Masego: 'I'm Definitely A Sap!'

The mercurial Jamaican-American Masego (aka Micah Davis) – singer, rapper, saxophonist, producer and lowkey comedian – presented one of 2018's most romantic and sensual albums in Lady Lady. Now this bohemian, who first toured Australia behind his break-out jazz bop Tadow in 2017, is returning to charm Laneway.

Davis is a traditional instrumentalist who revels in digital-era fusion. Speaking from the road in Europe, he regards music today as an "endless journey". His father in the US Air Force, Davis came of age in hip hop-obsessed Virginia. But, with both parents also pastors, and Mum the church's music director, Davis was raised strictly on gospel. He taught himself to play the drums using YouTube – the platform then exposing him to myriad other influences. Davis went on to learn piano and, crucially, saxophone – the latter to impress a teacher. Meanwhile, he was given a trove of vinyl by his grandfather. "I would just dig into those and read the back of them like they were library books." Davis became enamoured of the stylish Harlem jazz legend Cab Calloway. He likewise studied Michael Jackson's showmanship via documentaries. Plus, he absorbed Jamie Foxx's stand-up comedy. As a collegiate Davis hosted jam sessions. In time, he invented his own playful genre, "TrapHouseJazz" – blending Southern hip hop, neo-soul and house – for 2016's The Pink Polo EP. 

In fact, Davis was introduced to underground house by friends from Chicago, initially digging its synths. "I used to love those topline solos over songs." Yet, as he travelled, Davis was intrigued by global dance music culture. "It made me understand why overseas the stamina at a party is a lot longer than in the States. In the States, a party might end at 1am; 2am, if you're lucky. But, overseas, some things can end at five in the morning; 11 in the morning, if it's Germany. So I just understood that house music had this rhythm to it that was kind of addictive... I felt like I wanted to dive more into that energy and that essence." 

"I'm a lover of love and the purity of it, because I've seen it and I know that it actually exists."

Davis has established vital connections – with DJ Jazzy Jeff an early champion. After he shared clips of his sax-playing on Instagram, Sounwave, the chief producer at Top Dawg Entertainment, reached out. Sounwave guided Lady Lady's (Andre 3000-sampling) avant 'n' B title-track. Davis credits the Compton native – "a selfless, loving guy" – with easing him into his adopted home of Los Angeles. "He told me so many stories. He took me to this random beach in California one time and was like, 'Look out there and just gather some inspiration – clear your head.' He tried to teach me so much as well that I wasn't even ready for what he was teaching me; introduced me to certain artists and put me in rooms with much more famous people than myself. I still had my autograph book – like I was still very young and just eyes wide."

Lady Lady chronicles Davis' exchanges with women – and self-realisation. (The R&B queen Kehlani guests on 24 Hr Relationship.) Davis, 25, has been "reflecting" on what he discovered about himself from completing his debut. Indeed, he openly expresses contradictory desires for sexual freedom (the trapsoul Lavish Lullaby) and romantic commitment (the soft jazz Black Love). "I think it's the honesty of saying that – you know, I'm not painting myself as this perfect gentleman, and I'm not painting myself as this hand-tatted rapper with a bunch of women. It's just saying that I've had all these emotions, and that I'm an emotional person – I've learned that – and that I've had a lot of conversations to understand relationships and understand what different modern relationships look like and what makes them work. So it's just a reflective piece, saying that I love 'love', for sure. I'm definitely a sap! I'm a lover of love, and the purity of it, because I've seen it and I know that it actually exists. [But] I also love people with honesty and their own freedom... So it's kinda embracing everyone's personal journey, I think."

Beyond being a lover, Davis aspires to be a "global citizen" – engendering goodwill with his music amid political turmoil. (Of President Trump, he rues, "I'm not even in the States long enough to know what that man is doing.") And Davis promises fans a #peakMasego encounter at Laneway when he appears with his band. "You can just expect a custom show – like every show, I change it for that particular area, so I see it as my journey to give everyone a unique experience. So I'll probably make the show up on the flight there. But you can expect some instruments, you can expect me being extremely tall, and you can expect some type of singing."