Last Year Was Weird, Vol. 3

Tkay Maidza described the first EP in her Last Year Was Weird trilogy as “daytime,” with the darker and heavier and more introspective *Vol. 2* as “nighttime.” *Vol. 3*, the final chapter, then, could be considered the following day. A year later, this final chapter sees her finding resolve and acceptance, and the confidence to move on. “I believe that by the end of the trilogy, I should understand what I want to do,” she says. “The music I’m making now is more like what I listen to. I wanted my perception and the way I feel to match up.” Musically, *Vol. 3* draws on the strongest moments from each—opener “Eden” is warm and dreamy, while “So Cold” is bright and bouncy, addressed to a former lover who she describes as “a waste of time.” “High Beams,” on the other hand, takes aim at haters and everyone who tried bringing her down, while “Syrup” is gritty and hard-hitting, all pride and bravado: “I just wanna be rich, thick, sweet, sick, syrup,” she raps over a deep, low beat. Final track “Breathe” ends the trilogy with fittingly confident reflection: “They didn’t think that I could see, they underestimated me,” she sings over sparse production, later yearning for her friends and family, and a time when she wasn’t so busy. “Can we just stay here?” she sings over dreamy synths. “I don’t mind at all, I just need you.”

The Australian musician caps an adventurous trilogy of EPs with another round of plush, laid-back songs that effortlessly mix pop, rap, R&B, and reggae.

The final instalment in the Australian-Zimbabwean rapper's 'Last Year Was Weird' trilogy is flooding with winning moments

You get the sense that she’s just flexing her muscles - she never feels stretched beyond her comfort zone.

The final instalment of the Last Year Was Weird EP trilogy from Tkay Maidza is as fiery and accomplished as you'd expect