A native of Los Angeles, California's San Pedro community, Miguel Jontel Pimentel was involved at the age of 16 with the production company Drop Squad. Three years later, he was offered a slot in Fatty Koo, and appeared on the R&B group's BET reality show, but he turned the position down and eventually signed a solo deal with distribution from major-label Universal. In 2005, "Getcha Hands Up!" was issued as a promotional solo single, and its accompanying video -- showcasing Miguel's dancing skills -- aired on BET. An album, Young & Free, was planned for release, but it was never issued. By that point, Miguel was becoming increasingly known in the underground through his collaborative work with Blu, Exile, and Daz-I-Kue.
Miguel signed a solo deal with Jive in 2007 and continued to work with underground and major-label artists. By the end of the decade, he placed songs on albums by Musiq Soulchild and Asher Roth. He experienced major growth during 2010. Jaheim's "Finding My Way Back," a song he co-wrote, reached number 12 on Billboard's R&B/hip-hop hit (and was subsequently nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best R&B Song). Miguel also co-wrote a pair of the Jam & Lewis-produced songs that appeared on Usher's Raymond v. Raymond, which topped the Billboard 200 just before Miguel made his proper solo debut with the atmospheric hip-hop soul of "All I Want Is You," a Top Ten R&B/hip-hop hit. The parent album, All I Want Is You, followed that November and reached the Top Ten of the R&B/hip-hop albums chart, as well as the Top 40 of the Billboard 200, boosted by "Sure Thing" (number one R&B, number 36 Billboard 200) and "Quickie" (number three R&B). Once Wale's Miguel-assisted Top 40 pop hit "Lotus Flower Bomb" was well on its way to platinum certification, Miguel resumed his solo output in early 2012 with a trilogy of three-song EPs dubbed Art Dealer Chic.
The intermediate releases led to Kaleidoscope Dream, which entered the R&B/hip-hop chart at number one and crossed into the Billboard 200 Top Five in October 2012. The RCA-issued full-length was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of Best Urban Contemporary Album, while "Adorn," Miguel's second number one R&B/hip-hop single, was nominated for three awards and won for Best R&B Song. The following year, the album's "How Many Drinks?" was nominated as well. Stardom notwithstanding, Miguel remained available for outside work. "#Beautiful," a collaboration with Mariah Carey, was issued in May 2013 and went platinum. Miguel also devoted time between albums to sessions for J. Cole, Janelle Monáe, Big Sean, Jessie Ware, A$AP Rocky (the gold "Everyday"), Mac Miller (the platinum "Weekend"), and Hudson Mohawke.
Miguel's third album, Wildheart, was released in June 2015. Like his previous full-length, it debuted within the Top Five of the Billboard 200, reaching number two and landing in the same spot on the R&B/hip-hop chart. Less melodic than what preceded it, Wildheart emphasized sensual slow jams and was acknowledged with a Grammy nomination in the Best Urban Contemporary Album category. Another round of collaborations, including a duet with Dua Lipa, and singles highlighted by "2 Lovin U" (produced by DJ Premier) and the platinum-certified "Sky Walker" (featuring Travis Scott), preceded the December 2017 release of the urgent War & Leisure. Another R&B/hip-hop chart topper, it also entered the Billboard 200 at number nine. Miguel continued his extracurricular activity through 2018 with Kygo's "Remind Me to Forget" among his most commercially successful featured appearances. His next solo release was the Spanish-language EP Te Lo Dije, which peaked at number 11 on Billboard's Top Latin Albums chart in 2019. Also that year, Alicia Keys' Miguel-assisted "Show Me Love" began its ascent to gold status.
A mix of smaller-scale solo output and featured appearances followed during the first few years of the 2020s. Early in the decade, Miguel was featured on tracks such as Jhené Aiko's platinum "Happiness Over Everything (H.O.E.)." The Art Dealer Chic series of EPs resumed in 2021 with a fourth volume containing the grinding "Funeral." After he was featured on Diplo's "Don't Forget My Love," Miguel saw "Sure Thing" become more popular than ever in 2023 -- thanks to TikTok -- and a re-release of the single consequently reached number 14 on the Hot 100, thereby surpassing "Adorn" as his highest-charting pop single. The singer responded that April with the smoldering slow jam "Give It to Me." ~ Andy Kellman & David Jeffries
NOW
Miguel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Build your walls up high and wide
Make it rain to keep them out
That won't change what we are inside
Pick the fruit of your labor
Cultivate, plant your seeds now and watch them grow
Man, I'll holla at you later
Just saying
Is that the look of freedom, now?
Is that the sound of freedom, now?
'Cause it's plain to see a man's integrity
By the way he treats those he does not need
And it's time we talk about it
Let's not waste our common ground
We will fall for standing and watching, all in silence
Dear Lord, are we numb? Where we going right now?
No, not later, no, no, no, not later
Oh, right now, oh, right now
Now, not later, no, not later
No, no, no, not later
This can't wait, now
CEO of the free world now
Should we teach our children hatred?
