Do Not Sleep on Tkay Maidza and JPEGMAFIA's "Awake"
Nearly a year ago, Zimbabwe-Australian up-and-comer Tkay Maidza dropped Last Year Was Weird Vol. 1, an eight-track project that established her claim as Australia's queen of hip-hop. In spite of claiming her rightful throne, the past year has been relatively quiet for Maidza, well at least until now.
The return of Maidza is nothing short of explosive, as her latest single "Awake" sees her linking up with hip-hop punk maverick JPEGMAFIA. Opening on a barrage of distorted alien production, there is an adrenaline-pumping, mosh-ensuing energy from the very outset that does not let up for a second. "I don't really know how to be tired/ A.d.d. my day is like a riot/ If the beat is David I'm Goliath," throws down Maidza in a verse that lives up to the earworm of the chorus. Not to be overshadowed by the thundering production on display, Maidza quickly dives into a deluge of bars that manages to nod to Adderall, clout-chasers, and biblical legends in less than a minute flat.
The unfathomably high-energy nature of the entire affair ramps up to 11 when JPEGMAFIA joins the fray to deliver an array of spitfire bars in his characteristic hard-hitting flow. Arriving just the day after JPEGMAFIA dropped his new single "Jesus Forgive Me, I Am A Thot," is clear both him and Maidza are giving us no time at all to rest.
Indeed, this is a collaboration not to be slept on - what we have right here is the perfect blend of trap, hip-hop, and punk. And while there have been many discussions as to what punk today looks like, if we had to stake our claim, we would imagine it sounds a lot like Tkay Maidza and JPEGMAGIA in "Awake."
Watch the video for "Awake" below:
