He’s solidified a definitive Miguel sound that contextualizes past efforts: the fuzzed-beyond-all-recognition guitar riffs, subterranean bass synths, and drums that feel like they’re being aurally clotheslined, setting a fierce foundation for saintly vocals.
Summertime ’06 announced Vince Staples as a major figure, but Big Fish Theory makes it clear that he’s restless, inventive, and unconcerned with those keeping score from the other side of the glass.
To Pimp a Butterfly was a far-reaching, symphonic suite of black music past and present, and in many ways DAMN. follows suit—just in a different way. Rather than using jazz and funk as emotional signifiers, he tells his story through the kind of rapper’s delights that old heads will deeply appreciate.