Not as great as the predecessor, but Tkay Maidza continues to impress in this 3rd and final installment of the 'Last Year Was Weird' EPs.
‘Last Year Was Weird, Vol. 2’ was one of the EPs last year that has a lot of replayability as well as great quality throughout, all attributed to Tkay Maidza’s comforting swagger when she raps and posh polish when she sings, as well as just how organic, tuneful, and diverse the production is. All of this results in showing Tkay Maidza as a musician who can ride through different production styles and tones with ease, adding her own vocal flair that makes it her own.
In this third and final installment of the ‘Last Year Was Weird’ series, it still overall holds up and still shows Tkay Maidza refinement and comfort as an artist. It’s more poppier, focused more on explosive cuts where the bass boosts, sharper drum work, and metallic textures take precedent, and Tkay Maidza holds her own in terms of her rapping especially with this bombastic sound palette. Oh, the softer sounding tracks are still here, but they feel underweight, lacking the potency that made the softer cuts from ‘Last Year Was Weird, Vol 2’ striking and moving. It’s quite disappointing to say that because she really puts her soulful side on these softer cuts, but with how underweight and lacking the production and structure of these songs it just doesn’t have that same magnetic punch that soft cuts did on the previous installment. And lyrics still show a good balance between the flex songs that have swagger and the vulnerable side where Tkay muses on her relationships that might crumble apart and the self-reflection within her insecurities.
But regardless, this final part of the ‘Last Year Was Weird’ series is still a satisfying project, albeit not as much as the predecessor. The softer cuts didn’t really land, and even the peaks don’t reach the excellent songs from Volume 2. This still unveils Tkay Maidza’s talent as a flexible musician and lyricist, and she’s in the right direction going forward on whatever project she’s going to do next.
Favorite Tracks: So Cold, Syrup, Kim, High Beams
Least Fav Track: Eden