Tyla Is a New Kind Of Pop Star

May 11, 2023

Right after her tour, Tyla is already working on new music to give to her hungry audience. Her stage presence when singing her latest hit “Been Thinking” makes you wonder if there was anything else that she was born to do. Already a bonafide pop star, the South African artist at only 21 years old is taking the world in her hands and molding it into whatever she wants it to be. Her amalgamation of Amapiana and Afrobeats with her classic Pop alto-toned voice makes her music songs hard not to dance to. The burgeoning career ahead of her is bright, and she hasn’t even dropped a full project yet.

Photography by Morgan Charlton
Styling by Rasaan Wyzard
Interview by Kerane Marcellus
Hair by Clarissa De Jesus
Makeup by Jo Franco
Producer Olivia Roper-Caldbeck
Photo Assistant Spencer Stovell
Makeup Assistant Diana Torroledo

TYLA in FULL LOOK by POSTER GIRL

In conversation with the South African artist, I learn that her work ethic is immeasurable and her determination unbreakable. There is nothing that will stand in the way of her and her dreams. She’s been like this since a teen and has no plans of stopping. She was born to be a pop star it seems, with music being the crux of any memory in her life. What most don’t know is that South African music has always been this good, and Tyla’s spin on all these sounds are going to make a New York summer for the books.

You can hear some deep house inspiration in her newest single and her singles in the past like “Getting Late” give you that pop Afrobeats sound that is taking over. Now, with her new song “Girl Next Door” featuring Ayra Starr dropping today, we had to see what else she has in store for us. She spoke with office about manifestation, working hard, and how her own sound developed.

How are you? What have you been up to?

I'm great. I've been doing a lot, actually. I just finished the tour, then just came to America. I've been recording, and shooting a lot of stuff like modeling and right now, I'm in New York.

Me too. Me too. Are you staying for long?

No, I'm not staying for long.

Yeah, you have a lot, I can just see you're very busy. Everyone is like always saying what they think your sound is. But how would you describe your sound?

I describe my music as very…I feel like it's new and fresh. It's a mixture between pop, R&B, and some African influence from Afrobeats and Amapiano. I don't know if there's like a specific genre, but I definitely feel like it's still a global sound with some African flavor.

I've been noticing you've been saying you want to really spread Amapiano worldwide and I feel like South Africa especially has so much talent. What do you kind of wish people knew more about South Africa's history with music?

I wish more people were listening and paying attention to the music and the culture, especially from Africa and South Africa to be specific, because we have a lot of it. We have amazing music, amazing culture, and creatives. The attention is increasing but we need more eyes and attention on us because the music is amazing. People are loving it from everywhere. I can see people are using it and hey take a lot of the inspiration from it. So, I want them to let us lead it.

I agree. I feel like this year, especially I would say 2021 up until now more music outside of the U.S. has been getting really popular and gaining more traction, which I really appreciate. I mentioned before I saw you at Amaarae’s Sneak Peek listening party. Was that an unspoken hint of possible collaboration? Eyes were up there. I would really love you both to work together.

We haven't actually worked together before, but I love her music. I love her sound and everything. So I loved that I was able to go and support her. I'm just excited in general, I'm a huge fan of hers. She's a really good person. So it was literally just pure vibes and me just going to support her.

Who else are you supporting right now?

I'm literally rooting for all African artists right now. Rema, Ayra Starr, Tems, Wiz Kid, Ch’cco from back home he's doing amazing, Uncle Waffles. We are literally killing it right now and I'm just excited to see where it goes.

All of y'all are really killing it. Like I'm listening to everybody that you just mentioned pretty much on rotation. So in January, you dropped a very hot single “Been Thinking” and the internet went insane. What was the songwriting process for that like?

So we made that song the first time I came to America, and Tricky Stewart came out for a session. Tricky just showed us a beat and we were looking for an upbeat pop song and it caught all of our attention. We just made the song like that one night and we recorded it the whole night. We played the song and Tricky was adding things here and there and we were just literally jamming to the song. It was just pure good vibes. When the label heard it, instantly they were like, we are dropping this next. So yeah, just pure vibes.

Pure vibes. I love it. You say a lot of the time that you've told people growing up that you're going to be a pop star and now look at where you are. I believe in manifestation. So, I definitely think you've manifested that and obviously worked hard for it. What would you say to your younger self, that younger girl who was like “I'm going to be a pop star,” and didn't really care about what anybody else had to say about it?

