

The following month, Miguel signed a recording contract with Jive Records. record that no one was ever supposed to hear"-Pitts scheduled a meeting with Miguel in October 2007. But that's not what my lifestyle was.įor nearly a year, Miguel's manager at the time submitted several songs to music mogul Mark Pitts after receiving a song titled "Sure Thing"-which Miguel described as a "highly personal. They marketed me like the typical R&B artist, which I can't really blame them for, because that's what they know. I left the marketing of my album and me as an artist up to the discretion of the label. That album was a huge learning experience. I was 19 years old and it was the first time anyone had ever given me money."Ģ007–2011: Signing and belated debut I have a fitted hat on and a white T-shirt and baggy jeans. He later said in an interview for LA Weekly, "We shot a video, and if you ever see it, you will laugh your ass off. Black Ice released the single "Getcha Hands Up" with a video debut on 106 & Park, but Miguel decided to change his sound and image and walked away from Black Ice Records. It was scheduled to be released on November 30, 2006, but was ultimately shelved. Later in 2004, Miguel was signed by independent record label Black Ice and started working on his studio album, Young & Free. In 2004, he auditioned to be part of the group Fatty Koo, but their label, Columbia Records chose someone else to complete the sextet. Miguel signed a production deal with Drop Squad in 2000. Miguel is also close high school friends with rapper Blu, who also lived in San Pedro. In eleventh grade, Miguel was introduced by a friend to a member of the production company Drop Squad, and he subsequently spent the rest of high school learning his way around a recording studio before seeking a record deal. At a young age, Miguel was introduced to the older R&B his mother listened to, and his father's musical tastes, including funk, hip hop, jazz and classic rock.

Miguel's parents divorced when he was eight years old. He is one of two sons of an African American mother and a Mexican American father.

Miguel Jontel Pimentel was born on October 23, 1985, raised in San Pedro, California. 2.4 2014–present: Wildheart, War & Leisure and Te Lo Dije.2.3 2012–2013: Label change, second album, and controversy.
