Tyla – ‘Art’

Tyla recently released ‘Art’, the third single from her excellent debut self-titled album. Playing on her strengths as a dexterous vocalist, the song features a blend of pop, R&B and Amapiano, a form of music native to South Africa. In the track, the Johannesburg native sings about being a literal work of art in a gallery. The clever references to being a piece of art and the care that that requires further adds to the positive affirmations found throughout the song. I especially enjoyed the stacked background vocals and the polished, gleaming production.

For most music lovers, Tyla first came to attention with her breakthrough single ‘Water’, a global smash that continues to get heavy radio rotation and abundant streams to this day. Upon hearing her debut album, I was struck by how consistent and fun the music was. It is very clear a lot of money and thought went into the writing and production of the project with several songs strong contenders as singles.

‘Art’ has already reached the top 10 of Billboard’s Hot R&B Songs chart. While it hasn’t reached the Hot 100 yet, it has had decent placements in a few global charts, namely the UK, New Zealand and of course her native South Africa. Check out her performance of the song on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert below.