I would just tell her, "Girl you knew it." You knew it. You got this and just keep going. Because I mean, there's obviously been times where I've been questioning it. I was like, is this really gonna happen? Especially being someone from South Africa. At that time, it wasn't really a reality for us to be able to reach these audiences and do these things that I'm doing. So now that it's actually happening, it's amazing. So, yeah, I just tell her keep going, you don't realize how far you're gonna go. Even my younger self, although it was a dream, these things don't happen. In South Africa, these things don't happen. I’d just tell her to keep going and it's going to be better than she ever thought.

Beautiful. What would you say to your future self? Now you're in this position. What do you think you see for the next five years? I'm sure you're gonna be like, humongous by then.

Humongous, thank you. I think I’d just tell her that it's worth it. Like, look how far you are. Just look how blessed you are because now, at this point, I am feeling so blessed and happy but when I get to that point, one day, I'm not even going to realize how I got there.

Do you document any accomplishments or big breakthroughs?

I do. I sometimes actually make videos of me just talking to the camera saying, this happened today. And hopefully this catches on or I'm about to release my song and I'm nervous. So maybe one day, we'll come out and it'll be golden footage.

Wait, how old are you?

I turned 21 this year.

Wow, you're so young. I feel like your journey and your work ethic has been really inspiring. You posted all these videos on the internet, you would just email people, and just take it upon yourself really to just build up yourself and your own career. Obviously you've built a team, but from the beginning, you were pretty much your own advocate. Where does that determination come from for you?

I feel like it just comes from just my passion and love for music and creating and this whole life that I've envisioned ever since I was younger, like I'm the type of person that when I want something I'm gonna fight and I'm gonna push until I get it no matter what. That's where it comes from, my passion and where I see myself being one day.

Where did this love of music stem from? How did you get into writing songs and dancing? And When did you fall in love with this? And when did you really start taking it seriously?

I don't remember the exact time I fell in love with it because growing up, ever since I was a baby, I remember being surrounded by music just because of my family being like such musical people. My parents used to it to be a wake up call, used to wake us up every morning. Whenever we had get-togethers we'd all be singing, playing music, my uncle would play the guitar. I'm the one that really latched on to it. Not only music, but also dance, and acting, literally the whole creative space I feel like I just fell in love with since I could remember. When I was in school, and I finally got a phone, I remember I would just make singing videos and post it on Instagram and send it to whoever. Like whatever celebrity I could send it to like Drake and Rihanna and all these people. I didn't get a response but still, I was determined. I actually started doing it seriously when someone discovered me in South Africa and he's now my manager. I went to his place with my parents and he has a home studio. So, I recorded there for the first time and I just started making music for real. We made “Getting Late.” I released it and then from there, I started my actual journey on becoming this artist.

How do you find the balance in it all, with just working so hard and being so determined? How do you balance that?

Well, the thing is, I do work very hard and when I finally get downtime, I feel like I'm not doing enough. You know, "Why am I just chilling?" I need to be in the studio, I need to be doing this. I think what helps me balance it is my family and just being with my friends and the people that I love. I feel like it just reminds me of how it was before I actually started working towards this. Because before, I've always been a family girl and loved just chilling with my siblings, because they are literally my best friends. So, whenever I get the chance I do that, or I pray a lot or I paint or I draw like I always try to find something to take me away from it. Because when I'm only doing this, it could literally drive you crazy.

You have a new project coming out soon. How has that process been with writing? What's been the inspiration or the storyline or the through line of this new project?

So I've been recording a lot. I have over 80 songs, so many and I just came to a point where I really want to release a body of work and not even an album. I want to start with an EP, just a few songs, so people can get to know me as an artist, as Tyla, and just see where I'm coming from. There wasn't a specific concept or anything. I just wanted to make music that I love and work with people that I love working with. I work with a lot of African artists and producers. I'm just really excited to share that now with the world.

I'm really excited to hear it! Are these artists emerging artists? Are you trying to put on more emerging people like yourself?

Well the artists that I'm working with now are doing very well, they are obviously emerging, but they are big artists like Ayra Starr

and Lojay, and I'm working with P. Priime, an amazing crazy Nigerian producer. Starr is also an amazing Nigerian producer. I'm just happy that I'm able to share my project with them and have them join me on my first project, because I'm a fan of them, and we are friends. So it's just a very exciting thing for me.

I love that. I do feel like everybody's very much missing your stage presence. Will there be another tour in accompaniment with this EP? Can we expect that?

That's definitely the plan. I'd love that. We haven't solidified anything yet but there are definitely performances, once it's released.

Music

Jesse Jo Stark Is in a Genre of Her Own

April 19, 2024

In the midst of a total solar eclipse, I got the chance to talk about music and style with Jesse Jo Stark.

