Tkay Maidza

Biography

Takudzwa Victoria Rosa "Tkay" Maidza ( tee-KAY MY-dzə; (born 17 December 1995) is a Zimbabwean-born Australian singer-songwriter and hip hop artist from Adelaide, South Australia. She has been nominated for and won many awards, and released two albums: Tkay (2016) and Sweet Justice (2023). She collaborated with Flume on her 2023 single "Silent Assassin".

Early life and education

Takudzwa Victoria Rosa Maidza was born in Harare, Zimbabwe. Her mother is an industrial chemist and her father a metallurgist. Her father played in bands, mostly traditional Zimbabwean or African folk music, and the family used to go along and watch.
In 2001, her family moved to Australia when she was five years old. They lived in Perth and Kalgoorlie in Western Australia and then in Whyalla in South Australia, before relocating to Adelaide in 2010.
Maidza graduated from St Michael's College, Henley Beach, in 2012, and started studying architecture at the University of South Australia before becoming a full-time musician. She took part in Adelaide's Northern Sound System artist development program.
She also turned her back on a promising career as a professional tennis player, having spent eight years training for it.

2013–2017: Switch Tape and Tkay

In January 2013, Maidza uploaded "Handle My Ego" featuring Badcop onto triple J unearthed. In December 2013, Maidza released her debut single, "Brontosaurus" with producer BadCop. The song peaked at number 89 on the ARIA Charts. This was followed by "U-Huh", produced by Adelaide born, now Sydney based Dew Process producer, LK McKay, in July 2014, which was certified platinum in 2022.
In October 2014, Maidza released her debut EP and mixtape, Switch Tape, featuring collaborations with Night Slugs' Bok Bok and producer SBTRKT.
Maidza has played Splendour in the Grass and the CMJ Music Marathon in 2014 and at the 2015 St Jerome's Laneway Festival. She performed at the Triple J "Beat the Drum" concert in 2015 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the radio station, both as a solo artist and with many other Australian guest rappers on an extended version of Hilltop Hoods' "Cosby Sweater". Maidza played most of the Australian major festivals in 2015, including Groovin' the Moo, Falls Festival, Meredith Festival, and a cameo at Stereosonic with WhatSoNot.
In May 2016, Martin Solveig released the Maidza featured single, "Do It Right".
On 30 August 2016, Maidza released single "Carry On", featuring guest vocals from US rapper Killer Mike. The track is the first single from her debut album, titled Tkay, which was released on 28 October 2016. Tkay peaked at number 20 on the ARIA charts. The album was nominated for numerous awards at the ARIA Music Awards of 2017.

2018–2022: Last Year Was Weird

In August 2018, Maidza released the first of a trilogy of EPs titled Last Year Was Weird.
In May 2020, Maidza announced she had signed with English independent label 4AD and released single "Shook" with praise from NME and Rolling Stone. In August 2020, Last Year Was Weird (Vol. 2) was released. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2020, the EP was nominated for Best Soul/R&B Release.
In February 2021, Maidza released her new track "Kim" with US artist Yung Baby Tate, in which she takes on the identities of various pop culture icons with the name, including rapper Lil' Kim and celebrity Kim Kardashian.
The third and final EP in her Last Year Was Weird series was released in July 2021. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2021, Last Year Was Weird (Vol. 3) won Best Soul/R&B Release.
On 19 November 2021, Maidza released "Real Nice (H.C.T.F.)" with Young Franco featuring Nerve, which served as the theme song for the A-League, the Australian and New Zealand professional soccer league.

2023: Sweet Justice

In March 2023, Maidza's cover of Pixies' "Where Is My Mind?" was used in an AirPods commercial by Apple.
In July 2023, Maidza released "Silent Assassin" with Flume. This was followed by "Ring-a-Ling" and the announcement of her second studio album, Sweet Justice, which was subsequently released on 3 November 2023.

Influences and style

Maidza said in 2016 that she admired the work of Kendrick Lamar, Santigold, Lauryn Hill, and Childish Gambino.
In 2021, she described her style as "left of anything. It's alternative hip-hop. Alternative pop. Alternative R&B".

Personal life

In 2021, Maidza was living in Los Angeles.

APRA Awards

The APRA Awards are held in Australia and New Zealand by the Australasian Performing Right Association to recognise songwriting skills, sales and airplay performance by its members annually.

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music.

Berlin Music Video Awards

The Berlin Music Video Awards is an annual international festival that celebrate the art of music videos.

BET Awards

The BET Awards is an American award show that was established in 2001 by the Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate black entertainers and other minorities in music, film, sports and philanthropy.

J Awards

The J Awards are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J. They commenced in 2005.

MTV Europe Music Awards

The MTV Europe Music Awards is an award presented by Viacom International Media Networks to honour artists and music in pop culture.

National Live Music Awards

The National Live Music Awards are a broad recognition of Australia's diverse live industry, celebrating the success of the Australian live scene.

Rolling Stone Australia Awards

The Rolling Stone Australia Awards are awarded annually in January or February by the Australian edition of Rolling Stone magazine for outstanding contributions to popular culture in the previous year.

South Australian Music Awards

The South Australian Music Awards (previously known as the Fowler's Live Music Awards) are annual awards that exist to recognise, promote and celebrate excellence in the South Australian contemporary music industry. They commenced in 2012.