Splish! Miguel has taken flight and landed smoothly with his anticipated new album War & Leisure!
The R&B maverick’s fourth studio album is a reflection of the material he has been crafting since his acclaimed third effort, 2015’s Wildheart. The 12-track album has been preceded by the lead single “Sky Walker” featuring Travis Scott, along with recent releases “Told You So” and “Pineapple Skies.” Additionally, Miguel revisits his previous Salaam Remi collaboration “Come Through and Chill” adding his friend and frequent collaborator J. Cole. Along with Cole and Travis, the LP includes guest features from Rick Ross (“Criminal”), plus rising female singers QUIN (“Wolf”) and Kali Uchis (“Caramelo Duro”).
During recent interviews leading up to today’s release, Miguel shared insight into his thought process and reasoning for the bold title. Speaking with PAPER magazine, he explained: “It’s been in the back of my head for some time. I think it was understanding my body of work and trying to make heads or tails of it. I just felt an overwhelming sense of inspiration that’s pulling in opposite directions, on every level. When I really sat down to think about what those opposing forces were, that was my best way to describe it.”
Meanwhile he told Beats 1: “I feel this overwhelming tension between the inspiration of what’s inspiring me in our time now. It’s not hard to see what we’re going through or what we’re living through. But on a personal side, we just all have our own battles that we’re trying to win every day. Waking up in the morning, just trying to get up on our feet, stay positive. I think that’s one of the energies that I’m being pulled and inspired by, being pushed by rather.”
Earlier this week, Miguel appeared as a musical guest on the “Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show” in Shanghai, and he performed “Pineapple Skies” on MTV’s TRL.
Next year, Mig Money will take the album on the road with “The War & Leisure Tour,” kicking off Feb. 22 in Portland, OR and making stops in 34 cities before closing April 12 in Berkeley, CA.
Stream Miguel’s War & Leisure below.
