It’s been a long hiatus on the album front for fans of Majid Jordan and to some, it may have felt like a lifetime.
However the wait is finally over and Majid Jordan is back giving fans a healthy dose of incredible music and a chance to escape from the turbulence that Covid has tossed upon us for the past few years.
In what would be my first taste of live music since the pandemic hit back in 2020, I was lucky enough to be invited to attend the December 2nd stop of the Wildest Dreams tour at the newly renovated Massey Hall in Toronto.
Upon arrival at the venue, there was an unavoidable sense of excitement and anticipation in the air.
Live shows are back, and the enormous lines wrapping around both sides of Massey Hall were further proof of this.
Just 24 hours prior, the wonderful Mustafa The Poet, who is making significant waves of his own, graced the same stage at Massey Hall with support from BADBADNOTGOOD.
This was no doubt a memorable week for the Toronto music scene as we got to bear witness to some amazing and successful acts that call Toronto home.
That said, today we discuss the release of Majid Jordan’s third studio album, “Wildest Dreams,” and our experience at the last stop on their mini concert tour in Toronto.
Contents
Where it all began: Background on Majid Jordan
If you are new to the likes of Majid Jordan, their story and rise to prominence is fit for a movie script. Majid Jordan is a Canadian R&B duo, consisting of singer Majid Al Maskati (born in Bahrain) and producer Jordan Ullman from Toronto, Ontario.
The duo met for the first time at Majid’s 21st birthday party. Jordan, who was underage at the time, acompanied one of his cousin’s to the party and had to be snuck in by Majid. Little did they know that this encounter would be the beginning of a very successful career in music together.
Forming their group “Majid Jordan” in 2011, they would later go on to sign to OVO Sound, after Noah “40” Shebib discovered one of their projects on Soundcloud and showed their music to Drake.
They would then go on to be very instrumental contributors for Drake’s “Nothing Was The Same” album, and credited with being the masterminds behind one of the biggest singles from that album, “Hold On, We're Going Home.”
The duo would release their debut EP, “A Place Like This”, in 2014 – including the title track “A Place Like This”, “Her” and “Forever”.
They would then go on to release two more albums titled, “Majid Jordan” in 2016 and “The Space Between” in 2017, all the while collaborating on more of Drake’s projects and other prominent artists within and outside of the OVO camp.
Hiatus and lead up to Wildest Dreams
Majid Jordan continued to build their resume and create a solid name for themselves around the industry. However, they had fans speculating when a new project of their own would be on the way.
Four years and a pandemic would pass before fans would get their wish. They resurfaced in April of 2021 with the release of their first single from the album, “Waves of Blue.”
They followed this up with the release of two more singles, “Been Through That” and “Summer Rain” – which dropped in June and September of 2021 respectively.
From there the rollout would hit its peak on October 22, 2021, when Majid Jordan released their third studio album titled “Wildest Dreams.”
In a recent interview with Complex News, Majid described the meaning behind the album, stating that:
“when the pandemic hit, we kind of were, for the first time, still.
We’d been moving around, doing tours and shows here and there – and we were sitting there, and we just got to reevaluate like what are we doing?
Why do we want to continue what we are doing? Where do we want to go next? And I think we have like dreams that we are still yet to achieve, that we want to achieve.
We felt like the world was kind of on standby for a long time and needed something a little bit optimistic and uplifting.”
– Majid Al Maskati of Majid Jordan
via Complex News
Pandemic and Mini Tour
The pandemic has been a hurdle for many industries, and those in the music industry certainly weren’t immune.
After the release of most albums, artists tend to be gearing up for months of touring, shows, festivals, and appearances.
However, the pandemic has put a choke hold on artists’ ability to do thes things for close to 2 years now.
As restrictions started to loosesn around the world, fans began to see glimmers of hope in returning to live shows.
For Majid Jordan, they took advantage of the world’s return to “normal”. They continued the promotion of their “Wildest Dreams” album with the announcement of a mini-tour with dates in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Brooklyn, and Toronto.
Toronto Tour Date
As mentioned earlier, I was lucky enough to witness the “Wildest Dreams” experience firsthand at their Toronto tour date on December 2nd, at the newly renovated and historic Massey Hall in Toronto.
Long lines wrapped around both sides of Massey Hall and to kick off the evening, Toronto based DJ, Jayemkayem set the mood for the night with an incredible DJ performance of her own.
jayemkayem · Opening set for Majid Jordan (Dec. 2, 2021 at Massey Hall, Toronto)
Majid Jordan walked out to a packed house of enthusiastic and adoring fans.
While Massey Hall is fairly big in stature, it can be argued that there isn’t a bad seat in the house with an atmosphere that still allows for a very intimate setting.
Being that this was my first time seeing Majid Jordan live, I was in my head contemplating their potential setlist and how far back into their catalog they’d go for the set.
My first introduction to Majid Jordan was back in 2014 after hearing “A Place Like This” for the first time. I was on the edge of my seat for this to come on, not to mention the possibility of some very A-list and local guest appearances from the OVO camp.
While not many older tracks were played and no surprise guests appeared, I was not disappointed one bit as the duo gave a very memorable performance from start to finish.
Concert Highlights
“Wildest Dreams” was the show’s primary focus, and seeing them live surely brought the album to life.
Majid Jordan gave us the obvious high energy standouts from the album like “Dancing on A Dream”, “Summer Rain”, “Been Through That”, “Life Worth Living,” and of course “Waves of Blue” – which sent the crowd into a frenzy.
However, this was balanced by some more intimate songs like “Wildest Dreams” or “Forget About The Party” – a personal favorite of mine, and “Sway,” which had everyone doing their slow-motion rendition of the famous Diddy bop.
“Stars Align” was also a standout of the night as everyone stood in anticipation for Drake to make an appearance.
While he didn’t grace the stage, the duo certainly had us thinking he would as they teased the song’s intro, starting it over three times before actually performing the track in its entirety.
The whole flow of the set, while short, was astounding both visually and sonically. Majid sang his heart out, and Jordan held it down live-producing and DJing the entire set, which was phenomenal to watch.
Their chemistry makes for an incredible show, and it’s no surprise considering that this year marked their 10th year of the duo performing and creating music together.
To say the performance left you wanting more is an understatement. While the duo did a short encore to round out the remaining tracks of the album, there were several older tracks I’m sure the audience wouldn’t have been opposed to hearing.
Final Thoughts on The Majid Jordan Toronto Concert & Wildest Dreams Album
One of the biggest things I took from the show was the sense of community and respect that this duo has cultivated.
They come across as very humble and display a tremendous amount of gratitude towards their fans, the city of Toronto, and their heritage. All of which is expressed through their music.
Their music draws such a diverse crowd and brings people together. They have a unique fan base that spans across the globe, and while the act might not seem “huge” to some, they have a following that some more prominent artists would undoubtedly be envious of.
That’s because their connection with fans is real, it’s genuine, and bigger than just the amazing music they continue to pump out.
You don’t have to search very long to find countless stories of how their music has impacted the lives of so many young and old.
They continue to serve as a prime example to many that regardless of your circumstances, your Wildest Dreams are possible.
Special thanks to JayemKayem, Maggie Elizabeth and RAPSEASON for the incredible photos.
