Charlamagne tha God Denies Ruining Tyla’s Career With Race Question, Says Label Didn’t Prepare Her

Tyla’s 2024 appearance on The Breakfast Club spawned a viral moment that wasn’t exactly to her benefit.

In a new conversation with DJ Vlad, Charlamagne tha God was asked about last year’s incident, which saw the radio host ask for clarification on what it means to be a “South African Coloured person.” The inquiry prompted silence from Tyla, with her publicist quickly chiming in and asking Charlamagne to move on.

When Vlad asked Charlamagne if he ruined Tyla’s career with the question, he said, “No” and laughed. “That had nothing to do with The Breakfast Club. I was doing what any media platform should have done, which is ask a question. If anybody hurt Tyla, it was her label,” Charlamagne said.

He explained that her label should “prep” her before interviews.

“You know what’s out there, you know what could potentially be asked. It’s not like she hadn’t been asked that question before,” Charlamagne said. “And I’ve seen her answer that question on social media in a very eloquent way. So just prep her to answer that question when it’s asked.”

He then claimed that the label came in with a “list of things they did not want us to ask her,” which Charlamagne said is not commonplace on The Breakfast Club.

“I’m like, ‘We might as well not even do this conversation,’” he recalled. “This doesn’t even make any sense. And sometimes, man, I’m not gonna front. I can be an asshole, and it’s like, yo, I get really pissed off at the labels for even trying us like that.”

“What I did tell the label was I’m not abiding by anything on this list. I don’t know if anybody else in the room is, but I’m telling you that I’m not. So take this time to go prepare your…artist. They didn’t take the time to prepare her. And so when I asked the question, you saw her turn around and look to the representatives of the label.”

He explained that he gave her the “opportunity to answer” and never “attacked her.” He also contended that the label “made it worse for themselves” when they interjected during the conversation.

Charlamagne blamed the label for failing to promote her latest EP, WWP, which saw poor sales and didn’t chart on the Billboard 200. He said he doesn’t think the race conversation is why her album “didn’t do well,” but that her label wasn’t “doing any work.”

Last June, Tyla appeared on The Breakfast Club, where Charlamagne asked her to expound on being a South African Coloured person. At that point, fans had been debating her racial identity for months after she shared that she identifies as Coloured.

After the “Water” singer appeared on the Hot 97 show, she took to X, where she further described her racial identity to fans.

“Never denied my Blackness, idk where that came from,” she wrote. “I’m mixed with Black/Zulu, Irish, Mauritian/Indian, and Coloured.” She explained that she’s viewed as a “Coloured woman” in South Africa, while, in other places, she would be seen as a Black woman.

The 23-year-old does appear to blame her label for one thing, though. Earlier this month, Tyla opened up about finding her sound, revealing that she felt her label was forcing her to make “bubblegum pop” music early in her career.

After a breakdown, she realized she wanted to make African music. “It made me more persistent in keeping my ideas,” she noted.