Takudzwa Victoria Rosa "Tkay" Maidza (/tiːˈkeɪ ˈmaɪdzə/ tee-KAY MY-dzə;[2] born 17 December 1995) is a Zimbabwean-born Australian singer-songwriter and rapper.
Tkay Maidza | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Takudzwa Victoria Rosa Maidza[1] |
Born | (1995-12-17) 17 December 1995 (age 26) Harare, Zimbabwe |
Origin | Adelaide, South Australia, Australia |
Genres | Hip hop, synthpop, dance-pop, electronic |
Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, rapper |
Instrument(s) | Vocals |
Years active | 2013–present |
Labels | 4AD, Dew Process, Kitsuné, Downtown Records, Universal Music Australia, Interscope Records |
Website | http://www.tkaymaidza.com/ |
Maidza was born in Harare, Zimbabwe. Her parents are metallurgists.[2] In 2001, her family moved to Australia when she was five years old. They lived in Perth and Kalgoorlie in Western Australia and in Whyalla in South Australia before relocating to Adelaide in 2010.[3] She graduated from St Michael's College at age 16 and studied architecture at the University of South Australia before becoming a full-time musician.[4]
Maidza took part in Adelaide's Northern Sound System artist development program and released her debut single, "Brontosaurus", at age 17 with producer BadCop. She has since released an EP, Switch Tape, featuring collaborations with Night Slugs' Bok Bok and producer SBTRKT.[5] In January 2016, Maidza reached #66 in the Triple J Hottest 100 with her 2015 single "MOB". MOB was Maidza's first song to be played on Australian commercial radio.
Maidza has played Splendour in the Grass and the CMJ Music Marathon in 2014 and replaced Lykke Li at the 2015 St Jerome's Laneway Festival.[6] 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".[7] 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.
Maidza was featured in the Australian Vogue magazine in July 2015 and the French magazine Konbini. After featuring on Troye Sivan's debut album Blue Neighbourhood, Maidza supported Sivan in London, Paris and Berlin as well as a guest appearance in Los Angeles. Earlier, Maidza had supported Charli XCX on her Australian tour, as well as British band Years & Years in the UK.
In November 2015 Maidza featured in an episode of Le Petit Journal in her debut French TV appearance. A scheduled appearance at the French festival La Maroquinerie in November 2015 was cancelled. She later appeared on American radio as part of the second episode of Skrillex's OWSLA Radio on 13 February 2016.
On 30 August, Maidza premiered her single "Carry On", featuring guest vocals from US rapper Killer Mike. The track is the first single from her debut album, simply titled Tkay, which was released on 28 October 2016.
In May 2020, Maidza announced she had signed with acclaimed British independent label 4AD[8] and released her new single 'Shook' with praise from NME[9] and Rolling Stone.[10]
In February 2021, Maidza released her new track "Kim", six months on from the release of her Last Year Was Weird, Vol.2 EP working with US artist Yung Baby Tate.[11]
Alongside the track’s release, Maidza also shared a new Adrian Yu-directed music video, which sees her embodying the imagery of three iconic Kims: Kim Possible, Lil' Kim, and Kim Kardashian.[12]
In May 2021, Maidza announced that the third mixtape in her Last Year Was Weird series would be released on July 9 that year.[13]
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.[14]
Maidza has said she admires the work of Nicki Minaj, Santigold, Major Lazer and Lorde.[15]
Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
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AUS [16] | ||
Tkay |
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20 |
Title | Details |
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Switch Tape |
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Last Year Was Weird Vol. 1 |
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Last Year Was Weird, Vol. 2 |
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Last Year Was Weird, Vol. 3 |
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Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AUS [20] |
AUS Urban [21] | ||||||||||
"Brontosaurus"[22] | 2013 | 89 | 12 | Non-album single | |||||||
"U-Huh"[23] | 2014 | — | — |
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Switch Tape | ||||||
"Switch Lanes"[25] | — | — | |||||||||
"M.O.B."[26] | 2015 | 52 | 6 |
|
Switch Tape (Re-issue) | ||||||
"Ghost" | 96 | 13 | |||||||||
"Carry On" (featuring Killer Mike) |
2016 | 89 | — | Tkay | |||||||
"Simulation" | — | — | |||||||||
"Glorious" | 2017 | — | — | Non-album singles | |||||||
"Bom Bom" (with Danny L Harle)[28] |
— | — | |||||||||
"Flexin'" (featuring Duckwrth) |
2018 | — | — | Last Year Was Weird Vol. 1 | |||||||
"White Rose" | — | — | |||||||||
"Awake" (featuring JPEGMafia) |
2019 | — | — | Last Year Was Weird, Vol. 2 | |||||||
"IDC If U Be Ded" | — | — | Non-album single | ||||||||
"Shook"[29] | 2020 | — | — | Last Year Was Weird, Vol. 2 | |||||||
"Don't Call Again" (featuring Kari Faux)[30] |
— | — | |||||||||
"You Sad"[31] | — | — | |||||||||
"24k" | — | — | |||||||||
