"Fly, funkadelic, intergalactic-hip-hop-meets-sexy-orgasmic crazy, dope shit".
That's how Miguel once labeled his music, and honestly, there's probably no better description for our track this week. "Coffee" (originally called "Coffee (Fucking)" was the lead single of the R&B singer's 2015 album, Wildheart. Miguel wrote that the album title is another name for "Journey", meaning it's about "Doing and being exactly what you want; freeing yourself. Your Wildheart will bring you all you allow yourself to dream."
Throughout the album, Miguel is dreaming of different, sometimes conflicting things: Fitting in, standing out, reaching for the sun, cowering away, being self conscious, and loving himself. Though "Coffee" is the standout pop hit, likely written for the radio, it shows us something important about Miguel's self-realization that occurs on the album. It's not about choosing between brewing coffee or having sex in the morning. He's blending the two, in the original title, in his lyrics, in his metaphors. He's almost saying you can't have one without the other.
This extends to the self-love and self-loathing experienced throughout the album. It's not and/or, it's both, and this a pertinent reflection from an artist who knows this too well. His major label debut was delayed two years after a lawsuit, for a while he was more famous for a failed stage dive than his music. In past interviews, Miguel would shy away from these topics, but with Wildheart, he's accepting his failures are a part of him, and he'll make damn sure his fantasies are a part of him too.
Plus, as a bonus this week, we're gifting you a second track! Miguel recently dropped a beautiful cover of Daniel Caesar's "Get You", which was the first track featured on this playlist. Listen Miguel's cover here and check out our first post here.
You can learn more about Miguel here:
About the curator - Cormac McGee
Cormac McGee is a DJ, artist manager and concert promoter based in Toronto, Canada. He’s played in front of crowds from 10 – 1,000 people and has run concerts with some of today’s top hip hop artists, including Drake, Future, Mac Miller, 6lack, Ab-Soul and more. He also runs the Music Den at Ryerson University, a business incubator for entrepreneurs in the music industry.
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