Takudzwa Victoria Rosa "Tkay" Maidza ( ; born 17 December 1995) is a

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...

an-born Australian singer-songwriter and rapper.

Biography

Maidza was born in

Harare Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...

, Zimbabwe. Her parents are

metallurgists Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the sc ...

. In 2001, her family moved to Australia when she was five years old. They lived in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

and Kalgoorlie in Western Australia and in

Whyalla Whyalla was founded as "Hummocks Hill", and was known by that name until 1916. It is the fourth most populous city in the Australian state of South Australia after Adelaide, Mount Gambier and Gawler and along with Port Pirie and Port Augusta i ...

in South Australia before relocating to

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

in 2010. She graduated from St Michael's College at age 16 and studied architecture at the

University of South Australia The University of South Australia (UniSA) is a public research university in the Australian state of South Australia. It is a founding member of the Australian Technology Network of universities, and is the largest university in South Australi ...

before becoming a full-time musician. Maidza took part in Adelaide's

Northern Sound System Northern Sound System (NSS) is a dedicated youth centre focused on music, broadcasting, and other creative industries, located in Elizabeth, a northern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. Background The Northern Sound System was established i ...

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 Night Slugs is an English electronic music record label, established in 2010 by Alex Sushon (also known as Bok Bok) and James Connolly (also known as L-Vis 1990). History Night Slugs was originally started as a London-based club night by DJs/ ...

' Bok Bok and producer SBTRKT. In January 2016, Maidza reached #66 in the

Triple J Hottest 100 The Triple J Hottest 100 is an annual music listener poll hosted by the publicly-funded, national Australian youth radio station, Triple J. Members of the public are invited to vote for their favourite Australian and alternative music of the y ...

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 Splendour in the Grass (commonly referred to as Splendour) is an annual Australian music festival held at the North Byron Parklands in Yelgun, New South Wales. Since its inauguration, the festival has also been held in various locations near ...

and the

CMJ Music Marathon CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events and online media company, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music Monthly'' and ''CMJ New Music Report''. Th ...

in 2014 and replaced

Lykke Li Li Lykke Timotej Zachrisson (born 18 March 1986), known as Lykke Li (), is a Swedish singer. Her music often blends elements of indie pop, dream pop and Electronic music, electronic. Her debut studio album, ''Youth Novels'', was released in 2008 ...

at the 2015 St Jerome's Laneway Festival. She performed at the

Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greater emphasis on broad ...

"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 Hilltop Hoods is an Australian hip hop group that formed in 1996 in Blackwood, Adelaide, South Australia. They are regarded as pioneers of the " larrikin-like" style of Australian hip hop. The group was founded by Suffa (Matthew David Lambert ...

' "

Cosby Sweater "Cosby Sweater" is a song by Australian hip hop group, Hilltop Hoods. It was released as the third single from the group's seventh studio album, ''Walking Under Stars'' (2014). In Australia, "Cosby Sweater" peaked at No. 4 on the Australian ...

". Maidza played most of the Australian major festivals in 2015 including Groovin the Moo,

Falls Festival Falls Music & Arts Festival (commonly known as Falls) is a multi-day music festival held annually in Lorne ( Victoria), Marion Bay (Tasmania), Byron Bay (New South Wales) and Fremantle (Western Australia), Australia over the New Year's Eve an ...

, Meredith Festival and a cameo at Stereosonic with WhatSoNot. Maidza was featured in the Australian ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'' magazine in July 2015 and the French magazine ''Konbini''. After featuring on

Troye Sivan Troye Sivan Mellet ( ; born 5 June 1995) is an Australian singer-songwriter, actor and YouTuber. After gaining popularity as a singer on YouTube and in Australian talent competitions, Sivan signed with EMI Australia in 2013 and released his thi ...

's debut album ''

Blue Neighbourhood ''Blue Neighbourhood'' is the debut studio album by Australian singer and songwriter Troye Sivan. It was released internationally on 4 December 2015 via EMI Music Australia and Capitol Records America. The album is preceded by Sivan's fourth ext ...

