In the overwhelming golden age of streaming, oftentimes, the best way to discover an artist is to step away from the Spotify rabbit hole and get outside to witness them perform live from a few feet away. Such was the case with Australia’s Tkay Maidza.
Upon my early arrival at Le Belmont, the then-empty club’s LED bars in the ceiling were pulsing neon colours in time with the background music. The mood-setting ambiance was only amplified when TallandSkiinny hopped on stage for her DJ set. With some ceiling spotlights thrown into the mix, a healthy blend of dancey pop tunes filled the room as people were slowly pouring in. Her 40 minutes of uninterrupted music kicked things off nicely, and the EDM-tinged back half drew nearly the entire audience to the front and centre of the dance floor.
After a short break, a second DJ took to the florally decorated stage with a clear intent on getting the crowd hyped for the night’s headliner. DJ Pia B. kept the good music going, but with a wireless mic in hand, she made sure that when Tkay finally hit the stage, the crowd sounded ten times its size. And they certainly did; the sheer volume of applause and cheers between her songs didn’t reflect the small club’s turnout that night.
When Tkay Maidza wasn’t melodically rapping verse after verse after verse to her grooving, danceable instrumentals, she was giving her tunes an equally welcomed R&B spin, singing soulful hooks just as naturally. Hip-hop is very hit-or-miss for me, especially in the instrumentals, but Tkay’s were elite. Lively drums and melodic basslines, with an impressive amount of compositional depth and nuance. I can easily see her performing songs like Ghost! and What Ya Know while fronting a full band.
The second half of Tkay’s set was a stark difference from the first; what was largely feel-good and bouncy quickly turned into a string of club bangers. The more aggressive, wall-shaking bass and lyrical repetition felt a bit derivative, but juggling these two opposing styles without compromising the personality and attitude behind the performance is what’s most impressive. As the rest of the hour-long set played out, Tkay and Pia B. followed the hype-building holy trinity of callouts for the audience to bounce, sing, and throw hands in the air. Tkay’s set was short, sweet, and to the point, all while showcasing a voice as diverse as her music. Though I was mostly into the set’s first half, nearly all of that material came from her new album, Sweet Justice, which bodes well for the future of this talented artist.
It was a wonderful night of all-female talent that was wonderful in its intimacy but could just as easily have translated to larger stages. Hopefully, Tkay can find that audience in Montreal and travel halfway across the world for us again.
Review – Mathieu Perrier
Photos – Nicolas Cantin
