[Video] Janelle Monae: "Prime Time" (Feat. Miguel)
Janelle Monae and Miguel made a splash with their song, "Prime Time" off of Monae's latest album, Electric Lady. The pair released the visual for the album, a highly conceptual video that is a continuation on a common theme throughout her most recent release. Read the statement below along with the video itself.
"PrimeTime is a love story based on the early adventures of Cindi Mayweather (Janelle Monáe) and her first love Joey Vice (Miguel.) The Emotion Picture gives a glimpse at Cindi's humble beginnings as a "cyber-server" at the Electric Sheep nightclub, a syn bar serving high-class "show droids" to the rich and lonely in a dangerous section of Metropolis known as Slop City. Incidentally, the innovative cybersoul music played at the club directly impacted Cindi, and she began singing and performing her own innovative compositions a short time after quitting this assignment. In addition, Cindi became determined to change the public perception of what an electric lady could be, dream and aspire to after working in the dismal conditions at the club." -via Pitchfork
http://youtu.be/Oxls2xX0Clg
RH First Look: Miguel
Miguel presented some troublesome issues to industry exec and A&R's. His bi-racial background (Mexican and Black), singing voice, and subject matter didn't quite fit the mold of "R&B superstar", so Miguel was told to stick to writing for other artists, rather than seeking the spotlight for himself. It was get in how you fit in for Miguel, who didn't let definitions deter him from his dream of making music.
"It was hard for them to place, they didn’t know what to do with that," he told me via phone. "But fortunately, times have changed and with the advent of the Internet, our spectrum of music and the palette of music that we’re familiar with and able to pull from is a lot broader. That’s what has changed. Also as a person I’ve grown more aware of myself and comfortable in my own skin, so that definitely helps. I’m sure they can feel it more now."
Miguel's music has been felt from a growing fanbase, as well as a collective of emerging Hip Hop artists ranging from his high school friend, Blu to NYC's Emilio Rojas. We caught up with Miguel to put him under the First Look Microscope. Here he talks about his entrance to writing as a way to deal with his parents divorce, the buzz term that is genre-defying, and what it means to be level-headed. Check it out below.
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