'', Maidza supported Sivan in London, Paris and Berlin as well as a guest appearance in Los Angeles. Earlier, Maidza had supported

Charli XCX Charlotte Emma Aitchison (born 2 August 1992), known professionally as Charli XCX, is an English singer and songwriter. Born in Cambridge and raised in Start Hill, Essex, she began posting songs on Myspace in 2008, which led to her discovery ...

on her Australian tour, as well as British band

Years & Years Years & Years is the solo project of British singer Olly Alexander. Originally formed as a band in 2010, Years & Years' music has been described as electropop, mixing R&B and 1990s house elements. The band's debut studio album, '' Communion'', ...

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 Sonny John Moore (born January 15, 1988), known professionally as Skrillex, is an American DJ and music producer. Growing up in Northeast Los Angeles and Northern California, he joined the post-hardcore band From First to Last as the lead si ...

's OWSLA Radio on 13 February 2016. On 30 August, Maidza premiered her single "Carry On", featuring guest vocals from US rapper

Killer Mike Michael Santiago Render (born April 20, 1975), better known by his stage name Killer Mike, is an American rapper, actor, and activist. Mike made his debut on Outkast's 2000 LP '' Stankonia'', and later appeared on their Grammy-winning single "T ...

. 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 and released her new single 'Shook' with praise from ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' and ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

''. 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 Tate Sequoya Farris (born May 13, 1996), known professionally as Baby Tate (formerly known as Yung Baby Tate), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. The daughter of singer Dionne Farris, she released her debut project, ...

. 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 Kimberly Noel Kardashian (formerly West; born October 21, 1980) is an American socialite, media personality, and businesswoman. She first gained media attention as a friend and stylist of Paris Hilton, but received wider notice after the s ...

. In May 2021, Maidza announced that the third mixtape in her ''Last Year Was Weird'' series would be released on July 9 that year. On 19 November 2021, Maidza released "Real Nice (H.C.T.F.)" with

Young Franco Joseph Da Rin de Barbera (born 1994), who performs as Young Franco, is an Australian DJ and record producer from Brisbane, Queensland. He is based in Sydney, New South Wales. Career Barbera has performed at many Australian festivals includin ...

featuring Nerve, which served as the theme song for the A-League, the Australian and New Zealand professional soccer league.

Artistry

Maidza has said she admires the work of

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated Flow (rapping), flow in her rapping, alter e ...

Santigold Santi White (born September 25, 1976), known professionally as Santigold (formerly Santogold), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. '' Billboard'' presented her in 2022, saying: "Spanning punk rock, hip-hop, and dance music, S ...

Major Lazer Major Lazer is an American electronic dance music DJ trio, which includes record producer Diplo, and DJs Walshy Fire and Ape Drums. It originates from Kingston, Jamaica, and was founded in 2008 by Diplo and Switch, with Switch leaving after ...

and Lorde.

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Other appearances

Music videos

Awards and nominations

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. {, class="wikitable" style="width:85%;" , - ! width=5%, Year ! style="width:40%;", Nominated work ! style="width:40%;", Category ! style="width:10%;", Result !width=5%, , - , rowspan="2" , 2017 , rowspan="2" , ''TKAY'' , Breakthrough Artist , , rowspan="2" align="center", , - , Best Urban Album , , - , 2019 , "Awake" , Best Hip Hop Release , , align="center", , - , 2020 , ''Last Year Was Weird, Vol.2'' , rowspan="2", Best Soul/R&B Release , , align="center", , - , rowspan="2" , 2021 , ''Last Year Was Weird, Vol.3'' , , rowspan="2" align="center", , - , Nicholas Muecke for Tkay Maidza's "24k" , Best Video , , -

J Awards

The

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 and which are judged by the music and on-air teams from radio stations Triple J, ...

are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

's youth-focused radio station

. They commenced in 2005. {, class="wikitable" style="width:85%;" , - ! width=5%, Year ! style="width:40%;", Nominated work ! style="width:40%;", Category ! style="width:10%;", Result !width=5%, , - , 2020 , "Don't Call Again" , Australian Video of the Year , , align="center", , -