Chase the inner cities, shoot them down
It's like we're still running races
I'm just saying
Is that the look of freedom, now?
Is that the sound of freedom, now?
'Cause it's plain to see a man's integrity
By the way he treats those when he don't need them
And it's time we talk about it
Let's not waste our common ground
We will fall for standing and watching, all this silence
Dear Lord, are we numb? Where we going right now?
No, not later, no, no, no, not later
Oh, right now, oh, right now
Now, not later, no, not later
No, no, no, not later
Oh right now, oh right
Now, now, now
Now, now, now
Now or never, we can work together
Now, now, now
Now, now, now
We only suffer what we allow
Now, now, now
For all the people
In Puerto Rico
Way down in Houston
In Flint, Michigan
And standing right here
Way down in New Orleans
For all of the dreamers
The black lives that we've lost right now
Now, now
This can't wait, no
Ooh, right now
Now, now, now, now
Now, now, now
We are the look of freedom, oh
We are the sound of freedom
We are the look of freedom
We are the sound of freedom
The song "Now" by Miguel appears to be a call to action, an invitation to the listener to reflect on the current state of the world and work towards positive change. The chorus provides a sense of urgency with the refrain "Now, not later, this can't wait." These lyrics encourage us to take action and not to put things off until some unspecified future date. The song references several issues causing societal unrest, including issues of race, immigration, and inequality.
Miguel encourages the listener to be mindful of their actions and how they impact others. He reminds us that our integrity is defined by how we treat those we do not necessarily need. The song speaks to the importance of inclusivity and the need to work together towards a common goal. The lyrics make reference to several marginalized communities, including Puerto Rico and New Orleans, and stresses the need to be aware of their struggles and work towards solutions. Ultimately, "Now" seems to be a call to action for all listeners to work together towards a better future.
Line by Line Meaning
CEO of the free world now
The leader of the most powerful country in the world
Build your walls up high and wide
Construct physical barriers to keep others out
Make it rain to keep them out
Spend large amounts of money to prevent people from entering
That won't change what we are inside
The true nature of a person cannot be hidden by external actions
Pick the fruit of your labor
Reap the rewards of hard work
Cultivate, plant your seeds now and watch them grow
Put in the effort now to see long term success
Man, I'll holla at you later
I will speak with you later
Let you find out what you're made of
Allow you to discover your own strength and character
Just saying
An informal way of expressing an opinion
Is that the look of freedom, now?
Does that appearance match the ideals of liberty?
Is that the sound of freedom, now?
Does that sound align with the values of freedom?
'Cause it's plain to see a man's integrity
A person's moral character is easily recognized
By the way he treats those he does not need
The true measure of a person is how they treat those who can offer them nothing
And it's time we talk about it
It's necessary to have an open discussion about these issues
Let's not waste our common ground
We should not overlook what we share in common
We will fall for standing and watching, all in silence
Remaining neutral and passive will result in failure
Dear Lord, are we numb? Where we going right now?
Are we becoming desensitized and where is society headed?
No, not later, no, no, no, not later
Urgency is required, not delay
This can't wait, now
This issue needs to be dealt with immediately
Should we teach our children hatred?
Is it acceptable to instill prejudice in our youth?
Chase the inner cities, shoot them down
Pursue marginalized communities and use violence to subdue them
It's like we're still running races
Society is stagnant; we have not made as much progress as we should have
We only suffer what we allow
We are responsible for the negative consequences of inaction
For all the people in Puerto Rico, way down in Houston, in Flint, Michigan
Referencing various cities impacted by natural disasters or manmade crises
And standing right here, way down in New Orleans
Drawing attention to a specific location and its challenges
For all of the dreamers, the black lives that we've lost right now
Mentioning marginalized groups that face obstacles and systemic injustices in society
We are the look of freedom, oh
The people are symbol of liberty
We are the sound of freedom
The populace's voice represents the ideals of freedom
Now or never, we can work together
Act immediately and cooperatively to bring about change
Now, now, now
Emphasizing the importance and urgency of the message
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: CHARLES THOMPSON, MIGUEL JONTEL PIMENTEL, NATHAN PEREZ
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Donielle Love
Miguel is soooo underrated. So much better than some of these so called artist. He has a vision and a legend. I mean God bless this man 😭😭😭
Victoria Martin
Yess fr
valentine anin
So true
This That
SOOOOOO UNDERRATED 😩😩😩
Shaman ka Christina
Doni Heart yessss!!
Sunnie
FUN FACT: Miguel is half Mexican for those who didn’t know.
Angelique Esprit
Idk you know this are not but In Amerixxxxa with ever ethnic group you look like that’s who you are in there eyes
Dre Israel
@The 80s Babies 310 if race doesn’t matter, why is it so much tension between all these people groups in America? The brainwashing is you believing everybody is equal when that’s not true
The 80s Babies 310
@Dre Israel Hell Nah!! Race only matters to those who have been brainwashed and manipulated growing up. Facts over Feelings
Dre Israel
@Antonio Bless race does and always matters cause equality amongst different ethnic groups doesn’t exist