Musiq Soulchild

Musiq Soulchild

Musiq Soulchild, 2016.
Background information
Birth name Taalib Johnson
Also known as The Husel
Born (1977-09-16) September 16, 1977
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
Years active 1998–present
Labels
Website www.musiqsoulchild.com
Notable instruments
Vocals

Musiq Soulchild or Musiq (/ˈmjuːsɪk/; born Taalib Johnson; September 16, 1977[1]) is an American singer and songwriter whose style blends R&B, funk, blues, jazz, gospel influences fused with hip hop.

Biography

Musiq was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, built a reputation for being musically gifted, beat boxing for MC's free styling on the open mic circuit,scatting at jazz clubs or just performing an a cappella for strangers on the streets, which is where he got the name "Musiq" and later added "Soulchild". He cites as his inspiration such icons as Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, and Donny Hathaway as his most influential musical icons.[2][3]

Musiq Soulchild has had 2 platinum albums, 2 gold albums and 7 hit singles. He has received awards from Billboard, BET, ASCAP, BMI, and Soul Train.[2] He has also earned award nominations from MTV, the American Music Awards, the NAACP, and 11 Grammy nominations, including 3 for his 2007 album Luvanmusiq.

Name origin

"There were people who knew of me but they didn't really know me; they just knew me as 'that music dude.' So after getting that so much, I was like 'Just call me Musiq.' It was so fresh to me because if I had to be called anything, I would have wanted to be called Music. That's how much I dug it; when you see me, I want you to automatically think of music."[2] The stage name "Musiq Soulchild" is techinally two ideas. 'Musiq' is the front man and 'Soulchild' is the idea behind it. It's basically me as an artist in this generation, representing the traditions and the legacies of the past soul stars."[2]

Career

Musiq Soulchild released his debut album, Aijuswanaseing, in 2000. Its lead single was "Just Friends (Sunny)". Musiq's second single "Love" spent 22 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.

Musiq's second album, 2002's Juslisen, debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200 and went platinum. The singles were "Halfcrazy" and "Dontchange".

In 2003, Musiq released his third album, Soulstar. It included the singles "Forthenight" and "Whoknows".

Musiq took a four-year break and changed his management to Solqi Management, as well as his record label from Def Soul to Atlantic Records.

In March 2007, Musiq's released his fourth album Luvanmusiq. Its singles were "B.U.D.D.Y.", "Teachme", and "Makeyouhappy".

He has also been featured in television and print ads for McDonald's, Nike, Inc., Coca-Cola, Levi Strauss & Co. and The Gap. He made a special appearance on The CW's #1 comedy The Game on Monday, October 29, 2007, as well as the UPN sitcom All of Us. On June 25, 2012, Musiq released a book on love and relationships titled "143 - Love According To Musiq".

His fifth album OnMyRadio was released on December 2, 2008. The lead single "Radio" was a complete contrast to the usual smooth neo soul Musiq fans were accustomed to. The following singles were the duet IfULeave featuring Mary J. Blige; and the ballad SoBeautiful. "SoBeautiful" marked the first collaboration between Musiq and the producer JR Hutson, after Hutson had spent "about eight months" trying to get Musiq to come by his studio.[4] According to Hutson, the two plan to work together again.[4]

In May 2010, he changed management to Victor Grieg.[4] " His last album for Atlantic Musiqinthemajiq was released on May 3, 2011, available on CDs and also as a digital download. The first single was "Anything" featuring Swizz Beatz,[5] followed by "Yes".

In September 2013 he released a duet album with Syleena Johnson entitled 9ine. This album was a compilation of nine reggae songs recorded in nine days. Also in September 2013, Musiq Soulchild announced his departure from Atlantic Records and becoming an independent artist. He revealed he is now signed to record producer Warryn Campbell's label My Block Records.[6][7][8] Musiq previously worked with Campbell on his first two albums on Atlantic - 2007's Luvanmusiq and 2008's OnMyRadio. In April 2016, he released his first album for the label, Life on Earth.[9]

Musiq Soulchild has featured on "Nothing at All" from Carlos Santana's album, Shaman. He has also made guest appearances on rapper Lloyd Banks's album Rotten Apple, Skillz's I Ain't Mad No More, Talib Kweli's Eardrum, The Roots's Phrenology, Black Ice's The Death of Willie Lynch. He performed "Reasons" on the tribute album Interpretations: Celebrating the Music of Earth, Wind & Fire and "Are You Experienced?" on Power of Soul: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix. Soulchild has also appeared on the soundtrack to Tyler Perry's movie Daddy's Little Girls and performed with Ice Cube on his 2008 album, Raw Footage. He also lent a song from his latest album Luvanmusiq to the soundtrack for Perry's later movie Why Did I Get Married?. He then recorded a remake of Arrested Development's song "People Everyday" with British rapper and singer Estelle for the soundtrack to Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns entitled "People Everyday (Metamorphosis Mix)".

