Sideways

TiKA. A voice to die for all the way from Canada.

Today I'm sending a ray of powerful sounds packed under the name "Sideways". The track is a follow-up to her February LP release Anywhere But Here via Next Door Records.

The talented artist carries the legacy of Black Queer women of the 90s - Meshell Ndegeocello, Tracy Chapman, Dionne Farris and Diana King - artists who have inspired her with the "rawness and grace in what they were saying through music". 

Before reading her bio I thought to myself she reminds me of NAO and as it turns out she actually opened for her... prior all the COVID times. Her voice grabs you and elevates you like there's no tomorrow. Absolutely in love with the power charge of "Sideways".

When it comes to today's highlight, TiKA shares

"Sideways" was cultivated from a vulnerable place of immense pain when I was feeling a great deal of shame for making a mistake with a friend. I didn't know what to do because I felt that I had ruined the relationship to the point of not turning back. It made me feel unbalanced and insecure. At the intersections of the pivotal & life-changing moments that we face, we can feel unsteady. Uncertain for the future.

The one thing that I could always count on to hold me was music and freedom. Music to guide my steps, freedom in the reality that I was indeed human and flawed. Despite the remorse, I was encouraged by the fact that there may be room in every heart for reconciliation and redemption