Tapping back into the early 2000s aesthetic of VEVO watermarks, grainy visuals, and exotic yet flamboyant pop girl fashion, Grammy-winning superstar Tyla released her music video for “THAT GIRL”, devoting original motion art to support the reach of her sophomore album A*POP and building on the momentum of her hit single, “Is It Love”.
The three-minute music video opens with Tyla and her entourage stepping on South African bank notes strewn all over the floor, walking on them with matching fluorescent high heels. The vignettes alternate between frames of the ladies dancing their way over the money and snapshots of them from the waist down making faceless introductions of themselves. True to the theme of the song—with Tyla singing about making big girl purchases and chopping her bag—the start of the music video remains faithful to the source material.
Money is only an object to the Mzansi singer-songwriter, and the montage of the visuals emphasises this without any apology.
Tyla | SUPPLIED
The choreography and the sharp sensuality of the backup dancers conjure up the inspo of visual offerings by Destiny’s Child, the Pussycat Dolls, and the late Aaliyah. With her stylish pilot hat tilted on her head and her threadbare dress, Tyla channels the trope of the woman in power which dominated the early 2000s: the energy of being in control while still living comfortably in her femininity.
She permits both these sides to co-exist without one drowning the other. Whether she’s dancing on a neon-powered dollar sign or twerking on a spray-painted sports car with her girls, the messaging is simple: the world belongs to Tyla, and she’s a woman who knows that she’s worth every single cent of the currency she commands.
The world of music continues to move in one direction, hardly ever looking back. Tyla’s “THAT GIRL” is a reminder that looking back isn’t always such a bad thing, and that when timeless eras serve as inspiration, the result is a piece of work that is both modern and tributary.
Check out “That Girl”:
