I won't front, I didn't like Miguel when he first dropped. Nah, it wasn't the music I hadn't even heard a single word come out his mouth. It was the way dude looked. I'm like, it's 2012 and this dude is coming out looking like he's auditioning for the role of Ritchie Valens for the LaBamba remake. Yeah, I'm superficial like that but hey, at least I can admit it. But you know what's the best way to shut that superficial bullshit down? Make dope music. Which is exactly what Miguel did. His album "Kaleidoscope Dream" still lives in my rotation damn near 3 after it dropped. And you know what's the best test for me about how much I like your album? When you've got something new on tap and I'm like "word? It's time for a something new already?" In other words, your last project was so dope that I wasn't even expecting nuthin' new from you. It's like your album was so dope that time stopped & I didn't even realize that 3 years had passed since you dropped it and it was time for some new music. But time obviously didn't stop for Miguel cause dude is back on his grind with a new album "Wildheart" on tap. Now, the question is can "Wildheart" get time to stop for me like Kaliedscope..." did?
"A Beautiful Exit" sets off "Wildheart" perfectly and has Miguel telling us we're "speeding through all of those red lights, fast life/dreaming a beautiful exit/we're gonna die young" over some hard guitar riffs, the Pop & Oak produced "Deal" bangs and "The Valley" may be the freakiest song on tap since Prince's "Darling Nicki", "I'm your pimp, I'm your pope, I'm your pastor baby/confess your sins to me, while you masterbate/shepherd oh baby, like I'm your master baby/this is our baby play your part baby and we all get paid/I wanna fuck like we're filming in the valley/I wanna push and shove and paint your hills and valleys/I got a red idea to expedite the right/bend it over pull it to the side/I'm talking lips, tits, clit, sit." "NWA" featuring Kurupt literally may be the hardest R&B song I've ever heard in a minute and will mos def have you making that scrunched up ugly face while you're listening to it, "Waves" is dope & has Miguel telling his shorty he wants to ride that wave, "I wanna surf in it baby, get turnt in it baby/gonna work in it baby/keep working it while "What's Normal Anyway" has Miguel breaking down the struggles of feeling like you don't belong, "too proper for the black kid, too black for the mexican/too square to be a hood nigga, what's normal anyway/too opinionated for the pacifist, too out of touch to be in style, too broke for the rich kids, I don't know what normal is."
"Hollywood Dream" sound like some classic Zepplin, "...Going to Hell" bangs so damn hard and sets off like some Dre production circa '92 and is the ultimate love song, "going to hell, I know I know/I don't care, I'm in love/I'm going to hell with you, with you/I don't care, I'm in love/only you can save me, I'm a sinner" and "Flesh" sounds like it was doused, baptized and purified in the waters of Lake Minnetonka by the Artist himself. On "Leave" Miguel tells about not seeing a break up coming, "the leaves they don't change here, the leaves don't change here, so I never saw it coming/winter hit me, hiroshimi, where did the sun go/just a cruel rain pouring and you say that it's over/how could it be over when I never saw it coming" and "Face the Sun" ends the album perfectly and has Miguel letting his shorty know he belongs to her but the song that stays on repeat the most for me is "Coffee." When you got Miguel dropping jewels like "I wish I could paint our love, these moments in vibrant hues/love play turns into gunplay/gunplay turns into pillow talk/pillow talk turns into sweet dream/sweet dreams turn into coffee in the morning" there's absolutely no way you can go wrong with this jawn.
One of the things that I love most about Miguel is that this dude has mastered the art of making "hard" R&B. That "R&B" were the drums bang, the guitars are "Rick Rubin" loud but it's still as smooth as Marvin Gaye on a late Sunday night. To be honest, after "Kalidescope..." I didn't know if Miguel could bring it again but if you know me then you know there's nothing I love more then being proven wrong. And with "Wildheart" Miguel mos def proves me wrong on every count imaginable. Salute.
4 outta 5 mics
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