Miguel
Kaleidoscope Dream
****
Frank Ocean may be one of the best newcomers to R&B, but Miguel will give him some good competition. Just when we thought Ocean’s channelORANGE was the best thing to come out of 2012, Kaleidoscope Dream dropped and things got confusing. In fact, in the forthcoming Grammys, Ocean has six nominations while Miguel has five. Do the maths.
Now to the Kaleidoscope Dream – a place where the only button you will touch is the volume. The album starts with Do You, a sexy song about luring a girl into falling in love with a lovesick guy. The wordplay is so clever you could miss it and think he is talking about sniffing cocaine. Still on love, Adorn comes on equally strong, so much so that if the girl was not convinced on Do You, she will be by the end of this one.
Miguel drops the cupid lines and talks about racism, religion and misplaced ambitions, among other things. It is a deep song that gets you thinking about life.
Things get naughty when he delivers P*ssy Is Mine. The Thrill is for the driver who loves to bop the head on a long trip. Yes, it has that thrill.
In a nutshell, this is R&B 101 and all the old timers trying to make a comeback can learn a thing or two from this project. Let’s see what the Grammys say. – Munyaradzi Vomo