Tkay Maidza is back with new music.
The Zimbabwe-born, Australia-raised artist has released “Must Be”, via Dew Process/Universal Music Australia – her first solo release since her lauded 2023 album Sweet Justice.
With icy, staccato production courtesy of Maths Time Joy (Mahalia) and The Idiot, “Must Be” detonates on impact: four gunshots crack before the track snaps into something violently cartoonish, like Tank Girl tearing through a Björk-shaped landscape.
It arrives after a period of recalibration, after Sweet Justice secured the 2024 ARIA Award for Best R&B Soul Release, followed by standout turns on Adekunle Gold’s “Attack” and her Spotify Singles rework of “Electric Feel”. Tkay Maidza is at her most confrontational and self-possessed, bending instinct into precision.
Now based in Los Angeles, she shifts gears with intention, choosing herself over the noise as a form of retribution. “People shouldn’t count me out or underestimate my abilities. They should be afraid when I’m quiet, as I come back more evolved,” she said.
That pursuit balances chaos and clarity, intuition and design. What emerges is beyond reinvention. It’s alignment: a world pulled into focus, edges sharpened until nothing feels accidental.
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The DNA of her influences remains, refracted through something sharper and more personal. It’s this convergence that has defined her rise – from becoming the first female rapper signed to 4AD to touring with both Billie Eilish and Dua Lipa, to her collaborations with Kaytranada, JPEGMAFIA, and Charli XCX, all of which align with her 300 million streams and counting.
Tkay Maidza’s “Must Be” is out now.
