Burgeoning hip hop star Tkay Maidza defied a security guard’s request at Splendour in the Grass

DON’T tell Tkay Maidza what to do — she is a VIP now and will go wherever she wants, even if security guards try to tell her off.

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AT Splendour In The Grass, Zimbabwe via Adelaide fem-cee Tkay Maidza was told to go back to where she came from. Those exact words. Ruh-roh.

Luckily, the stern directive came from a security guard who was merely trying to protect Mark Ronson’s backstage area.

“There was a small crack in the fence and we ended up in some strange alleyway,” she begins. “My friends and I were like ‘Where are we?’ and somehow we ended up in his dressing room, just us. A security guard burst in and was like ‘Go back to where you came from!’ We were like ‘But we have artist’s passes!’” she says.

Coincidentally, the 19-year-old was about to begin her support slot on the Uptown Funk hitmaker’s mega-show. “I met him at Splendour later that night. He spotted me and came up and said ‘Teee-kay!’ I was holding a huge American beef burger and a massive plate of fries and was about to start eating them — embarrassing — so I had to get my friend to hold it so I could shake his hand,” she says, pealing into laughter. Tkay loves to LOL.

“I thought he would barely know who he has on his shows as support but he’s down to earth, he pays attention to the small people like me.”

Young and on the rise ... Tkay Maidza. Picture: Secret Service

Maidza (pronounced My-dza) may be five foot nothing but she won’t be small for long.

Having arrived in Australia aged five, it wasn’t until a music teacher introduced Tkay to Azealia Banks’ music where she found an esoteric hip house and electronic rap sound she could relate to.

After building her name with singles Brontosaurus, U-Huh and Switch Lanes — recorded with her producers Bad Cop and Paces — she replaced an ill Lykke Li on this year’s Laneway Festival tour and grabbed her chance like a rottweiler.

During a recent UK tour, she appeared in Vogue and Nylon Magazines as much for her sharp fashion as her music. We’ll get to that Splendour outfit in a second. When pressed, she names American art-pop waif Grimes as a feminist hero.

Triple J are all up in Maidza’s grinning grill, the Splendour set was recorded for Live At the Wireless and her first singles and newbie M.O. B have all been given the high rotation nudge by the tastemaking national broadcaster.

“I’ve written a couple more new ones, one is called Slopes (SCOOP!) and one is called U Want, which I played at Splendour,” she says. Maidza wore a “$1000 custom made black-and-purple satin pilot suit made by Emma Mullholland, it was sick. I only got it sent from Bali 12 hours before we went on stage. We had new gear, like inflatables we hadn’t used yet and money cannons,” she says.

Hot act ... Tkay Maidza performs for fans during Splendour in the Grass. Picture: Getty

Maidza may need to listen back to her slamming Splendour set.

“I forget what happened up there, it was an amazing feeling, I was just so relieved it went well, I guess I have photos I can look at,” she says. “People were singing the words to songs that are only on Soundcloud ... that I couldn’t believe,” she says, flicking back to the pilot get-up. “Oh man, $1000 is easily the most I’ve spent on a piece of clothing, I don’t know when I’ll bring it out again.”

Things got a little bit Altamount when a male stage invader tried to board the stage. He was intercepted by security guards. Thankfully, they weren’t Hells Angels’ heavies. “Whoa. He was cute,” she quipped to the crowd, unperturbed.

Maidza picks up the thread. “He wouldn’t get off stage, he was high on drugs apparently and when he finally got off he jumped a fence and bailed,” she says. “It was intense.”

At least the security guards kicked out the right person that time. Maidza will be trying to aim the money cannons over crowd controllers’ heads and out to her fans on the M.O.Bsingle tour, which begins early September. FYI, M.O.B stands for Money Over Bitches. When we speak she is decompressing from the Byron Bay and the Ronson tour experience, eating oats and bananas to stay healthy and get her strength up before this 14-plus date tour.

“I’m trying to get as much work done. I’m trying to write as many songs and hang out with friends before I leave in ten days when I’m gonna be like AHHHH!” she says, mock-screaming.

“I’m taking my DJ Willow Beats and Porsches along and we’re gonna get some local DJs in every state. The tour has been selling out, Melbourne has sold 500 tickets so far for the Corner Hotel, I think we’ll do a second,” she says.

Don’t forget those artist passes.

SEE: Oxford Art Factory, 38-46 Oxford St, Darlinghurst, Sept 10, 12; Academy, Canberra, Sept 11, The Lair, Sydney, Sept 13; Uni Bar, Adelaide, Sept 17-18; HQ, Leederville, Sept 19; Capitol, Perth, Sept 19; Oh Hello, 621 Ann St, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, Sept 25; Sol Bar, Big Top Market Fresh, 10/12-20 Ocean St, Maroochydoore, Sept 26; Republic Bar, Hobart, Oct. 1-2; Wrangler Studios, Whitely Pde, West Footscray Melbourne, Oct. 3; Corner Hotel, 51 Swan St, Richmond, Melbourne, Oct. 3, $25+bf.

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Originally published as Burgeoning hip hop star Tkay Maidza defied a security guard’s request at Splendour in the Grass