We Caught Up with Tkay Maidza, Akenya and Angry Blackmen to Talk About Their Sonic World Building

TKAY MAIDZA is an Australian singer-songwriter and rapper who brought high energy to Pitchfork. Some lyrics from her set that had the crowd bumping were ​“Woke up and chose violence” and the refrain, ​“I don’t need free throws.” The Zimbabwe-born performer was supposed to play the festival in 2022 but couldn’t due to a visa complication.

Tkay Maidza: I think being from Australia as well as the blog era, I’m aware this festival is seen as top of the top, so it’s a blessing to play. I want to curate an energy that screams, ​“You heard it here first.” A lot of people perceive me to do a more downtempo indie alternative R&B, or think my work is always really ​“pretty,” but then I add elements like grime. The way I rap is more old school, but it’s on a heartbeat. I want to make sure my music is technically correct but still interesting, continually keeping old elements and adding new elements. People might see me and think, ​“This is distorted and now she’s rapping like Wu-Tang Clan.”

I tend to go for sounds that are probably more European and Australian, more industrial. I almost want the music to be darker than it ​“should” be. That’s the juxtaposition created with my voice. What I create doesn’t necessarily have to be commercially viable. That energy of having fun on stage, regardless of the response, is important to me.

AKENYA: Over the years, I’ve collaborated and musically directed for various artists. I’ve been working on my own album in the background and the time is drawing nigh for that to launch. My leading album single is ​“Hades Moon.” I grew up with astrology. My mother actually used astrology to pick my birth date and time, although I came an hour and eight minutes later, so I would say we co-collaborated on my arrival. Astrology is a fantastic guidepost that can help you understand life and the cycles within it, and it’s definitely in my music because it’s in me.

I’ve had the advantage of seeing how the industry works without it necessarily being my name that’s on the line. For example, I’ve gotten to perform overseas, on BBC with Hayley Williams. I’ve toured with Noname and played with her on [NPR’s] Tiny Desk and Coachella. One of my favorite collabs was ​“Silk Pillows” with Smino, on his 2017 album blkswn. I’ve repeatedly witnessed the building blocks of the performing experience. Working with all those artists left me with insight for myself. I’m noticing my songwriting is reflecting my own evolution as a person, which is great.

ANGRY BLACKMEN: I originally didn’t want to be in a duo. I wanted to be solo, like Chief Keef and Chance The Rapper, but I realized, ​“Hey, the work is cut in half” and our identities fuse nicely. Our production is noisy, industrial, Nine Inch Nails post-apocalyptic. It’s metallic, grimy and in your face. Like, Quentin says, ​“dropped the alcoholic addiction / he was in this shitty position / but I’m back from the dead / like a zombie brain condition.” We giving the real, the raw.

We try to come up with a setlist, but we ultimately never go with what we plan because we go off the vibe of the crowd. The set we curated for Pitchfork ended up being a mixture of our projects from the last four years, including our newest album, The Legend of ABM, which is more personal. Being here, it’s been surreal. It’s been a blessing and I couldn’t ask for more this year. The crowd was great. The people are beautiful.