Tyla’s Multiracial Parents Weren’t Always on Board With Her Musical Aspirations

Over the past year, South African starlet Tyla Seethal has joined the ranks of recording artists like Ice Spice and Sexyy Red. All three have been beating the industry plant rumors while dropping off hot girl bops for music lovers to enjoy and stacking up record-breaking accolades. The 22-year-old is best known for her international breakout hit “Water,” released before she kicked off the spring with her self-titled debut LP. As she continues to rise to new heights in the music industry and beyond, people are growing curious about Tyla’s parents and her family’s ethnicity.

Unfortunately for her fans, the African artist had to cancel her North American tour due to an injury she had been “silently suffering” from. On the bright side, the extra time off from the road will allow Tyla to reconnect with her loved ones, reflect on all the success she’s found so far and maybe even craft the perfect follow-up track to “Water.”

What Is Tyla’s Ethnicity?

The vocalist was born on January 30th, 2002 in Johannesburg to Sharleen and Sherwin Seethal. A Lipstick Alley thread claims that both of her parents are African, but they’re a multiracial family. Her father hails from Mauritius – an East African country – though he’s of Indian heritage, and Tyla’s mother is a South African native of Zulu descent with some Irish ancestry. When asked about her ethnicity, the “Getting Late” hitmaker described herself as “coloured,” causing some seriously heated discourse to fly on social media.

Tyla Sparks Outrage After Self-Identifying as “Coloured”

When Black Americans heard “coloured” come from Tyla’s mouth, some expressed shock as they were reminded of the word’s historic use in the United States. Americans spell it without a u, (colored), dating back to the 1950s Jim Crow era when it was commonly “used to group all Black Americans who were enslaved people” together in a derogatory manner. Meanwhile, the South African “coloured” has a less negative racial connotation, as it is mostly “a term to label mixed-race citizens” in other countries.

There was no shortage of opinions on the topic, but comedian Dillan Oliphant (who also hails from South Africa), had an empowering and insightful message to share. “The world is bigger than you. Black Americans are not the main characters everywhere, the world is not a Tyler Perry movie. This is Tyla’s movie, and in Tyla’s movie, she identifies as a coloured,” he expressed in a video. “You can’t erase a whole identity to suit your comforts. Don’t be like the people who took you to America.”

Who Are Tyla’s Parents?

Not much is known about Tyla’s parents, Sharleen and Sherwin, though the trio did look dapper when they stepped out to celebrate the black-haired beauty at the annual Grammy Awards. Interestingly, the Seethals weren’t supportive of their daughter’s love for music at first, as she told Justin Credible on Power 106. “I had to literally cry every day and tell them that I wanna do this. There’s nothing else I wanna do. It was difficult convincing them,” Tyla shared in November 2023.

“In South Africa, it doesn’t happen to us. I’ve heard so many women who wanted to do music and didn’t end up the way they wanted to. So, my parents were just trying to protect me, which is fine, but I showed them that I want to do music by all means,” she added. Thankfully, her itch to pursue her creative talents wound up working in her favor, as the multi-talent took home the Grammy for Best African Music Performance, which Sherwin reportedly plans to display in his room. Tyla’s parents might not have seen her initial vision, but it looks like they’ve since caught the wave and are on board with her taking the sounds of South Africa to the ears of people around the world.