Southern Plug Magazine: Leaders of the New School 2017 Volume 2 Issue 1 A | Page 98

Singer, songwriter, and producer Miguel spent a handful of
years behind the scenes prior to his breakthrough as a
Grammy-winning specialist in carnal pop-R&B ballads.
When he was 16, the San Pedro, California native born
Miguel Jontel Pimentel was involved with production
company Drop Squad. Three years later, he was offered a
slot in Fatty Koo, and even appeared on the R&B group's
BET reality show, but he turned the position down and
eventually signed with the Black Ice label. In 2006,
"Getcha Hands Up!" was issued as a single, and its video
aired on BET. An album, Young & Free, was planned for
release with distribution from Universal, but it was never
issued. By that point, he was becoming increasingly known
in the underground through his collaborative work with
Blu, Exile, and Daz-I-Kue.