She’s dropped a new album, finished a 20-date tour in North America and Canada and played a festival tour – just in the last six months. Zimbabwe-born, Australia-raised musician Tkay Maidza has had a whirlwind rise to success – and it’s just the beginning.
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As a young girl, Takudzwa Victoria Rosa Maidza – better known as Tkay Maidza – reckons she knew every top 10 pop song on the Australian charts for eight years straight in the early 2000s, thanks to MTV. It makes sense, then, that she’d go on to win MTV Europe’s Music Award for Best Australian Act (2018) and an ARIA Music Award for Best Soul/R&B Release (2021).
But if you were to ask her which award had more meaning – it’s the local ARIA. “It’s the pinnacle – to be cemented in Australian history that way,” she says.
The Zimbabwe-born Australian singer-songwriter and rapper is proud of her Australian upbringing, but she moved to LA last year to go all-in on her music career. Maidza dropped her latest album, Sweet Justice, in November last year – it’s her second studio album after Last Year Was Weird, which was released in 2021, and her first from LA. It makes sense to live in North America when you’re touring it.
“The last six months has been a whirlwind,” she says. And that is true: after the album came out, Maidza embarked on a 20-date tour throughout North America and Canada and played at Pitchfork Festival throughout Europe, the UK and the US.
Another highlight? “I’ve had a few songs feature on EA’s UFC and Madden video games, which is iconic to me.”
Maidza’s been steadily rising between launching her first and second albums. But what marked “the beginning of the storm” for her was opening for singer Billie Eilish in 2022.
“We were offered that spot two days before,” she says. “I had to pack and go quickly – every show was a dream, and it was one of the first times I’d played my new music and truly felt accepted. It was magic.”
Then there was her headline tour at the Sydney Opera House that same year and her supporting spot for Dua Lipa’s Australia and New Zealand tour dates. But she says a real I’ve-made-it moment was hosting her album release party at Soho House in LA.
But Maidza credits supportive parents and best friends for helping her on her journey. And, of course, an eclectic music taste. She recalls her parents playing Lauryn Hill, Outkast, Celine Dion and Rodd Stewart as a kid – but the pop charts also influenced her. She got into underground rap as a teen, like pre-album Nicki Minaj and Soulja Boy or Kendrick Lamar. Eventually, she tried her hand at songwriting to existing instrumentals.
“In high school, I remember doing my Research Project, and my final presentation was on ‘How to have longevity in a music career’. I ended up studying architecture – I didn’t know it was possible to be a global musician. But I’m a firm believer in going all-in to what you love. Nothing else fuelled my excitement like the prospect of a music career.”
Up ahead, Maidza looks forward to more music, more albums and new deals. But she’s also interested in diversifying.
“I want to venture into fashion design – I love doing new things and having new prospects, so I’m looking at other multimedia projects to be a part of.”
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