Tkay Maidza, the first female rapper signed to 4AD, announces the details of her highly anticipated new album ‘Sweet Justice‘. The follow-up to her 2016 debut album will be released on November 3 and includes the recent single “Silent Assassin,” produced by Flume. Now Tkay shares a powerful new track called ‘Ring-A-Ling‘ along with the official music video, directed by Jocelyn Anquetil.
“I’m never choosing compliance,” says a determined Maidza in ‘Ring-A-Ling’; a warning from the Zimbabwean-born, Australian-raised, Los Angeles-based rapper, singer and producer and a mantra for Sweet Justice. Produced by Two Fresh, Tkay says of ‘Ring-A-Ling’: “I wanted to make an empowering song that tells others that my biggest focus are my goals.”
Sweet Justice will be released digitally on November 3, as well as on CD, standard black vinyl, and orange/yellow splatter vinyl. Pre-orders will receive an exclusive 7″ vinyl of her cover of the classic ‘Where Is My Mind?‘ of the 1988 Pixies (available while supplies last).
The result of a dark night of the soul – and subsequent revelation – that led to a series of professional and personal reckonings, Sweet Justice is not a revenge album, but it stems from a deep sense of karma. In a traditional sense it is a breakup album: about Tkay moving away from her insecurity and distorted self-image; the venomous figures that populated the last chapter of her life; and the idea that she should stick to one particular direction.
After cutting ties with old friends, she found new friends on the same creative wavelength: Canadian producers Stint and Kaytranada, and fellow Australian Flume, who all contribute to the production. Sweet Justice is an album that embodies the beautiful contradictions of Tkay’s art: The album embodies the growth process of someone who masters the game, a celebration of karmic justice and responsibility, that is both light and airy and extremely enjoyable. For Tkay, it is an album of rebirth, a tribute to unleashing the inner feminine power that has always been within her.
Tkay Maidza says: “Sweet Justice was a way for me to channel my emotions from what I’ve experienced in the last two years. It’s a diary of things and thoughts I’ve kept to myself. Making the record was a healing experience and I’m grateful to have worked with producers who have inspired me throughout my career.”
Sweet Justice follows the 3-year, 24-track, genre-bending Last Year Was Weird trilogy, in which Maidza explores her own African-Australian experience. The project earned her an ARIA Award for Best Soul/R&B Release in 2021 and an NME Award for Best Solo Act From Australia in 2022. Following tours with Billie Eilish and Dua Lipa, Tkay is currently in the Southern Hemisphere for arena shows with Lizzo , with her own headline shows to be announced shortly.
Tkay Maidza
Sweet Justice
03/11/2023
4AD / Beggars
Tracklist ‘Sweet Justice’
1. Love and Other Drugs
2. WUACV
3. Out of Luck (ft. Lolo Zouaï & Amber Mark)
4. What Ya Know
5. Won One
6. Love Again
7. WASP
8. Ghost!
9. Ring-a-Ling
10. Free Throws
11. Silent Assassin
12. Our Way
13. Gone to the West (ft. Duckwrth)
14. Walking On Air
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