Miguel War & Leisure - (M) (ONLINE ONLY!!)
When Miguel lamented inequality and its manifestations on the closing track of Kaleidoscope Dream, it seemed forced, heartfelt as it was, like the singer was reaching to display some depth. It didn't help that the penultimate number was "Pussy Is Mine." After the sleazier Wildheart, his second Top Five album, human rights issues naturally fueled Miguel's writing to a greater extent, as heard on War & Leisure. Although direct references to various intensifying issues are saved for the sparse finale "Now" -- in which police brutality, immigration, polluted water, and inadequate disaster relief all get time -- the majority of these songs are at least loosely inspired by the distressed climate. Miguel sings of being a vigilante and rebel, of "terror on her mind," and Korean missiles. Some references to his own armament aren't metaphorical. Space made for not one but two of the six featured guests, Rick Ross and J. Cole, is filled with nods to Colin Kaepernick. And then there's the buzz