Notion 90: Tkay Maidza

The video for Tkay Maidza’s “Cashmere” opens with an idyllic field of flowers and a pink fluorescent sky, paired with celestial, choral-like vocals as though we’ve just pulled up to the pearly gates. Mirroring the serene setting before her, Tkay moves from the passenger side of her banana yellow pickup truck into the driver’s seat before gliding up and away into the clouds. As one of the lead singles on this summer’s Last Year Was Weird, Vol. 3 EP — the last instalment to the trilogy that’s seen her take off as one of Australia’s most exciting new artists — the imagery is symbolic: this is an artist who is not only taking the world by storm, but lifting us up into her own.

Having originally aspired to be an architect, Tkay’s artistic vision is highly visual and all-encompassing; she’s building her own distinctive universe and each of her projects has taken us on a trippy tour of a new corner of her mind. As she puts it: “Architecture is all about creating something that you think should belong in the world, and I wanted to make music that I haven’t heard before. The idea of building a world from scratch and having a snapshot of that moment was really exciting to me.

Merging a wide range of genres — from trap and hip-hop to more laid-back pop and alt-R&B — Tkay’s world is everevolving and experimental, entertaining and surprising with every turn. Mid-way through a US tour, her next stop will be a London show to see out 2021 and the Last Year Was Weird Trilogy, before whirling off to intergalactic heights with whoever can dream big enough to hold on for the ride.