Tyla Reacts to Rihanna Comparisons: ‘I’m My Own Artist’

Jeremy Soma

While there are certainly far worse people to be compared to than Rihanna, Tyla wants to make it clear: She’s only interested in charting her own path.

In her Cosmopolitan cover story published Tuesday (April 30), the South African star shared her thoughts on recent comparisons between her and the Barbadian singer-turned-Fenty billionaire — which, while flattering, aren’t indicative of her full story.

“Rihanna is Rihanna. It’s a compliment,” she told the publication. “But at the same time, I’m my own artist. I’m Tyla. And I know as people get to know me and my music, they will see me as just Tyla. So I’m fine with it now.”

“People want to tie me to something familiar to them, cool,” added the musician. “But at the end of the day, we’re doing something no one’s done before, and it can’t really be compared to anyone.”

The 22-year-old singer is fresh off the release of her self-titled debut album, which dropped March 22 and features collaborations with Tems, Travis Scott and more. The set debuted at No. 24 on the Billboard 200 and has spent five weeks on the chart so far, led by mega-viral hit “Water,” which reached No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January.

Speaking of “Water,” Tyla also looked back on the slightly awkward process of getting her parents on board with the track — specifically, its NSFW lyrics. On the steamy, popiano track, which inspired a wildfire TikTok booty-shaking dance trend last year, she sings, “Make me sweat, make me hotter/ Make me lose my breath, make me water.”

“My mom was the person that saved me because my father was like, ‘What are you singing about?’” she recalled of the song, which won the Grammys’ first-ever African music performance award in March. “I was like, ‘Nah, it’s nothing bad, Dad. It’s just carefree fun.’ He’s like, ‘Oh, okay.’ And my mother was the person being like, ‘Relax, relax. Relax.’”