31 - HipHop

It can be difficult to bounce back from errors, especially when people can't recognise why something works or doesn't, to begin with. But, that leniency is to be expected from Tkay Maidza by now. Forever shapeshifting, she, along with an exclusive breed of alt-pop star, are changing the face of pop. Her debut LP 'TKAY' tried to do it all single-handedly, but couldn't find the clarity to prove the hybrid could work. It wasn't until she leapfrogged the competition in the midst of a renaissance of all things weird and wonderful on her 'Last Year Was Weird' series that she cemented herself as one of the most ingenious creatives of her time. And on its third, and final installment, she arrives fully-formed. The only thing that can even keep up with her turbulent talents on 'Vol. 3' is time itself, and per usual she does everything she can to tip-toe around that.

There's no overarching narrative to 'Last Year Was Weird, Vol. 3', but that's the beauty of it. Every single second is connected only by a common goal to recreate the pandemonium, sullen vulnerability, and then anarchy, again, of a title that couldn't be more accurate in this time of crisis. The polished exterior of 'Eden' and 'Onto Me', with UMI, give Maidza breathing room to rehearse her encyclopedic repertoire with ease. She skates between soothing melodies to shades of Missy Elliot's peppery pastel pronunciation, and even exhaustion delivered with a despair-ridden attitude, with assertion. The perfectionist segues between jagged fragments of song and styles as they collide using her self-sure confidence as a glue, even pausing to cooly levitate atop the crop of '80s dance-pop on 'So Cold', a probable post-COVID party anthem, that has re-entered the spotlight.

Unpredictable as 'Vol. 3' may be, it prioritises effectiveness over the sheer vastness of its content. In the past, Maidza has run herself ragged, allowing both good and bad experiments to slip through the cracks. As a result, 'Vol. 3' minimises the chances of spiraling. Even then, 'High Beams', the biggest surprise across all three installments, manages to simulate sitting through a cult initiation and space travel in a two and half minute window. Those looking for the warm embrace of the most sombre moments from 'Vol. 1', have plenty here, too. Maidza, more mature than ever, isn't afraid to expose the chinks in her armour on 'Cashmere' as she pokes at the open wound left from a sour break-up. 'Breathe' doesn't hit you in the face like it's competition either, but it doesn't try to. It strips the genre down to its barebones, an aching voice, elasticated synths, and a longing for something more concrete, before she bows out on "Can we just stay here?" in a quiet retaliation to everything she's fought to attain this platform.

Even the shakiest moments on 'Vol. 3' have something to offer. Granted, it can feel like the focus here has shifted from the ever salient Maidza to the absurdity of the production. In particular, 'Syrup' struggles to cope with the change of pace. Maidza is easily forgotten as the weight of the shingled vibrations of a druggy synth and gnarly drums crumble on top of her withdrawn syrupy tone. It magnifies her chameleonic character, but at what cost? Conversely, Maidza and Yung Baby Tate, harnessing the force of a stampeding herd of bull, are as ferocious, if not more unhinged, than the sinister bass that underscores 'Kim'. The pair are so blind with rage, in fact, that they rarely take note of how unbearable the looped hook can be. That stubbornness can be grating, but it's never persistent enough to ruin a dozen good things the weak links have going for them.

'Vol. 3', unlike its predecessor, slows down to admire a landscape Maidza has helped build from the ground up. That EP was like a whirlwind of audio that passed before you had time to even process what had hit you. The final chapter, shackled by the same time limit, feels more accessible, yet never lets you calculate its next movement. Maidza's many faces can now, finally, be understood, as she spearheads a vanguard into superstardom. 'Vol. 3' is a blueprint that, although near-inimitable, can work, if you have the raw talent to work around it. And as Maidza closes this chapter in her career, she opens the door to aspire to something, somehow, even bigger. Whether it be another full-length album or, again, reshaping the infrastructure of pop, she's well on her way to taking the title of the next true trailblazer.

Last Year Was Weird, Vol. 3 - Tkay Maidza - 8/10

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