Discography

Studio albums

Title Details Peak chart
positions
Certifications
(sales threshold)
US
[10]
US R&B
[11]
Aijuswanaseing 24 4
Juslisen 1 1
Soulstar
  • Released: December 9, 2003
  • Label: Def Jam Recordings
  • Formats: CD, LP
13 3
Luvanmusiq 1 1
OnMyRadio
  • Released: December 9, 2008
  • Label: Atlantic Records
  • Formats: CD, music download
11 1
MusiqInTheMagiq
  • Released: May 3, 2011
  • Label: Atlantic Records
  • Formats: CD, music download
8 3
9ine (with Syleena Johnson) 54
Life on Earth
  • Released: April 15, 2016
  • Label: My Block, E1 Music
  • Formats: CD, music download
27 3

Singles

Year Song US Hot 100[13] US R&B[14] Album
2000 "Just Friends (Sunny)" 31 6 Aijuswanaseing
"Love" 24 2
2001 "Girl Next Door" (featuring Ayana) 85 28
2002 "Halfcrazy" 16 2 Juslisen
"Dontchange" 17 3
2003 "Forthenight" 53 18 Soulstar
2004 "Whoknows" 65 23
2007 "B.U.D.D.Y." 36 2 Luvanmusiq
"Teachme" 42 2
"Makeyouhappy" 68
2008 "Radio" 55 OnMyRadio
"IfULeave" (featuring Mary J. Blige) 71 6
2009 "SoBeautiful" 81 8
2010 "Silky Soul" Silky Soul Music
2011 "Anything" (featuring Swizz Beatz) 31 MusiqInTheMagiq
"Yes" 24
2013 "Feel the Fire" (with Syleena Johnson) 9ine
2016 "I Do" 12 Life on Earth

Featured singles

Year Song US
[3]
US R&B
[3]
UK
Album
2002 "Break You Off" (The Roots featuring Musiq Soulchild) 99 55 59 Phrenology
2003 "Nothing at All" (Santana featuring Musiq Soulchild) Shaman
2006 "Takeyatime" (Black Ice featuring Musiq Soulchild) The Death of Willie Lynch
2008 "Why Me" (Ice Cube featuring Musiq Soulchild) Raw Footage
"Chocolate High" (India.Arie featuring Musiq Soulchild) 114 19 Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics
2010 "Forever" (The Floacist featuring Musiq Soulchild) Floetic Soul
"Hope for Haiti" (Kim Burrell featuring Musiq Soulchild, Michelle Williams, Lil' Mo & Tye Tribbett) Charity single
2012 "Ah Yeah" (Robert Glasper Experiment featuring Chrisette Michele & Musiq Soulchild) 86 Black Radio
2013 "Still Believe in Love" (Demetria McKinney featuring Musiq Soulchild) Non-album single

Awards and recognition

He has received awards from Billboard, BET, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, BMI, and Soul Train. Musiq has also been nominated for awards by MTV, The American Music Awards, the NAACP, and has had 11 Grammy nominations.

Grammy Awards

Year Recipient/Nominated work Award Result
2002 "Love" Best Male R&B Vocal Performance Nominated
2003 "Halfcrazy" Best Male R&B Vocal Performance Nominated
Juslisen Best R&B Album Nominated
2004 "Forthenight" Best Urban/Alternative Performance Nominated
2005 "Are You Experienced?" Best Urban/Alternative Performance Nominated
2008 "B.U.D.D.Y." Best Male R&B Vocal Performance Nominated
Luvanmusiq Best R&B Album Nominated
2010 "SoBeautiful" Best Male R&B Vocal Performance Nominated
"IfULeave" (feat. Mary J. Blige) Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals Nominated
"Chocolate High" (with India.Arie) Nominated
2011 "We're Still Friends" Best Male R&B Vocal Performance Nominated

References

  1. Brown, Tony. "Happy Birthday Noel Gourdin and Musiq Soulchild!". wdasfm.com. iHeartMedia, Inc. Retrieved 2015-12-26.
  2. 1 2 3 4 http://www.atlanticrecords.com/musiqsoulchild
  3. 1 2 3 Billboard: Musiq Soulchild
  4. 1 2 3 "Interview With JR Hutson". HitQuarters. 10 May 2010. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
  5. http://musiqsoulchild.com/
  6. "YKIGS Live: Musiq Soulchild Talks Signing with Warryn Campbell, Supporting Meelah on R&B Divas, Contributing to All Genres". youknowigotsoul.com. You Know I Got Soul. Retrieved 2014-09-14.
  7. Rucker, Jermaine. "Warryn Campbell signs Musiq Soulchild to My Block Inc.". gospelbreak.com. Gospel Break. Retrieved 2014-09-14.
  8. Murray, Jawn. "New Musiq: Soulchild signs with Warryn Campbell". alwaysalist.com. Always A List. Retrieved 2014-09-14.
  9. "VIDEO: MUSIQ SOULCHILD – I DO". thisisrnb.com. This Is RNB. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  10. "Musiq Soulchild Album & Song Chart History - Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved February 13, 2011.
  11. "Musiq Soulchild Album & Song Chart History - R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard. Retrieved February 13, 2011.
  12. 1 2 3 4 "American certifications – Musiq". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved April 17, 2016.
  13. "Musiq Soulchild Album & Song Chart History - Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  14. "Musiq Soulchild Album & Song Chart History - R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Retrieved April 26, 2016.

External links

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