Tkay Maidza’s Spiritual Journey to ‘Sweet Justice’
On the tarot card for “Justice” sits the Roman goddess Lady Justice, holding a scale in one hand and an elongated sword in the other. It is a symbolic multiplicity of fairness, intelligence, and composure combined with the rawness of emotional violence. Within such a pictorial representation of an embodied power, Lady Justice declares herself as, not only righteous, but a complicated humanist figure. It is also where Tkay Maidza, the eccentric and boundary-pushing artist centers her sophomore record, Sweet Justice.
Over the last three years, Maidza has committed herself to learning about tarot and spirituality, now becoming a daily practice. “Before, [my interest in tarot] came from a place of boredom where I would call a psychic and say, ‘Tell me about my future.’ After a while, you learn why they say what they do; that was more interesting to me.” Under spiritual guidance, Maidza seems keen on allowing nature to run its course and using her energy to navigate the vast range of human experience and emotional finesse.
For the Zimbabwe-born and Australian-raised artist, such a nuanced thesis concurs with the many sonic boundaries she explores on Sweet Justice. From the album’s third single, “Woke Up and Chose Violence” produced by frequent collaborator Dan Farber, Maidza most fiercely wields her sword of justice. Atop a lethal bass, she passionately bites into stinging yet comical lyrics, like, “Mess ’em up like Basquiat.” Just a track later on “Out of Luck” with Lolo Zouaï and Amber Mark, Maidza displays a new emotional outlook, opting to protect her peace as she professes, “You’ll be up and calling / And I am not that type / So try another time.”
On the following song, she switches up sounds again, gliding into house grooves on “What Ya Know,” a song beaming with prismatic lights. It is one Maidza particularly emphasizes, along with “Ghost!” and “Our Way” produced by dance and house superproducer Kaytranada. “They were my favorites during the whole process because it was that moment where you say, ‘I’m doing exactly what I planned to do.’…I really wanted to make some euphoric, hot-girl dance music, but you can also sit and chill to it.”
Maidza is no stranger to traversing this musical playground. Her major introduction to the mainstream came with a trilogy of EPs titled Last Year Was Weird (LYWW) released from 2019 to 2021, an eclectic array of tracks that Maidza described as a “testing ground meant to shift my perception of myself and how people see me.” The success of such projects, including hit tracks like “You Sad” and “24K”, cemented Maidza as a chameleonic force in music. Yet, while her catalog remains colorfully painted, it has not been an easy process. Specifically, she highlights that in the many cities she has lived in, she has often felt like an outsider. Thus, it has been music and the internet which has provided solace.
“When I lived in Zimbabwe, and also when I moved to Australia, I was absorbing a lot and listening to the music my parents played [like] Lauryn Hill and Bob Marley. My mom also listened to a lot of Rod Stewart, which is funny because my favorite A$AP Rocky song [is “Everyday”]. That is probably a subconscious thing but I really do like that song. And then in the middle of high school, I was on Limewire and I discovered Soulja Boy who felt like the beginning of viral music. Then [there was] Nicki Minaj and I downloaded all of those mixtapes. I felt like that was my hidden secret.”
On these outskirts, Maidza has formulated her own world of sounds and images, a tri-folded array of early influences, technological explosion, and her internal voice. “It has taught me that it is okay to be different…I learned to go into my own world, and it was less about using outside influences, but rather blocking them out and creating my own thing.” Still, she acknowledges the omnipresence of social media and TikTok’s effect on trending music styles shifting many artists’ creative processes. For her, it is about sticking to her gut.
“One thing I am lucky with is that I am never just straight pop. What introduced me to everyone was that I am left of center and always trying new things. What has kept me going is that whenever I drop a new song, it somehow sounds familiar but also like something you have never heard before…I have a short attention span and I want to hear things I’ve never heard before… It’s an ongoing up-and-down battle of ‘maybe I should make what everyone else is making,’ but I know that it’s not that interesting to me.”
Beyond discovering her place in the music scene, when it came time to create Sweet Justice, she was hit with a new set of challenges, including draining relationships that left her creatively blocked. When she was finally able to find freedom from these toxic relationships, she found the answers in herself. “I needed to be alone to realize that everything I’m looking for is already within me.” From partying to engaging in various readings to tarot cards, Maidza discovered a sort of self-justice and rebirth in doing so. “I was learning a lot about destiny and believing in the universe, almost retraining my mind to shift from a victim mindset to a ‘creating abundance’ mindset.”
During the process, Maidza has found reflection in superhero origin stories, particularly Jean Grey from X-Men, the red-headed mutant with psionic and telekinetic powers. In the video for her snappy third single, “Ring-A-Ling,” a redheaded Maidza appears in a neon-soaked industrial zone as if alluding to Grey’s fiery role in the gritty world of X-Men. Overcoming her struggles and flying into a realm of spiritual and emotional intelligence, it is easy to see Maidza’s creation as a super-heroic feat, fusing the personal, musical, and visual into one.
It would be remiss to say that Sweet Justice is Maidza’s first venture into merging multiple artistic fields, though. In fact, she has been overlapping her various artistic ventures from an early age. “Firstly, I was an art kid. My main focus was being top of class for art,” she pauses before funnily retorting, “I was second, so I never got to be. And then I ended up studying architecture, which was really helpful for planning and creating mood boards and getting ideas.”
With such a solid backing, it is easy to see why Maidza is one of the most visually expressive artists today. With melting metallic pools and sunset-streaked videos, she masterfully crafts worlds that become a point of entry for her listeners, to understand where the music comes from and how to digest it. “I’m happy that I have been able to make as many music videos and do as many photoshoots as I have because the more you do it, the more people know you’re here to stay and you’re consistent in your messaging. It’s not like she got one good photographer one day and then went back to being the Same Old Sally. So it’s been really fun to grow this project along with the music.”
She also toys with the idea of being a creative director for other artists, including Kelela, whom she names as a dream collaborator. “I feel like there are ways to channel her excellence and flip it with bright aesthetics but still have that metallic energy.”
Her excitement for artistic collaboration is apparent on the album, as she expresses her deep admiration for the assembled team of creatives. “It’s a little unbelievable…well, now I believe it because I was able to clear the songs. It’s like if you’re applying for a job, and you don’t have it fully secured yet, but you’re waiting to tell everyone. Honestly, it felt like a dream…It felt very natural and that was the most important thing…[Creating music] is more about the relationships because when everything is fine between you and your collaborators, it doesn’t matter what you make because you have that trust that you both have great taste and eventually you’ll figure it out.” That shared taste is evident on tracks like “Silent Assassin”, the Flume-produced gut-puncher that finds Maidza stealthily navigating the pounding bass.
Beyond musical and visual art, the multidisciplinary skills of Maidza—who was on the path to professional tennis as a young teenager—can be seen in her desire to expand into new enterprises. “I would really love to do a proper clothing line and collaborate with other brands. I also want to go into makeup and host a radio show… That would be sick.” Though extending into a multitude of fields, none feel out of Maidza’s wheelhouse: an artist always pushing herself to explore new terrain and find inventive ways of testing the public.
In the wake of this rebirth, Maidza emphasizes a universal sense of guidance and remaining true to herself. “It’s about following your bliss and what makes you excited.”
‘Sweet Justice’ is out today, November 3rd.
