Album Details

• Artist: Miguel
• EP:
Art Dealer Chic Vol. 3
• Label: N/A
• Year of Release: 2012
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: carlita on 2012-05-01

Media

Receiving an e-mail Friday night with the link to Miguel's Art Dealer Chic Vol.3, a day before it went public on the artdealerchic site while I was at Esperanza Spalding's live show, I rushed home, extremely curious to see how this story would end. The last of his free EPs he released as part of his project, Art Dealer Chic, I needed to see how this would compare to the others. Beginning Vol. 3 with Party Life, formerly called " Live Fast and Die Young", a track that's reminiscent of Prince's "Controversy" and Sheila E's "Glamorous Life", after one listen, this opening track is straight fire. Singing harmony with himself, he blew my mind as the hook is catchy, easy to sing and I wanted to" keep on dancin" as soon as I heard it.

Already familiar with the second track, Ooh! Ahh!, from his previous underground Mischief mixtape, Miguel brazenly continues the thread on through to Vol. 3 of boasting about his sexual prowess much like That I Do on Vol 1. and Arch N Point did on Vol. 2 as his bedroom is a place "where fantasy and fetish run free". Yes, we get seduction is in the musical arsenal.

Taking a break from the songs about freaking women and/or falling in love, Miguel gets existential on Candles in the Sun, Blowin in the Wind quoting John Lennon who explored societal injustices and inequality in his own art.  Similar to  Prince's "Sign' O' The Times", he comments on the social and economic imbalances, breaking it down for Generation Y mobilization. This song was a pleasant surprise, introducing his audience to one of the greatest songwriter activists who ever lived.

Miguel right now is in a class by himself producing and writing R&B songs that can simultaneously start the party, get the girls at the after party and trigger deep philosophical discussions. On top of the world after a hot year, he came out of left field, choosing to release three exploratory futuristic packages to the masses for free,  splashing vibrant colors on the blank page sonically. Blithely wrapping up his trio like Star Wars movies, it's obvious Miguel picks up the creativity slack for others in the game as "so many follow but not lead" and guides the eclectric listener effortlessly to the next R&B rave.

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