Hip-hop and R&B have become so intertwined, it’s hard to imagine there once was a time when they weren’t. Miguel broke out commercially as an R&B heartthrob, but his influences are much wider and encompass classic rock, funk and soul. His third – and best – album moves farther away from beat-oriented R&B toward music that’s heavy guitars, sex and hazy Cali vibes.
Wildheart is an homage to Los Angeles that pays tribute to the city’s diversity in a host of personal, geographic and musical references. What’s Normal Anyway unpacks his biracial identity The Valley explicitly nods to the city’s porn industry Waves is Miguel’s contribution to the feel-good California Dreamin’ pop canon NWA metaphorically riffs on 90s West Coast gangsta rap (with help from Kurupt) and Hollywood Dreams tackles mythology.
Soundtracking all of this is a beautiful, heady blend of fuzzy guitar, fading falsetto and vivid textures that contributes to a blurry (or smoggy) morning-after zone between mythology and reality.
Top track: The Valley
Miguel plays Sound Academy on August 11.