MTV Europe Music Awards

The

MTV Europe Music Awards The MTV Europe Music Awards (originally named MTV European Music Awards, commonly abbreviated as MTV EMA) are awards presented by Paramount International Networks to honour artists and music in pop culture. It was originally conceived as an a ...

is an award presented by

Viacom International Media Networks Paramount International Networks (PIN) is the international division of Paramount Global. The division oversees the production, broadcasting and promotion of key Paramount's brands outside of the United States. These brands include Paramount Net ...

to honour artists and music in pop culture. {, class="wikitable" style="width:85%;" , - ! width=5%, Year ! style="width:40%;", Nominated work ! style="width:40%;", Category ! style="width:10%;", Result !width=5%, , - , 2016 , rowspan="2", Herself , rowspan="2", Best Australian Act , , align="center", , - , 2018 , , align="center", , -

National Live Music Awards

The

National Live Music Awards The National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) are a broad recognition of Australia's diverse and successful live industry, celebrating the diversity and success of the Australian live scene – recognising the best vocal talents and musicians alongside ...

are a broad recognition of Australia's diverse live industry, celebrating the success of the Australian live scene. {, class="wikitable" style="width:85%;" , - ! width=5%, Year ! style="width:40%;", Nominated work ! style="width:40%;", Category ! style="width:10%;", Result !width=5%, , - , rowspan="2" , 2016 , rowspan="4" , Herself , Live Hip Hop Act of the Year , , rowspan="2" align="center", , - , International Live Achievement (Solo) , , - , rowspan="2" , 2018 , Live Hip Hop Act of the Year , , rowspan="2" align="center", , - , South Australian Live Voice of the Year ,

Rolling Stone Australia Awards

The

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. The awards initially commenced in 201 ...

are awarded annually in January or February by the Australian edition of ''

'' magazine for outstanding contributions to popular culture in the previous year. {, class="wikitable" style="width:85%;" , - ! width=5%, Year ! style="width:40%;", Nominated work ! style="width:40%;", Category ! style="width:10%;", Result !width=5%, , - , 2015 , Tkay Maidza , Best New Artist , , , - , rowspan="2" , 2021 , ''Last Year Was Weird, Vol. 2'' , Best Record , , rowspan="2" , , - , "Shook" , Best Single ,

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. {, class="wikitable" style="width:85%;" , - ! width=5%, Year ! style="width:40%;", Nominated work ! style="width:40%;", Category ! style="width:10%;", Result !width=5%, , - , 2014 , Tkay Maidza , Best Electronica Artist , , rowspan="9" align="center", , - , rowspan="4" , 2015 , rowspan="3" , Tkay Maidza , Best Release , , - , Best Female , , - , Best Song , , - , "Switch Lanes" (directed by Sachio Cook) , Best Video , , - , rowspan="2" , 2016 , Tkay Maidza , Best Song , , - , " Do It Right" (with

Martin Solveig Martin Laurent Picandet (; born 22 September 1976), better known by his stage name Martin Solveig (), is a French DJ, singer, songwriter and record producer. He hosts a weekly radio show called ''C'est La Vie'' on radio stations worldwide, incl ...

) , Best International Collaboration , , - , 2017 , Tkay Maidza , Best Female Artist , , - , 2018 , Tkay Maidza , Most Popular Hip Hop Award , , -

Other awards

{, class="wikitable" width="85%" , - ! width="5%", Year ! width="20%", Award ! width="20%", Work ! width="25%", Category ! width="10%", Result ! width="5%", Ref , - , align="center", 2016 ,

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. The awards, which are presented annua ...

, Herself , Best New International Act , , align="center",

References

External links

*
Profile
on

Triple J Unearthed Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian Radio in Australia, radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greate ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maidza, Tkay Living people ARIA Award winners Australian women rappers Australian hip hop musicians Australian hip hop singers Musicians from Adelaide Zimbabwean emigrants to Australia Australian people of Zimbabwean descent Australian songwriters Zimbabwean musicians 1995 births Australian women pop singers Dew Process artists Downtown Records artists