As I’m on the phone with her from New York, Stark is on a tour bus with The Veronicas, driving through the Colorado mountains to enjoy some time off in between shows. The Veronicas have just started their Gothic Summer North American Tour, and Stark is opening the show. What’s special about this tour for the lifelong music obsessive is the sense of powerful feminine energy encapsulating the tour. “We just started [tour], but it’s been really lovely. I’m obsessed with the fact that we’re all women — it feels like a very powerful crew. The Veronicas are lovely, the crowds have been so fun, and the venues are beautiful. It’s gonna be a good month.”

Photography Sophia-Liv Maguire
Styling Marc Eram
Interview Angelina Hazzouri
Talent Jesse Jo Stark
Hair Antoine Martinez with PARADIS using Roz Hair
Makeup Sydney Szramowski
Photo Assistants Mia O’Neal, Rashaun Richardson
BTS Ms Josephine
Creative Producer Olivia Roper-Caldbeck

This is Stark’s second time touring since the release of her full-length debut album DOOMED in late 2022, which was very well received and led to Stark’s first sold-out international headlining tour on behalf of the album. Previous to her solo tour, she’s opened for various notable acts, such as Guns N’ Roses and Jane’s Addiction. I asked Stark, who’s been writing and playing music since age 11, what it was like to prepare for her first sold-out headlining tour. Unsurprisingly, before any tour, Stark goes into what she describes as “bootcamp mode” — dancing every day, vocal training, rehearsing with her band, and of course, working on her outfits. “That’s the sort of homework I love,” she says, smiling. (Even though we’re on the phone, I can tell she’s smiling when she talks about the outfit part. I’d smile too if I had her tour closet.)

What’s unique about Stark as a musician is that she has ultimately created her own universe by embracing every aspect of her creative upbringing, her raw talent, her fascinating influences, and her unwavering beliefs in not needing to fit into a certain box when it comes to her art. She creative-directs and styles all her own looks, referencing an ever-evolving list of influences that range from Vegas showgirls to Halloween to old films to her parents in the 90s. “I think when I was younger, I had this rebellion against what I was made from,” she tells me, “but now it’s just my blood. I constantly reflect on my childhood and everything I was taught and everything I saw. My brother and sister and I are constantly pulling influences from our parents from the past. I think, more than ever, I’m heavily influenced by them.”

Stark, the daughter of founders and owners of the self-made American fashion brand Chrome Hearts, and now its creative director and designer, is someone who always knew what she liked, but as she describes it, had to ‘go through the motions’ that come with growing up and knowing one’s identity. Today, her self-efficacy is palpable — and it’s inspiring.

...when I was younger, I had this rebellion against what I was made from, but now it’s just my blood.

When she’s on tour, Stark is growing with herself and with her art — she’s not afraid to take life as it comes and learn through the process. With every show, regardless of whether it was on her DOOMED tour or this tour with The Veronicas, Stark understands the importance of human connection through music. Seeing faces of music lovers like herself, meeting those who have traveled to see her, and visiting familiar and unfamiliar cities has reminded her that she loves being on the road. “The growth that happens on tour is so important to me as an artist.” Sometimes we have to leave behind what’s familiar in order to rediscover what’s important, and Stark is a proponent of this growth mindset.

Growth doesn’t just happen on tour with Stark — this evolution of herself happens within genre as well, and for Stark there’s no such thing. Since her first release Driftwood in 2017, the artist’s sound has shifted year after year, but in a harmonious way that still feels central to her gothic Americana roots. When asked if she’ll experiment with genre in the future, Stark confidently answers, “I think I’ve only experimented with genre. I don’t think anyone knows what genre I am.” (She calls herself a “horrific hillbilly” — a perfect descriptor.) Steadfast in her belief that we as humans can constantly evolve in our work, Stark thinks it’s antiquated to fit yourself into a certain box and focus on one specific trade in order to succeed. “If you look at us as people, we’re seasoned. We change all the time. I want to experience different things.”

Since Driftwood, a two-song EP rooted in rock and country, Stark has experimented with more robust beats and 808s on DOOMED, and her most recent single “skeleton” features a softer, grungier punk sound. Without fitting into a specific genre, Stark’s music is undoubtedly and wholeheartedly her own, transcending the boundaries of what many artists struggle with when finding their sound. “I don’t think we should have to label ourselves in any way, shape, or form; so I’m not going to. I will continue to make all types of different music.” Fuck yeah.

If you look at us as people, we’re seasoned. We change all the time.

