Micah Davis, better known as Masego, is a Jamaican-American musician and singer who incorporates the saxophone into his work. He is a vocalist who is also a self-taught saxophonist, pianist, drummer, singer, rapper, producer, and so on. Masego draws from a variety of genres as a performer, all of which shape his midtempo in which R&B, smooth jazz, and staggered rap flows are channeled into a smooth electronic bounce (Moore, 2018b). He refers to this blend as "TrapHouseJazz," distinguishing himself from the web of SoundCloud musicians attempting to establish themselves as music industry staples which have only proven him right. His invented style has subsequently expanded into his own collective and label, attracting more than 100 members from the hip hop, dance, and jazz worlds (Damoui, 2017).

Masego's fame is the product of continuous progress over the last nine years, instead of a big breakout occasion. However, if he did receive a huge boost for his career, it was in 2016, when legendary producer DJ Jazzy Jeff cosigned Masego and began working with him. Subsequently, he produced a well-received EP called Loose Thoughts which was a compilation of demos, pushing towards the trappy side of his style (Moore, 2018a). Masego was also recognized for his collaboration with music producer Medasin, with whom he released The Pink Polo EP on SoundCloud in 2016, amassing over six million streams (Genius, n.d.).

“Lady Lady”

TrapHouseJazz reached its pinnacle in 2018 with Masego's debut album, Lady Lady, which took him all around the world. Masego's previous five years of dropping remixes on his Bandcamp and Soundcloud pages have culminated in Lady Lady. The album is a multidimensional perspective on passion, heartache, and romance; this is another leap forward in a young musician's journey (Moore, 2018b). The debut album is a mature stride forward and dedication to all the women in his life, where he celebrated the various feminine influences he had throughout his life (Ross, 2018). Lady Lady, is a reflection on powerful women: those he's loved deeply and lost regrettably, some who've taught him painful but valuable lessons, and others who haven't yet graced his life. The vocalist navigates the subtleties of black romance through actual and fictional scenarios, embracing the pleasure and ambiguity it offers. The album also digs into Masego's inner dichotomy: the good guy while wrestling with his character's paradoxes and his ego (Moore, 2018a).

“Queen Tings”, the 7th song in the 14-track album was written in celebration of Black History Month with the mentions of iconic black women such as Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, and Solange Knowles, and was also for the launch of the 2018 Marvel film, Black Panther. There's "Old Age," in which he talks about a connection with an older woman "who adored me a greatly but succumbed to her friends' opinions about me being too young." Masego believes that the album is an audio expression of his future fantasy world after pondering on the narratives behind each song: "I write about romance in order to maintain focused on the true goal: to be with my lady, travel with her and have a li'l family unit." (Bedolla, 2018). Masego's album 'Lady Lady' eventually put him on 4 different Billboard charts: #4 on Top New Artist Albums Consumption, #13 on R&B Album Sales, #22 on Heatseekers Albums, and #40 on R&B/ Hip Hop Album Sales. The 14-track collection includes collaborations with SiR, FKJ, Tiffany Gouche, Kehlani, and De'Wayne Jackson (Music Video “Tadow”, 2019).

“Tadow”

The first song I was introduced to from Masego was Tadow, by a friend that I met for the first time when we were pre-drinking at Liang Court before going to Zouk. The fact that this song was stuck in my head the whole night, and I had to listen to it immediately once I got home, it was truly a work of art. Tadow was inspired by an episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, which tells the story of Masego pursuing a young woman and how everything falls into place, which works in their favor (Hamm, 2019). However, what took me by surprise is that Tadow was made in an improvised eight-minute jam session. In 2017, French Kiwi Juice (FKJ) and Masego collaborated to create the buttery smooth Tadow. They later released a video on Youtube for the completely unscripted track which continues to astonish listeners all over the world with the pure talent they have (Polo, 2017). This year marks the fourth anniversary of Masego and FKJ's famous one-take clip for Tadow, which has now amassed over 130 million views (Music Video “Tadow”, 2019).

Awards and Moving Forward

Masego begins 2022 with a four-night sold-out performance at Brooklyn's Baby's All Right, and was just nominated for his first Grammy Award in the Best Progressive R&B Album category for Studying Abroad: Extended Stay, which was released earlier this year as the special edition of his 2020 EP shared by EQT Recordings and Capitol Records (Paul 2021). Masego also recently contributed to the production of emerging R&B sensation Ari Lennox's song "Up Late," with his characteristic soulful saxophone, while working in the studio alongside other talented artists such as J. Cole, The Game, Yuna, J.I.D., and others, as the TrapHouseJazz pioneer continues to broaden his horizons (Music Video “Tadow”, 2019).

If you love Trap, House, Jazz, Pop, Soul, and Ballads, just listen to Masego. I promise you won't be disappointed, this talented man got you covered.

Masego

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