Miguel Tells Us How A Phone Call W/ Lenny Kravitz Sparked “Face The Sun”: “We Just Shot The F*cking Breeze”

[SOHH highlights a hot record every week and offers a behind-the-scenes look at the smash in Singled Out. After Detroit’s JP One decoded his Elzhi-assisted “Judas” banger, R&B stud Miguel dissects his Lenny Kravitz-featured “Face the Sun” hit.]

Lenny Kravitz is a musical mentor. I grew up watching and listening to Lenny, so I think a lot of the music that informs his taste is the music that I naturally was drawn to.

So, we share similar taste in music, and I think some of our life experiences have really influenced our perspective, and influenced the way that we create, in that neither of us, and he, after Prince, is one of those special artists. He’s a black artist who wasn’t doing straight up what was expected of anyone ethnic in a time where the landscape in that way was very vastly different.

He did everything on his own terms. So, he’s a tremendous inspiration and influence on a number of levels.

So, meeting him and working with him, you never know if you’re going to really connect with an artist. I’ve had sessions with artists that I thought obviously we would be on the same page, and we just never really got on the same page.

But with Lenny, honestly, we had a conversation over the phone, and he was like, “I’m going to be over here working. You should come out.” He was like, “Let’s just create, no expectation, no purpose. Let’s just f**king create for music’s sake, for our creativity’s sake.” And that already was like amen. This is going to be amazing.

And, sure enough, I got there, he met me for lunch, we just shot the f**king breeze, talked some s**t, and I went for a workout, and he joined me and my trainer for the workout in his clothes. He was just down, super down, not pretentious at all, got a f**king workout in.

I went and ate. He went and ate. We met at the studio later on. And then it was just chill. The creativity was awesome and it was just easy. No pretension, just complete creating for the sake of creativity with that spirit. And so, man, it was probably one of my favorite sessions of all time that I’ve been able to do.

Stay connected to Miguel on Instagram: @Miguel