Key Takeaways:
- Tyla’s latest single, “IS IT,” sets the stage for her upcoming mixtape, ‘WE WANNA PARTY,’ arriving later this summer.
- The project builds on her debut album and showcases her evolution as a global genre-blending artist.
- Her music draws inspiration from the contrast between South African and American party culture.
It looks like fans will be getting a Tyla takeover this summer. On Friday (July 11), the South African singer delivered her much-anticipated new single “IS IT” along with a pre-save link for her upcoming project, WE WANNA PARTY, expected to arrive before the end of the season.
While she hasn’t confirmed exactly when it’ll drop, there’s a good chance that both the new track, “IS IT,” and May’s “BLISS” will make it onto the full-length effort.
“Is it the f**ks that I don't give? / Is it the men that I don't miss? / Is this song why we get along? / Or am I coming on a little strong?” Tyla sings on the new record. “'Cause the more that they tell me ‘Don't’ / It's the more that it turn me on.” Take a listen to “IS IT” below.
The last few months have seen the mixtape format make a welcome comeback, especially among mainstream artists. Listeners got Lizzo’s MY FACE HURTS FROM SMILING in June and are currently anticipating Metro Boomin’s A Futuristic Summa, set to arrive before July’s end. A mixtape brings an obvious upside to the table: fewer expectations, which often means more room to play creatively.
WE WANNA PARTY will be Tyla’s first project since her self-titled debut album arrived in 2024. The initial 14-track offering treated listeners to “Jump” with Gunna and Skillibeng, “ART,” and, of course, her Grammy Award-winning breakthrough, “Water.” The deluxe introduced three additional songs, most notably “PUSH 2 START.”
Partying, as it turns out, means something different depending on where you are. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Tyla explained, “In America, I feel like the parties are more for networking than partying. In South Africa, it’s literally purely just to dance. Everyone is dancing.”