"WWP" EP Review: Tyla wants to party, and party we shall
Tyla's new mixtape, WWP (We Wanna Party) is a dance-ready splash of what's to come for her upcoming sophomore album.
Tyla has been one of South Africa’s premier breakout artists of this generation, achieving global success with stand-out tracks like Water and PUSH 2 START that bleeds authentic amapiano, and afrobeat influences through and through.
After a year since her critically-acclaimed debut album, TYLA, released on all major streaming platforms in March 2024 — charting #27 on the Billboard Top 200 at its debut, and a GRAMMY award for Best African Music Performance for Water — Tyla releases her first four-track EP, WWP (We Wanna Party), featuring the afrobeat-powerhouse, WizKid, and sounds that are packed with instrumentals and melodies that leave you wondering “When is that second album again?”
The EP title, “WWP”, stands for We Wanna Party — a celebratory chant used in South Africa’s party culture to gather hype amongst the people. Although online discourse from Nigerians have raised concerns on the origin of this chant, it is undeniably used by Tyla at the parties and concerts she plays, using “Tyla, we wanna party” as a means to ensemble the party vibe she’s channeling with these songs.
WWP starts off with a Tyla-Wizkid takeover on DYNAMITE. This song is infused with a punchy, addictive 808 that takes over, and elements of Spanish guitar scattered across the single to add the sultry, island flair the song is encapsulating. Produced by Nigerian record producer, P.Priime, he’s worked on projects like Olamide’s Carpe Diem, and WizKid’s Made In Lagos; both albums have received their permanent, designated status in Afrobeats music culture. DYNAMITE features an alluring hook sang by Tyla in the pre-chorus as she sings, “…You know what you want from me” in the gruffiest tone, that always warrants an imitation or rewind.
My personal favourite, MR. MEDIA, is a hypnotic proclamation, serving as Tyla’s “y’all ain’t shit” song to the haters that’s been praying on her downfall since day one. Although she’s never claimed, or have intentions on explaining the meaning of MR. MEDIA to listeners, we can make some educated assumptions based on some of the lyrical disses she’s written:
I should be meaner
Why, why, why?
Who I? None of your concern
What I? None of your concern
Tyla asserts that she doesn’t care about how people perceive her online, nor how people twist her words, because she’s confident in her identity and don’t need external acceptance. In other words, it’s not clocking to y’all!
I think what further drew me into MR. MEDIA was the repeated chant of “Bare ke lemeke”, which has become a famous catchphrase and hype tag associated with amapiano musician, LeeMcKrazy — found on afrobeats anthems such as Jealousy.
IS IT and BLISS are the final tracks that finish off WWP, which were previously released respectively in May and July leading up to the mixtape. IS IT is Tyla’s signature, rhythmic popiano song style that had all of us originally hooked onto Tyla. This however, has a new layer of maturity, which evolves itself from Water and other songs Tyla has put out before. It’s no surprise either that Tyla’s dance music video (choregraphed by Lee-ché Janecke) has every dancer on a chokehold; with remakes and remixes of the choreography scattered across TikTok and Instagram.
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BLISS is also a fan-favourite, amassing over 27 million streams on Spotify — making the single the highest streamed song off the mixtape. It’s an emotional blend of intimacy and love that’s woven into a thoughtful fusion of R&B, pop and amapiano. The choreography for this song also went viral, shared through a meme of Tyla shedding vulnerability behind an exploding background, which hilariously cuts to her whining fiercely, hanging from a pillar as she stares deadpan into the camera:
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For many young, non-African music listeners, Tyla’s music became an introduction to North America’s participation into the exciting sounds of amapiano, serving almost as a “sneak peak” for what was to be come from Tyla and the party-shifting sounds of South Africa. WWP has become a testament to how far Tyla has come in finding her voice, and how she continues to share her heritage, culture and music with the world. But for now, we’ll be shaking it on the dance floor while we wait for the next album drop.