# Masego (musician)

Micah Davis (born June 8, 1993), known professionally as Masego (/məˈseɪɡoʊ/ mə-SAY-goh), is a Jamaican-American musician and singer, known for incorporating the saxophone into his music. Masego released two EPs in 2016, The Pink Polo EP with Medasin, and Loose Thoughts. He gained widespread attention with his collaborative record with FKJ called "Tadow" released in 2017. In 2018, he released his debut album Lady Lady. His album Studying Abroad: Extended Stay was nominated for the 2022 Grammy Awards in the "Best Progressive R&B Album" category.

## Early life

Micah Davis was born June 8, 1993, to a Jamaican father and an African-American mother. His father was in the U.S. Air Force and his mother was an entrepreneur. later age he was raised with his two sisters. One is also a musical artist and the other is involved in voice acting and media outlets. Both his mother and father were pastors although he was raised in a non-denominational Christian home. Military travels eventually led his family to Virginia, but he also lived in Sumter, South Carolina for a couple of years. He first learned how to play the drums without formal lessons in his youth. Davis has spoken about learning the piano, sax, and various drum machines. In high school, Davis adopted the name Masego, a Tswana translation of his church name "blessing." Davis attended Woodside High School in Newport News, Virginia and Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia before leaving to focus solely on his musical career.

## Career

In 2015, Masego released the collaborative extended play, The Pink Polo EP with Medasin, spawning the single "Girls That Dance". The next year, he released his EP Loose Thoughts.
In 2017, he met French artist FKJ, and the two released the track "Tadow." According to FKJ, the song was fully improvised not long after meeting.
On September 7, 2018, he released his debut album Lady Lady, including guest features from FKJ, SiR, Tiffany Gouché, and De' Wayne Jackson. The album featured the previously released "Tadow" as its lead single.
His EP, Studying Abroad was released on November 13, 2020. Masego released his self-titled album on March 3, 2023.

## Musical style and influences

Drawing from his upbringing of both his parents being pastors, Davis stated that church allowed him a place to learn music from talented musicians. Davis also cited Lukky (DJ PLM), John P. Kee, Andre 3000 and Cab Calloway as influences. Davis grew up in a room with over 200 vinyl records on the walls while simultaneously having friends giving him hard hitting drums and trap music influences. He refers to his own musical style as "TrapHouse Jazz".

## Discography
### Studio albums

List of extended plays, with selected details :
| Title | Album details |
| Lady Lady | Released: September 7, 2018 Label: EQT Recordings Format: Digital download, streaming |
| Masego | Released: March 3, 2023 Label: UMG Recordings, EQT Recordings, Capitol Records Format: Digital download, streaming |

### Extended plays

List of extended plays, with selected details :
| Title | Album details |
| The Pink Polo EP (with Medasin) | Released: April 5, 2015 Label: TrapHouseJazz Format: Digital download |
| Loose Thoughts | Released: July 27, 2016 Label: TrapHouseJazz Format: Digital download |
| Studying Abroad | Released: November 13, 2020 Deluxe: May 21, 2021 Label: UMG, EQT Recordings, LLC Format: Digital download |

### Mixtapes

* Blessing (January 30, 2013)
* Masego Music (June 1, 2013)
* Better with Headphones (May 29, 2014)
* Traphouse Jazz (December 12, 2014)

### Singles

List of singles, with year released, selected chart positions and certifications :
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Certification | Album |
| Title | Year | US R&B | US Adult R&B | Certification | Album |
| "Tadow" (with FKJ) | 2017 | — | 19 | RIAA: Platinum | Lady Lady |
| "Mystery Lady" (with Don Toliver) | 2020 | 24 | 24 | RIAA: Gold | Studying Abroad |
| "My City" (with Elhae) | 2021 | — | — | | Aura III |
| "Yamz" (with Devin Morrison) | 2021 | — | 14 | | Non-album single |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released. ||||||

### Other charted songs

List of songs, with year released, selected chart positions and certifications :
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Album |
| Title | Year | US R&B | US Adult R&B | Album |
| "Hate The Club" (Kehlani featuring Masego) | 2020 | 18 | — | It Was Good Until It Wasn't |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released. |||||

### Other guest appearances

List of non-single guest appearances, with other performing artists, showing year released and album name :
| Title | Year | Other artist(s) | Album |
| "Late Night" | 2015 | GoldLink | And After That, We Didn't Talk |
| "Ooh Nah Nah" | 2017 | SiR | HER TOO |
| "Touch the Floor" | 2018 | VanJess | Silk Canvas |
| "Good Girl" | 2018 | Tiffany Gouché | Non-album single |
| "One Life" | 2019 | The Game, J. Stone | Born 2 Rap |
| "Need It" | 2019 | Kaytranada | Bubba |
| "Sleigh" | 2019 | Smino, Monte Booker | High 4 Da Highladays |
| "Amy" | 2019 | Yuna | Rouge |
| "Slow Down" | 2020 | Ro James | Mantic |
| "Stickin'" | 2020 | Sinéad Harnett, VanJess | Ready Is Always Too Late |
| "Above" | 2020 | USERx | USERx - EP |
| "Silk" | 2022 | Kojey Radical | Reason to Smile |
| "Marching Band" | 2023 | Yussef Dayes | Black Classical Music |
| "A Song for Mom" | 2024 | Mustard, Ty Dolla Sign, Charlie Wilson | Faith of a Mustard Seed |

## Production discography
### 2016

Masego & Medasin – The Pink Polo EP
* 08. "Love Be Like (Medasin Remix)"
Masego – Loose Thoughts
* All tracks (guest 'ghost' producer Lukky, DJ PLM)

### 2018

VanJess – Silk Canvas
* 03. "Touch the Floor"
Masego – Lady Lady
* All tracks

### 2019

Ari Lennox – Shea Butter Baby
* 04. "Up Late"

### 2021

Judas and the Black Messiah: The Inspired Album
* 08. "Somethin' Ain't Right" (Masego featuring JID and Rapsody)
Drake – Certified Lover Boy
* 01. "Champagne Poetry"