This goes beyond just music — in terms of her personal style, the same mentality applies. We discuss the idea that clothing and dressing is a sort of playground, and personal style comes from within. Stark isn’t about following trends, but rather, she thinks it’s important to tap into different stylistic elements that amplify who we are at our cores. On her DOOMED tour, Stark wore a lot of leather and stuck to a fairly dark color palette. Right now, she’s into more bourgeois satin and lace, experimenting with different textures and wearing things that feel slightly daintier and more delicate. On this current tour with the Veronicas, Stark is making it more of a point to take everything in — absorbing inspiration from every city, writing songs on the road, recording video on a friend’s super 8 camera, styling and wearing new outfits, learning and performing new covers — ultimately growing through the whole experience.

It’s endearing and inspiring how well Stark knows herself. A Los Angeles native, she proudly tells me that the tour finishes on May 5 in her hometown, a show that she’s especially excited for. While we can’t predict what thoughtfully-curated outfit she’ll wear or what songs will be performed, with new music already underway, one thing is clear: Jesse Jo Stark is just getting started.

Music

9lives' Latest Single Continues to Push Sigilkore

April 19, 2024

The versatile artist, producer, and pioneer of the sigilkore genre, 9lives, has recently unveiled his latest single "CANADA" featuring jnhygs. In less than two years since his emergence onto the music scene, 9lives has carved out an impressive niche for himself as a prominent figure within the digitally-driven sigilkore movement. "CANADA" sees him teaming up once again with experimental dance artist jnhygs, following their successful collaboration on "XTAYALIVE".

With aspirations to establish himself within the mainstream arena of experimental music production and artistry, 9lives is blending his distinct dark production style with collaborations with a diverse array of influential artists who trust him to create innovative sonic landscapes. "CANADA" marks his second release of 2024, as 9lives continues to champion the burgeoning sigilkore movement, pushing the boundaries of genre, evolving into a multifaceted artist, and solidifying his status as a rising star with an expanding audience.

Image by Connor Pritchard

Reflecting on their latest project, 9lives shares, “In early 2023 jnhygs found my music and we started chatting through TikTok, releasing our first song together called "XTAYALIVE"." He adds, We’ve been friends since this song had a viral moment, and fans have been heavily requesting for us to work together again all over our videos.” Describing their creative process, he explains, “I sent a bunch of new ideas to jnhygs via Discord and she sent back vocals to “CANADA”, which I then used to create melodic layers and extra percussion to complete the song.

Music

Eclipsed at Vampire Weekend

April 16, 2024

It had been about a week since the goosebump-inducing communal howls at the moon, as it covered the sun through a cloudy Austin, Texas sky, left me needing to take a seat—suspended in awe of the totality of the event and the synergistic break from routine. I overheard someone say, “I mean, it feels like we’re all going to die, but in a way that’s okay, you know?" under the shadow of the eclipse's peak, ceremoniously brought in as the band performed “Jonathan Low,” (in Vampire Weekend's familiar ironic hue) a track they wrote for the third movie in the Twilight series, Eclipse.

It had been five years since the band had released an album. In celebration of their latest album, "Only God Was Above Us," ticket holders wrapped the streets in blocks outside the venue for the band’s first Stateside show in about two years. Event managers searched to replenish the venue’s stock of eclipse glasses, while the band prepped a show reminiscent of 'getting the boys back together again'.

Words and photography by Rianne Akindele

In between newly released songs like “Classical” and “Capricorn”, the boys filled the almost two-hour-long show with old favorites like “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa”, “Diane Young” and a genre evolved rendition of “Sunflower” as the crowd danced barefoot feeling the Earth’s energy intertwined with their own and the vibrations from the amps on stage. People stole glances at the imminently darkening sky, artists doodled, friends grabbed onto each other to scream the lyrics in each other’s faces, and onlookers from the highest level of the parking garage across the street cheered on in a symphony of nostalgia and anticipation.

Adding to the layers of the celestial afternoon, the band invited to the stage the likes of Thomas Mars from Phoenix, Dave 1 from Chromeo, and guitarist Brian Robert Jones, inducing further levels of indie revival euphoria.

As the show drew to its close, and the zydeco/country-rock “Cocaine Cowboys” medley fiddled through the air, a conversation could be picked up between two sisters in search of their Lyft driver through closed-off streets,

“I wish this happened more often.”
“Eclipses or shows like this?”
“Both.”

It’s moments like these that remind us of our shared humanity and the power of collective experiences; a gathering of souls under the same sky, sharing the joy of music and a wonder of the stars above. Perhaps it’s the rarity that allowed such transcendence, reverence, and gratitude to be felt. Either way, what a beautiful moment in time it was.

Here are a few shots from the Monday afternoon: