at the 2024 VMAs held at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, on September 11. This win marked a historic moment as she became the first African female artist and the first South African artist to receive a VMA.

During her acceptance speech, Tyla expressed mixed feelings about her victory, describing it as "just so special but also bittersweet."

She highlighted the diversity of African music, stating, "African music is so diverse, it is more than just Afrobeats. I come from South Africa. I represent amapiano. I represent my culture, and I just want to shout out [to] all the Afrobeats artists in this category with me."

Do2dtun took to Instagram to voice his disapproval, arguing that Tyla should not have accepted the award if she felt miscategorized.

He wrote, "Aunty @tyla aka am not Afrobeats, I am Amapiano. We have heard you but your song 'Water' isn’t amapiano either. If you thought you were categorized in a wrong category, you should have given the award back or denounced the nomination. You clearly took an award that didn’t represent you or your sound from that statement you made."

He further elaborated on Twitter, now known as X, criticizing the renaming of the genre to suit commercial interests. "A few selfish ones renamed an established genre to satisfy their pay masters.

Yet again you see why it’s best to let the originators be allowed to educate the world. Tyla winning Best Afrobeat song is a miss in my opinion but how do you say it isn’t when a few added 's' to it," he posted.