The Singles Jukebox

In which we take William‘s advice to heart…

[Video]
[8.14]

Crystal Leww: Tkay Maidza came charging out of the gate on a fucking bronco made of pure energy in 2014 and immediately felt like a revelation, even in the wave of Missy Elliott-inspired rappers who were doing cool things with their regional accents and club sounds. It’s been almost four years, and Maidza’s found her footing as one of the best dance music vocalists our her generation. It makes sense; there’s so much Australian talent for interesting dance production from folks like What So Not and Swick, and Australian rappers adopting American hip-hop sounds come across as false. While her pool of collaborators has expanded outside of her home country to folks like Martin Solveig and Danny L Harle, the spirit is still the same: let Tkay be Tkay over some kind of dance beat. “Glide” is an excellent showcase for how she’s evolved: there’s no burst of energy like on “U-Huh,” but instead Maidza sounds like a texture that blends into the rest of a vibe-y, house track. The older I get, the more I want to groove rather than jump, and this is a bop for a spring day, a song for strutting on the sidewalks as well as dancing with your arms out and eyes closed in the club. That bridge hits me in the chest every time — Hoodboi brings it down for the briefest bit while Tkay keeps going, and then the bump-bump-bump brings it back in — a reminder of what flashing, fleeting, youthful invincibility feels like.
[10]

William John: Tkay Maidza continues to trade in an irresistible brand of ebullience, here dextrously transitioning from righteous fast talk to a detached, pirouetting coo. Hoodboi proves himself a formidable foil, but if I were someone like Kaytranada and heard this I’d first be gasping, and then be sending emails to Tkay HQ marked with High Importance, begging for even an hour of studio time.
[9]

Alfred Soto: Yet another solid Tkay performance makes me wonder why she wastes time on museum exhibit background music.
[5]

Julian Axelrod: This pretty much checks all my boxes: a pulsing, shimmery beat that never stops moving, a badass lady spitting fire in deadpan double-time, and an air of cool confidence that could liven up a sunny pool party or a cloudy morning commute. It’s firmly in the GoldLink/Kaytranada vein, but there are far worse reference points. Bonus points for a song that truly earns its title.
[8]

Katherine St Asaph: A ebullient Kaytranada-esque house track that Tkay Maidza dissolves into, almost too much (she’s got far too much presence to ever sound anonymous, but don’t expect “U-Huh”). But it’s got tricks; after a near-weightless chorus, comes that “don’t look don’t touch” hook, even more undeniable than the first.
[9]

Will Adams: Tkay does what she does best, flipping between flows and breathy vocals like it’s nothing. Though it might be less technicolor than any selection on her debut album, she cruises over Hoodboi’s humid house production with just as much energy. Glide this does. 
[8]

Edward Okulicz: The song’s soft and light enough to evoke gliding, but Hoodboi’s production conjures up the sweaty feel of a packed dance floor with a smoke machine spilling over into the crowd. Tkay Maidza isn’t at her absolute best, but even Tkay Maidza in “pretty good” mode is impressive — effortlessly flipping between flows to dominate the track on the verses, and showing she is a capable hook singer in her own right. Really, she’s got too much personality to fit in four minutes, and I love how her collabs show as much versatility as her lead tracks.
[8]