On Miguel’s “***Rope***”, fame can’t escape the pain
The R&B polymath’s second loosie of the week pairs sparse and grungy instrumentation with plainspoken lyrics about a fresh heartbreak.
He's had a song steadily climbing the Billboard charts and racking up hundreds of thousands of streams this year, but that dosn't mean everything's sunny in Miguel-land. Last October, the R&B polymath split from his wife after 17 years, just as his secure attachment style jam "Sure Thing" was blowing up on TikTok. Miguel's recent loosie singles feel like a corrective, offering a window into the darker parts of his psyche.
First, there was the brooding production of "Give It To Me," and "***Rope***," his second one-off single, delves deeper into heartbreak with broken-down instrumentation and visceral lyrics about ropes around necks and holes in heads. If it wasn't for Miguel's lilting delivery, the song could be mistaken for a lost '90s grunge demo. Released with little fanfare last night, the song's music video is lo-fi and abstract, projecting images of the singer in a rocky wasteland through the viewfinder of a camcorder. Watch below.