Studying Abroad: Missed My Flight

13th March 2022

The founder of the TrapHouseJazz genre makes a return to London, one of the many stops on his Studying Abroad tour. Having seen him on the Lady Lady tour, I knew London was in for one of the best shows of their lives. He was supported by Mereba, who I was lucky enough to also see at her sold out Lafayette gig, you can read the review here to get more of an insight as to what Mereba’s performance was like. She opened the show fantastically, and left the crowd feeling warm before Masego made his grand entrance.

The crowd was going wild before he even began. Multiple spotlights drifted around the stage partnered with smoke to reveal more golden beams of light. The original sample from Navajo played as there stage turned blue, before the iconic opening lines of the song played as Masego stepped out in yellow. Real ones knew about this song before Champagne Poetry. Masego’s confidence never faltered for a moment. Queen Tings saw Masego bounce from one side of the stage to the other under purple lights. The smooth, suave vocals followed by saxophone were to die for. While Masego can play a multitude of instruments, the sax is definitely his best asset. Old Age showed us he can dance too, definitely been hiding these moves he reserves for his live performances. He got us involved too, “Say ‘age in’t nothin’ but a number’” and we did as instructed. Lady Lady followed, his mystical vocalisations kicked it off. He was clicking to the beat and dancing before he followed it up with another sax solo. Bare in mind that at a Masego show, the sax makes many appearances throughout.

Venturing into Studying Abroad, he launches into Mystery Lady. Drum heavy and high energy, this feels like good placement in the setlist for this song. It feels like a development of Lady Lady, someone I pray Masego meets one day, he’s always singing about her. Purple lights flashed all over the stage, capturing the mood. Masego threw two handfuls of Masego pound notes to each side of the stage, I later recognised these from the Lady Lady tour.

Next he played Sego’s Dream, what seems to be an unreleased track that interpolates the Cha-Cha Slide. This song felt like ascension through clouds, a silky smooth lullaby. The smoke helped elevate this experience, as did the saxophone solo. Then he played another unreleased track called Mystic, accompanied by hi-hats and Masego’s rich voice full of confidence, it’s sure to be a hit upon release.

Green lights, flashing spotlights and a drum heavy intro segued into Veg Out. The crowd joined in again and felt like one big party. Everyone was moving to the subtle funk of the guitar. Then he asked us to put our hand in the sky, there was a drum roll before he launched into the next song. The stage went pink as we said Bye Felicia, that ‘you’ll miss me when I’m gone’ feeling reflecting throughout the crowd. Yamz brought more of that funky guitar to the stage, now orange. Spotlights danced across the stage as Masego asked “can I get to the yams?” He ran behind the keyboard and gave us a little performance on the keys as the crowd sang along.

Another song the world hasn’t heard yet, I’m Scared Of You took centre stage. The amount of crowd participation Masego prepped us for you wouldn’t have thought so. Red lights reflected on him this time as he delivered another hit the world is definitely gonna love whenever he’s ready to put it out. We returned to Lady Lady for Prone, the groove of this song was enhanced by different instruments. Funkier baselines and the drums felt a lot more prevalent. Masego never needed to prep us for crowd participation, we already had it handled for this song. He ends it with a couple of lines from Gnarls Barkley’s Crazy.

We take a trip back to Studying Abroad for Sides Of Me, which he jumps straight into. His storytelling through rap felt eloquent, followed by sax. The way a singer vocalises with their voice, Masego does the same with his saxophone. At this point it feels like an extension of his vocals. Good N Plenty follows, the stage reverts to purple while Masego wraps us up in silk with his lustrous vocals. He finishes with a transcending sax solo and parallel vocalisations. Engulfed in the purple fog, shimmering flashing lights bring the song to a close.

Revisiting Studying Abroad, Passport is the next flight Masego decides to board. It’s here that Masego begins to “give [his] fans a rose”, women in the crowd jumping at the chance to catch one while the band play shea butter smooth guitar and hypnotic drums. Continuing on his journey, Bliss Abroad was his next stop. Masego took us to a paradise full of celestial sensations that only his soulful saxophone knew how to navigate, it was truly a haven of his own. The stage was coloured red by the Silver Tongue Devil, as the crowd joined in. The melody of this song is so infectious, it feels so familiar but it has that Masego spin on it that makes it the treasure it is. Around the corner we had Yebo/Sema, which was drums and hi-hat galore. And saxophone, obviously. The lights blinking all over the stage enhanced the beat of the music. The stage turns pink as he sings, “someone fetch me my apron” he removes his jacket as someone ties his apron for Mystery Lady (Sego’s Remix). This rendition of the song felt a lot more rigid than the original, like he flipped it, broke up the beat and added more drums. His dancing got many cheers from the crowd. Proving he was Well Travelled, he walks the stage through clouds of smoke as he boasts adventures across the globe and through the music industry. He pops out an old fashioned video camera, documenting his travels.

Jords and Kadiata joined him on stage for Enemies, the crowd enamoured in the high tempo. A London linkup like no other, both Jords and Kadiata brought vigorous energy to the stage. After they exited, the familiar instrumental from King's Rant began to play, green lights flashed as the track named him “king of the garden” and he put a crown on his head. This was a spectacular moment in the evening, the band going harder than ever before. And lastly, the smooth melody of Tadow crept in as Masego began to play the sax, the entire room yelling “Tadow!” The only option for a last song, really. Seeing this song live is truly a spellbinding experience. The sax alone could put you in a trance. You can truly tell that this is one of Masego’s favourites from his craft, the grand finale he pulls out the bag for us with this is marvellous, he’s even playing the sax on his knees.

Masego is magnificent. The 24-song setlist really gave it that Extended Stay feel too. I knew from the last time he was here that it was going to be an amazing show, but his performance really blew me out of the water. The evening felt suave and sophisticated, Masego’s confidence evoking high self esteem in us all. There’s power in that man’s saxophone. There’s charm and slickness in his voice. Talent embedded in his veins. I hoped he enjoyed his stay in London as much as we enjoyed having him.