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[7.55]
Jonathan Bogart: What do you say, other than “my body is ready”?
[9]
Alfred Soto: Jerry Duplessis applies a retro lacquer (slap bass!) to new century coltishness. Skeptics might recoil from the the equating of drugs and hugs, but the aw-shucks charm that Miguel puts into the line “Me too!” is the best argument for effrontery-as-cuteness I’ve heard this year. The aural equivalent of comfortable sex with a partner up for any challenge.
[8]
Iain Mew: Ah, the age old drugs/hugs dilemma. Except that while there’s an “or” in there, Miguel is going to go out of his way to satisfy both desires and more, eventually switching the title from a question to a statement of intent. He gets away with that one because the whole song makes spending time with him sound so enjoyable. The song’s melodic swirl is definitely on the hugs side, but too excited to stay in one place for long. When the bass comes bounding in like an eager puppy it’s a total bowled over moment.
[9]
Al Shipley: That Jerry Wonda and Salaam Remi helmed consecutive tracks on Miguel’s album really highlights how unexpected it is that two Fugees producers who were toiling in Wyclef’s shadow circa The Score are R&B hitmakers in 2012. Remi’s been making hits with the same dusty breaks for a while now, but Wonda dazzles on “Do You…” with the most sumptuous live bass guitar on urban radio since Gucci Mane’s “Lemonade.” A great song doesn’t necessarily make a great single if no effort is made at suitable clean edit lyric substitutions, though, and hearing “I wanna do you like _____ tonight” on the radio kills the buzz a little bit.
[8]
Patrick St. Michel: After a year-plus of debauched and depressing R&B, it’s nice hearing Miguel innocently ask “do you like drugs?” and follow it up with “do you like hugs?” like he’s trying to put together the perfect date night. He sometimes gets a little too cutesy – that rock-paper-scissors line is worth a groan – but the whole song is just so warm and upbeat it’s near impossible to hold it against him. Here’s a lovely song where drugs and women don’t have to lead to soul-crushing despair, but could just be part of a cozy Friday night.
[8]
Will Adams: Kaleidoscope Dream has been an antidote for a year where I was told that the reason I didn’t have a girlfriend was because of my failure to compare women to prostitutes, tell them to shut their mouths, and ply them with lies while I put my hands on their bodayyyys. Thank God for “Do You” to tell me that it can suffice to be my dorky self, playing rock-paper-scissors and discussing the values of hugs. Even more endearing is how elated Miguel sounds to even be saying this aloud. His confidence rises over the course of the song; giant drums storm in for the second verse, and at the very end, he sneaks in the title’s double entendre with a wide smile on his face. Do I like love? You bet.
[9]
Brad Shoup: Miguel beckons you into the bougie lagoon of contentment. It’s three inches deep but sparkles like a motherfucker.
[6]
Zach Lyon: “Do You…” might exemplify Miguel’s transformation into the king of his own material rather than the follower, and not just via Prince worship, and not just via its production featuring the best rhythm section you’ll hear in modern male R&B. But it doesn’t do it for me like his other Kaleidoscope Dream singles thus far; I think I like him best as an alternative, not a supplement, to The Weeknd. It also weirdly leaves Wings’ “Single Pigeon” in my head, and I’m not sure if that’s good or bad.
[6]
Edward Okulicz: Refreshingly free of braggadocio or attempts at cool, “Do You…” would be embarrassing if MIguel himself didn’t effortlessly exude coolness even when being a total square. Few songs this year will deserve the adjective “frisky,” but “Do You…” impressively achieves friskiness using tricks even its listeners could pull off.
[8]
Katherine St Asaph: Rhetorical question time! Can “I’m going to do you like drugs tonight” and “let’s play rock-paper-scissors — wait! Best outta three!” co-exist in the same song? Can they co-exist in the same relationship? Are slow jams better with this much space?
[8]
Mallory O’Donnell: Miguel’s album is justly hailed as awesome, but “Do You…” is his “Fuck You,” a slightly pleasing novelty that may only get more annoying if and when it gets more popular. A more probable result : like most drugs, hugs and fucks, it will only become more disappointingly average with each repeat attempt.
[4]