"Kim" (with Yung Baby Tate)[32] |
2021 | — | — | Last Year Was Weird, Vol. 3 | |||||||
"Where Is My Mind?"[33] | — | — | Bills & Aches & Blues (40 Years of 4AD) | ||||||||
"Syrup"[34] | — | — | Last Year Was Weird, Vol. 3 | ||||||||
"Cashmere"[35] | — | — | |||||||||
"Real Nice (H.C.T.F.)" (with Young Franco featuring Nerve)[14] |
— | — | |||||||||
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. |
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AUS [36] |
AUT [37] |
BEL (Fl) [38] |
FRA [39] |
GER [40] |
UK [41] | ||||
"They Say"[42] (Kilter featuring Tkay Maidza) |
2014 | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | |
"Imprint"[43] (MUST DIE! featuring Tkay Maidza) |
2015 | — | — | — | — | — | — | Death & Magic | |
"Down Like This"[44] (Motez featuring Tkay Maidza) |
2016 | — | — | — | — | — | — | The Vibe | |
"Do It Right" (Martin Solveig featuring Tkay Maidza) |
56 | 72 | 31 | 38 | 41 | 97 | Non-album singles | ||
"Mistakes"[47] (Basenji featuring Tkay Maidza) |
2017 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
"REAL TRUTH"[47] (J-E-T-S (Machinedrum & Jimmy Edgar) featuring Tkay Maidza) |
2019 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ZOOSPA | |
"Hazy" (Kyle Dion featuring Tkay Maidza)[48] |
2022 | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | |
"Bang My Line" (Cosmo's Midnight featuring Tkay Maidza)[49] |
2022 | — | — | — | — | — | — | TBA |
Title | Year | Album | Artist |
---|---|---|---|
"DKLA"[50] | 2015 | Blue Neighbourhood | Troye Sivan |
"Lying Too"[51] | 2016 | America Lamb Oil | HOLYCHILD |
"Glide"[52] | 2018 | Breathing Room | Hoodboi |
"Lonely Days" | 2022 | Cry Sugar | Hudson Mohawke |
Title | Year | Director(s) |
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"Brontosaurus" | 2013 | |
"U-Huh" | 2014 | Josh Logue[53] |
"Switch Lanes" | Sachio Cook[54] | |
"M.O.B." | 2015 | |
"Imprint" (MUST DIE! featuring Tkay Maidza) |
Brendan Vaughan[55] | |
"Carry On" (featuring Killer Mike) |
2016 | |
"Simulation" | ||
"Flexin'" (featuring Duckwrth) |
2018 | Keenan MacWilliam |
"White Rose" | ||
"Awake" (featuring JPEGMafia) |
2019 | |
"REAL TRUTH" (J-E-T-S featuring Tkay Maidza) |
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"Shook" | 2020 | Jenna Marsh |
"Don't Call Again" (featuring Kari Faux) |
Tkay Maidza and Jordan Kirk | |
"You Sad" | Jocelyn Anquetil |
The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music.
Year | Nominated work | Category | Result | Ref. |
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2017 | TKAY | Breakthrough Artist | Nominated | [56] |
Best Urban Album | Nominated | |||
2019 | "Awake" | Best Hip Hop Release | Nominated | [57][58] |
2020 | Last Year Was Weird, Vol.2 | Best Soul/R&B Release | Nominated | [59] |
2021 | Last Year Was Weird, Vol.3 | Won | [60][61] | |
Nicholas Muecke for Tkay Maidza's "24k" | Best Video | Nominated |
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.
Year | Nominated work | Category | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2020 | "Don't Call Again" (featuring Kari Faux) | Australian Video of the Year | Nominated | [62][63] |
The MTV Europe Music Awards is an award presented by Viacom International Media Networks to honour artists and music in pop culture.
Year | Nominated work | Category | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2016 | Herself | Best Australian Act | Nominated | [64] |
2018 | Won | [65] |
The National Live Music Awards are a broad recognition of Australia's diverse live industry, celebrating the success of the Australian live scene.
Year | Nominated work | Category | Result | Ref. |
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2016 | Herself | Live Hip Hop Act of the Year | Won | [66] |
International Live Achievement (Solo) | Nominated | |||
2018 | Live Hip Hop Act of the Year | Nominated | [67][68] | |
South Australian Live Voice of the Year | Won |
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.[69]
Year | Nominated work | Category | Result | Ref. |
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2015 | Tkay Maidza | Best New Artist | Won | [70] |
2021 | Last Year Was Weird, Vol. 2 | Best Record | Won | [71] |
"Shook" | Best Single | Nominated |
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.[72]
Year | Nominated work | Category | Result | Ref. |
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2014 | Tkay Maidza | Best Electronica Artist | Won | |
2015 | Tkay Maidza | Best Release | Won | |
Best Female | Won | |||
Best Song | Won | |||
"Switch Lanes" (directed by Sachio Cook) | Best Video | Won | ||
2016 | Tkay Maidza | Best Song | Won | |
"Do It Right" (with Martin Solveig) | Best International Collaboration | Won | ||
2017 | Tkay Maidza | Best Female Artist | Won | |
2018 | Tkay Maidza | Most Popular Hip Hop Award | Won |
Year | Award | Work | Category | Result | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2016 | BET Awards | Herself | Best New International Act | Nominated | [73] |
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MTV Europe Music Award for Best Australian Act | |
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