Guestlist

Issue 43 2012

Monthly newspaper and online publication targeting 18 to 35 year olds. The ultimate guide to the hottest parties, going out and having fun. Music, fashion, film, travel, festivals, technology, comedy, and parties! London, Barcelona, Miami and Ibiza.

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Issue 43 / 2012 This year he won the BET 2012, Best Collaboration award. With performances lined-up at the Itunes festival and the Jazz Cafe it looks to be a busy year for this LA born singer. However he's made enough MIGUEL time for a little chat with us. Anisay | anisay@guestlist.net For those who are unfamiliar with your music, tell us a bit about who you are as an artist and how you would describe your music? Well my name is Miguel and I'm from Los Angeles California. I guess my record broke in the states, J. Cole's 'All I want is you,' then we had a few really successful songs over there; one being "Sure thing" the next being "Quickie" and more recently we've released the first single from my sophomore album called "Adorn" which has been really dope in the states, picking up really fast. I'm excited to be in London performing at the Itunes festival this week and then we have a show at Jazz Cafe later that week on the Sunday. You've said in a lot of interviews that you started singing and writing from a very young age, what inspired you so early on in your life?? I fell in love with music really early on so I think just being in love with the feeling. I always wanted to make other people feel something the way that I felt when i've heard great music. You've collaborated with the likes of J Cole and Wale, and recently you featured on Nas' Life is Good album in Summer on Smash also featuring Swizz Beatz. How did you get the opportunity to work with Nas and what was it like working on the song? The Nas randomly. I worked with Alicia Keys in Jamaica on her album and I met Swiss before but never worked with him, until after I worked with Alicia. He just emailed me one random day when I was in the studio asking if I was in New York and I was like yeah i'm down the street. He invited me by and asked, "We're working on the Nas album want to jump on a song?" He played me this record and there wasn't any singing on it. I told him urrm I don't hear any vocals and he said "You just do whatever you hear." I did and I ended up rapping on a Nas song which was really weird especially because i'm not an RnB artist. I love hip hop and Nas is one of my favourite MC's he really is one of the last hip hop legends that are doing it. To be a part of his tenth album and to be on one of his songs was an amazing experience. feature actually came about You recently won your first BET award for your collaboration with Wale. What was it like winning your first BET award especially in such a competitive category? Have you seen it yet?(The footage of the award) I know for a fact that I looked shocked. I couldn't really believe it. For a while afterwards I was in disbelief until I actually had hold of it , it was sat in front of me in my house. I just didn't believe it. As much as I knew it was a great song the star power in the category was really stifling, so as much as i It was really crazy. was honoured to be considered I just didn't fathom that we'd win so it was really cool. I was definitely surprised, and the fact it was Wale's first BET award and my first BET award it was just really special So you have the new album coming out on October 1st, its called Kaleidoscope Dream and you have 2 EP's that are out before that. Kaleidoscope Dream is a very interesting title, what made you decide to choose that name for the album? I wrote a song called Kaleidoscope dream, not too long ago but while I was working with Salam and it was a metaphor for my life. Not only my life, for life itself. everyone is living their own kaleidoscope dream. What I mean is by our conscious decision, our thought patterns, our subconscious thought patterns, how we process information our perspective the subtles in our sensibilities that all I think itself to what we experience. Things in our lives, in our daily lives, in the very near future it all has to do with how and what we experience. I wanted to create an album that clearly painted the picture of my kaleidoscope dream. I wanted it to project my lifestyle. I think when you hear the song it's an experience it covers quite a bit sonically and more so the album does that. I was very much involved in creating the scope of what I covered sonically because i wanted people to get to know me in a more personal way. The approach lyrically this time around is different. Whereas "All i want is you," is very much the sound of my experience of being in relationships with my past three girlfriends, being in between and in relationships with them it's about taking those moments and feelings and writing about them. This album is more about me giving you the feeling of my life. It's a bit more abstract in that sense. I want it to inspire, I want it to be a part of other peoples creative process. lends You're also performing at the Jazz Cafe which is a smaller venue, do you prefer performing for an intimate audience or do you prefer larger crowds? I'd perform the same if it was one person or a million. More intimate spaces make it easier to connect on a more personal level. Larger venues make it easier to entertain, so they both have their purpose. Thats why it's important for me to do the Jazz cafe after the Itunes festival. The first time I was here we did the Forum in Kentish town which was dope , the same sort of size as the venue we're doing at Itunes and that was amazing. It was sold out and the love was crazy it was great. It's really exciting though to work in a more intimate level this time. If you were invisible for a day, what would you do? I would just pull pranks on everybody, bad pranks. I'd cause trouble, scare people and laugh for my own entertainment. HIP HOP / RNB 33 www.guestlist.net 7

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