If your summer playlist doesn’t include Hot Body or Mr Media, you may be doing the season wrong.
Over the last few years, African music has become almost synonymous with summer (Essence, Last Last, Calm Down, Love Nwantiti) as the global boom of the genre has taken the continent’s heat across borders. In line with this trend, which is quickly morphing into tradition, Ayra Starr and Tyla have put out Hot Body and WWP — timely releases already heating up global playlists, and claiming summer 2025 for the girls.
Following the whirlwind success of their respective 2024 projects The Year I turned 21 and TYLA+, both stars have cemented their place on the global stage, with a downpour of accolades to show for it. With TYIT21, Ayra Starr secured a landmark victory at the 2025 BET Awards, clinching her first-ever award for Best International Act. The album also cracked the US Billboard 200, making her the first Nigerian female artist to grace the charts. Tyla’s eponymous album earned her multiple awards, including the inaugural Grammy Award for Best African Music Performance, with Water alone earning her Billboard Music Awards for Top Afrobeats Song and Top Afrobeats Artist, as well as Best Afrobeats Video at the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs).
With these new releases, both women are stepping into new eras in their blooming careers.
All year, Ayra Starr’s visual aesthetic and social media presence have gradually introduced us to yet another version of her. She has long outgrown the teenager we met in 2021, and has matured since we saw her turn 21 in 2024. With Gimme Dat — her second single since her 2024 album — she takes control of her allure and sensuality, evolving into a grown woman before the eyes of delighted fans. In the video featuring Wizkid, we see the red convertible which is featured on the cover for her 2024 album. Sporting the ginger colored wig signature to the TYIT21 era, she dances seductively across the car, waves goodbye, and then blows it up before re-emerging with the black pixie cut signifying her Hot Body era.
Post-Water, Tyla revealed to Billboard her global strategy; “People are going to see me everywhere.” Reflecting on the success of her global debut, she referred to its accompanying performances as high energy and extremely technical although appearing effortless. Easing fans into her new era, she teased a different performance style from what we’ve grown to expect from her, and by implication, the more relaxed sound we’ve seen with singles Bliss and Is It. “Now’s a time where I can showcase a performance style where I’m not really dancing as much. Maybe I strip back a little bit more and I’m just serving vocals,” she mused.
With both releases, both women have put out contrasting music that defines the summer in complementary ways — where Ayra serves provocative sensuality, Tyla serves escapism and bliss. Both are party staples, both define summer and both continue the trend of African stars bringing the heat worldwide.
Produced by Ragee (the producer responsible for her hit Commas on TYIT21) and The Elements, the sultry, dancehall-tinged Hot Body channels humid nights and a languid, late-night dancefloor rhythm. The beat leans into a moody, percussion-heavy groove, while Ayra’s voice carries the magnetic allure that defines her discography. The lyrics are enticing, showcasing a playfully provocative confidence; “Look what a hot body can do/ look, focus,” she insists, and then the reveal; “body be dancing/ slow whine, summer body so fine.” She turns up the sensuality with a flirtatiousness that brings to mind predecessor Tiwa Savage’s explosive debut — sexy, precise, but always fun. The video, lo-fi with VHS textures, sees her in top shape; toned summer body on freezing ice, lost in her world, ready to slow-whine late into the night.
Earlier this month, she signed a management deal with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation, reflecting her growing pull beyond the continent. Just a few days ago, on July 27, she giddily celebrated performing Hot Body with Coldplay, who she’s touring with as an opening act this summer. Before she took the Miami stage, Chris Martin, who eagerly accompanied her on acoustic guitar, told the crowd, “Ok, everybody, listen. We will do something special because this is Ayra Starr from Nigeria. She is going to be the world’s biggest pop star soon and she has a new song called Hot Body which I think is amazing. So please indulge us and join us for a big dance party.”
Dancing and partying has been Tyla’s thing since she captivated the mainstream with Water in 2023. With her South African charm and contagious energy, Tyla is always down for a good time. The rollout and name of her new EP, WWP, builds on this brand, taking a cue from the popular nightlife chant “[Insert name of DJ or hypeman], we wanna party!”
As Tyla already disclosed, for her, partying post-Water is more carefree, less tightly choreographed — WWP allows her to play again. On standout track Bliss, she dazzles with the vocal performance she alluded to in her Billboard cover story. Her delivery is laid back, relaxed, almost ballad-like and a far cry from the uptempo tracks of the TYLA era such as Jump. The lyrics: “Let my smile give you peace of mind”, “You take me to bliss” accompanying music video spawned a wave of commentary about being sexy and sad at once. “Idk if we’re supposed to shake ass or cry” one YouTube commenter wrote to the tune of 15,000 likes.
On Dynamite, Tyla and Wizkid trade verses, sing about dancing carefree with one another and ultimately paint the picture of a good time. The track’s Afrobeats foundation, with its syncopation, bass, and guitar bring to mind Ayra hopping on 2 Sugar with the heavyweight back in 2022, showing the same melodic meshing of their voices. Fitting, as Tyla and Wizkid began working on Dynamite the same year. On Mr. Media, she leans more towards pop to stamp her South African nationality on the EP, reaching into the same bag from which she pulled Shake Ah to deliver an anthem reminding listeners to live their lives, be themselves, and not worry about what others say or feel. Although the EP’s cover features the same summer visuals that Ayra’s single does — denim shorts, white tank — Tyla’s is notably more relaxed. She has her hair down, her colorful South African flag-inspired belt wrapped around her waist, and a scattering of glittery sand across her thighs. While Ayra’s cover calls for a sexy, sultry summer, this cover shows that Tyla is ready to let loose.
With Ayra’s Hot Body dance challenge and Tyla’s Is It challenge taking over Tiktok, the social buzz for both projects is in full effect. Last month, 818, Beauty Hut and Mavins Records came together to celebrate World Tequila Day, coupled with an exclusive first listen of Hot Body. Meanwhile, Tyla has announced an Asia tour, urging fans to come and party with her.
While both songs breathe life into the summer, they also complement rather than compete; sensuality ties in to escapism, and these two young African stars are rewriting the sound of the season, and pop music globally. So, whether you’re whining your waist in Lagos or brunching in Jozi, Ayra and Tyla have made it clear: this summer belongs to the girls.
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