Miguel - Wildheart

Contemporary R&B and Hip Hop is male dominated, let's not pretend it isn't a male directed genre. Yes you've got the commercial powerhouse of Nicki Minaj and the questionable talent of Iggy Azalea, but although these women may be raking in the moola for their craft they exploit their sexuality to garner attention. They play into the hands of misogynism, perhaps without realising and to an extent in complete denial. They are not exempt from the derogatory message sent by Chris Brown's 'Loyal' and the tacky sexual charge of Jeremih's 'Down On Me'. Miguel's always been a little left field as far as conforming to the ideals of the genre and his inability/refusal to fit in is no clearer than on 'what's normal anyway' from his third studio album Wildheart. The song features the lyrics "Too immoral for the Christians/ Too moral for the cut throat/ Too far out for the in crowd..." and his soulful harmonising emotes a genuine desire to fit into some archetype, but all the while he challenges this with the poignant "don't let them change you'. He wants to fit in but isn't willing to compromise his morals and more than anything, his musical direction.

Miguel set out with Wildheart on a mission to prove to people that he can be edgy, he can be cool and he does in fact like women. He proves all of these things, in fact he surpasses all expectations in the same way Frank Ocean did with his wonderful album Channel Orange. Wildheart strikes all the right chords, from the rumbling bass of 'a beautiful exit' where Miguel melodiously demands you "don't ever sell yourself short" to the ridiculously cool funk of 'DEAL'. It's worth noting that the album is pretty much completely self produced and written, making his mission all the more personal. This means that the transition from sexually charged 'the valley' to lead single 'coffee' is perfectly relative, creating a narrative rather than just a bunch of songs slammed together and packaged prettily. What other R&B male singer has gone from a song about having sex like you're filming a porno ("lips, tits, clit, sit, like we're filming in the valley") into another about making you coffee in the morning. It sounds a bit ridiculous but actually it's brilliant and at points it's mesmerising. 

The lyricism throughout the album is expert, it's so well pieced together it often reads poetically. Miguel's vocals are always soulful, often sexy and at times astonishing. The vocal layers on album highlight 'waves' are exhilarating and should it be a single, it would be one of the year's most incredible releases. The album closes with the heady 'face the sun' (featuring Lenny Kravitz). The song opens with an echoing guitar riff and escalates into a thumping anthemic crescendo with a solid electric guitar roar and Miguel's vocals soaring into the stratosphere. 

Wildheart is a brilliant third album from Miguel. It's charming, poetic, sexy, produced to perfection and written to the highest standard imaginable. It's not what you'd expect from an R&B artist, his impassioned vocal delivery and the album's almost autonomous construction make this a personal and at points, romantic take on love, sex and West Coast life. Miguel expresses his love for those things in a way that contradicts the sexist and degrading delivery of his peers and highlights further why he doesn't fit in. I haven't listened to an album this good in a long time.

5 / 5