Nowadays we know Miguel as the ultrasmooth, Wildheart-ed, Kaleidoscope Dream-ing inciter of sex he is today, but he wasn't always that. Fans of underground rap in the mid-00s first knew him as Miguel Jontel, silky voiced singer-in-residence for Blu and Exile's LA indie rap touchstone Below the Heavens. It looks like the history goes deeper still than that because last night Miguel slid a Blu collaboration onto his Soundcloud dating back to the fall of 1999. Produced by friend Anthony Williams, "U R on My Mind" features a duo brimming with talent but still trying to figure things out. Blu's got a little Mos Def in his flow, and Miguel's slight, multitracked vocal gives off a little D'angelo, but you can see in each the star they would become. Still, the late night longing on display in this spectral neosoul gem is plenty accomplished for a pair of kids not old enough to watch R-rated movies alone. Stream "U R on My Mind" below.
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