We may not be able to control every outcome life throws at us, but we can choose how we react under given circumstances. Masego was overseas when his house burned down during the Los Angeles wildfires in January 2025.
Being thousands of miles away from home, he had to quickly decide what he wanted his friend to preserve on his behalf, before the fires consumed his neighborhood — personal photo albums, his grandfather’s vinyl collection, instruments and cufflinks.
That’s all. Everything else, including plaques and Grammy certifications, he had to make peace with losing. This ultimately led him on a journey of reflection and personal growth, and his third album, Fix Your Face, is the result of that.
To some, those three words recall a mother’s encouragement — or arched-eyebrow warning — to gather themselves when overwhelming emotions swallow them whole. On Fix Your Face, Masego uses it as a mantra for his approach to life, no matter what is thrown his way.
The opener, “Sounds Like,” captures the bittersweet aftertaste of adolescent memories. He reminisces about his dream of becoming a basketball player that was shattered by an injury, which ultimately led him to a new game: music. “And then my whole room changed / From Kobe to Miles Davis,” he sings, before his mother appears at the end: “You better fix your face / I know it’s getting tough / Keep your chin up.”
On “Breathe,” Masego grapples with the loss of a family member while trying to stay present amid the demands of his music career. “Can I breathe? / Can I live? / Can I grieve? / Get a minute?” he sings with desperation in his plea. Songs like “Dotted Line” and the Lekan-assisted “Gone” chronicle the demise of a relationship, leaving him with a broken heart that needs mending in the ER.
Fix Your Face isn’t all frowns. “Hello,” a dancehall-flavored standout featuring Buju Banton, is a celebration of his Jamaican roots. The track radiates with the energy of a packed-out party. The horn sample of Mandrill’s “Children of the Sun” by way of Shawty Lo’s “Dey Know” is a no-brainer transition for DJs. “Wonderwoman” is an empowering anthem that soars over a Neptunes-style production from the early aughts.
Masego doesn’t just cook up nostalgic references on the album. He enlists a couple of defining voices of the 2000s: Keyshia Cole and Musiq Soulchild, who, he told Billboard, are the people he’s “trying to tap into and be some version of one day.” Cole joins him for a duet on “Someone,” where they long to be seen as human, especially when love is put to the test.
Soulchild appears on “Overthinking,” where their velvety vocals melt over a lush backdrop. Here, they just want to let love do its thing and trust the process. The album also features collaborations with progressive soul artist Leon Thomas (“QVC”) and Maryland rapper Foggieraw (“I Know You”).
Fix Your Face follows Masego’s introspective self-titled album, released in 2023. He will support his new project on the Fix Your Face Tour. Kicking off Aug. 4 in Dallas, the 40-date tour will make stops across North America, Europe and the U.K. through the fall.
Listen to Masego’s Fix Your Face below.
