Tyla talks looking up to Rihanna as a child: ‘She made me realize there is another way’

Tyla‘s success may serve as inspiration for the younger generation, but coming up, Rihanna was the one who gave her hope of becoming a singer.

“Coming from somewhere outside the States, I really looked up to her,” the South African singer tells British Vogue for their March cover story. “I used to think you’re only going to become famous if you’re born in America. She made me realize there is another way.”

In the years that followed, Tyla worked hard to make her dreams come true and prove to her parents that she could. Now that she has made it, however, there are some parts of her old life that she misses.

“I just miss being able to walk. Or sit in the park. Or go to Nando’s,” she tells the magazine.

Fame has also come with a microscope into her life, like the time there was controversy regarding her identity as “a colored South African.”

“Honestly, I felt like I had no…no control. People took it and… It just went so far that I didn’t know what to do,” she says. “The way people painted me… And I understand that word is a sensitive word to people, so I don’t blame people for being touched about it. I just would have wanted an opportunity for people to actually truly listen and learn.”

Later in the cover story, she adds, “You know that even if you give the best explanation, people will still choose not to understand. But I’m at a point where I know who I am. I know I’m a Black woman and I know I’m a colored woman as well and you can be both. And the people that care to learn, they understand now. And that’s enough for me.”