Tkay Maidza

Zimbabwe native Tkay Maidza arrived in Adelaide with her family at age five after leaving her birthplace. She later enrolled in architecture at the University of South Australia yet abandoned those studies to pursue music full time. At seventeen she issued her first single, the Badcop-produced “Brontosaurus,” following an artists’ development program in Adelaide; the track reached number 89 on the ARIA chart and cleared the path for her 2014 debut EP Switch Tape, which yielded two additional Luke McKay-produced singles, “Uh-Huh” and “M.O.B.”

That early momentum prompted Maidza to begin work on a full-length debut. Its lead track, “Carry On” featuring Killer Mike of Run the Jewels, surfaced in 2016, and the album Tkay arrived in January 2017, peaking at number 20 on the Australian album chart while earning ARIA Award nominations for Best Urban Album and Breakthrough Artist. A follow-up EP, Last Year Was Weird, appeared the next year alongside the single “Flexin” with Duckwrth; its companion, Last Year Was Weird, Vol. 2, arrived in August 2020 and contained “You Sad.” Last Year Was Weird, Vol. 3 landed in 2021, spotlighting the singles “Kim” with Yung Baby Tate, a cover of Pixies’ “Where Is My Mind?,” and “Onto Me,” before claiming the ARIA Award for Best Soul/R&B Release. In November 2021 she joined Young Franco and Nerve on “Real Nice (H.C.T.F.),” which became the theme for Australia’s A-League professional soccer competition.

Maidza returned in July 2023 with the Flume-assisted “Silent Assassin,” the opening single from her sophomore album Sweet Justice. Additional production on the project came from Stint, Kaytranada, and Two Fresh, among others.