“Art really does imitate life, and after a while you have to do living. There’s living that has to be done to fill the tank of inspiration,”
R&B artist Miguel says of his third studio album, Wildheart, on 105.1’s The Breakfast Club amongst talk of morning sex, transcendental meditation and various artist collaborations.
While Miguel has released a number of songs to the public periodically within the past six months, like his nwa.coffee.hollywooddreams EP, which became available late December, and the preview of his latest 12-song collection that he shared with NPR just last Monday, Wildheart was officially released via iTunes on June 30. Unlike Kaleidoscope Dream, which was produced in New York, Wildheart was produced where the talented crooner was born and raised, Los Angeles, California.
Influences of the So-Cal lifestyle remain prevalent throughout. The album captures a metropolis of fame and dreams — some failed, some triumphed, some still floating in limbo. Capturing the essence of the 70s, 80s, and 90s all in one unique new age album, Wildheart contains elements of Prince, Jimi Hendrix and Lenny Kravtiz (who’s featured in the single “Face the Sun”) while still remaining true to that recognizable Miguel style. An ode to the sunshine state, specifically Miguel’s home city of Los Angeles, Wildheart generates visions of bright neons, palm trees, beaches and freshly waxed Mustang convertibles.
It’s clear now that Miguel’s first album All I Want is You (2010) was just as all first projects are, a trial and error process. Second studio album, Kaleidoscope Dream (2013) and three-track EP Art Dealer Chic Vol. 1-3 express Miguel’s progression in definitive style and sound. Since then, he’s collaborated with artists like J.Cole, Wale, Janelle Monae and more. In describing his unconventional R&B sound, Miguel explains,
“My music is always rooted in soul… I love rock n’ roll, I grew up listening to rock n’ roll.”
The first on the album, “a beautiful Exit” starts off with that instant rock-n-roll sound. The use of guitar and head-nod-worthy beats allow for both solid fierceness and contrasting dreaminess. Miguel repeats, “we’re gonna die young” throughout the chorus, similar to that of “….going to hell” and “destinado a morir,” (“destined to die” in English), which contains lyrics like “you like the thrill don’t ya/ came to the right place if you’re looking for trouble honey/ are you looking for trouble honey?” giving the album a rebellious, kid-at-heart feel. His next song “DEAL” begins with a slow, ultra-cool feel for a decent 10 seconds until a sped-up funky beat slaps you in the face, seemingly out of nowhere. If you didn’t check to see if “DEAL” was still playing, you’d think the song skipped. The evident use of synthesizers alongside Miguel’s soothing voice makes “DEAL” that trippy dance-worthy song you’ll want on repeat. While it’s a bit ambiguous as to what exactly Miguel is getting at in the song, it’s undeniably catchy. Lyrics like “Want money, got clout, need b*tches, gimme the bass” and “All we want is power, all you need is money,” express possible poli-socio messages.
Too righteous…. #WILDHEARTEXPERIENCE #robewave A photo posted by Miguel (@miguel) on
For those of you who know Miguel, you know of his obsession with sex. We get 3 minutes and 11 second of this in “the valley,” a slower song glorifying porn-like sex. Futuristic beats compliment Miguel’s naughty desires in lyrics: “I wanna… like we’re filming in the valley” or “I got a bright idea to expedite the ride,” sung before the NSFW chorus in which he lists off a few rhyming body parts. “Coffee,” “waves,” and “FLESH,” though much tamer in explicit content, express a great deal of sexual innuendo.
His inspirational song “what’s normal anyway” emotes a somber, more emotional Miguel — a younger Miguel who, as he puts it, was considered “too proper for the black kids, too black for the Mexicans, too square to be a hood…” We hear Miguel in a vulnerable state — a state with which we can all empathize. Lyrics like, “In a crowd and I feel alone/ look around and I feel alone/ Just want to feel like I belong somewhere” and “don’t let them change you, just be who you are/ don’t let them change you, can’t please them all” tug at our hearts, possibly resurfacing those insecurities and discomforts within ourselves brought about by bullies, whether as children or full grown adults.
In “leaves,” Miguel gives us a taste of the highs and lows of Los Angeles, perhaps singing about getting sucked into the superficiality and rejection that the City of Angels so famously spews without second thought. He sings, “sweet California/it’s Our California/sweet California/ bitter California/ cold Pacific waters/ keep on pulling me under/ drowning in my sorrow.”
Songs like “face the sun” and “Hollywood Dreams” deserve to be belted out whilst driving down Hollywood and Vine with the top down, wind whipping your hair, the strong California sun warming your skin.
nothing ventured nothing gained #WILDHEART A photo posted by Miguel (@miguel) on
Miguel is by no means slowing down. While “Adorn” may have put him on the map, Miguel has proven that he is so much more than a one-hit wonder (and that highly-memed incident at the 2013 Billboard Music Awards). With his appearance at the Met Ball, his involvement at Men’s Fashion Week, now Wildheart, the soon-to-be (if not already) household name is making serious moves in more ways than one. On his evolving fashion, the sensual singer says,
“Honestly, I did a lot of things before they were trendy and I may not have done them in a way that looked cool to the general public, but… honestly I don’t give a f—! I’m a human being and I’m learning. I just have the balls to do what I want. I know where my head was at and what I was trying to do and the fashion statement I was trying to make, but I didn’t have the knowledge. It took education and spending time with people who really know fashion to explain like ‘I see what you’re trying to do, but this is how you actually do it. I was a learning experience.”
Wherever you listen to Miguel’s well-crafted album, you can always come home to the thrilling, fearful, sexual, wondrous, dreamy adventure that is Los Angeles with Wildheart.
Image: Via Instagram/Miguel
