| Musiq Soulchild | |
|---|---|
Musiq Soulchild at WGCI Coca Cola Lounge |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Taalib Johnson |
| Also known as | Musiq Soulchild |
| Born | September 16, 1977 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Genres | Contemporary R&B Neo soul |
| Occupations | Singer-songwriter |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Labels | Def Soul (2000–2005) Atlantic (2006–present) |
| Website | www.musiqsoulchild.com |
Musiq Soulchild or Musiq ( /ˈmjuːsɪk/; born Taalib Johnson on September 16, 1977) is a American R&B/soul singer-songwriter whose style blends contemporary R&B, soul, funk, alternative, blues, jazz, some gospel influences and hip hop.
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Musiq was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and is the oldest of nine children. At an early age, Musiq decided he would discontinue his high school education, and left home at 17. It was during that time Musiq started to build a reputation for being musically gifted, beat boxing for MC's, free styling on the open mic circuit, scatting at a jazz club, or just performing a cappella in the streets of Philadelphia, which is where he got the name "Musiq" and later added "Soulchild", which is intended to respect and represent the legacy and traditions of past soul artists. He cites as his inspiration such icons as Stevie Wonder, James Brown, Patti LaBelle, Billie Holiday, Sly & the Family Stone and Ray Charles.[1][2]
Musiq has also earned award nominations from Moard, BET, ASCAP, BMI, and Soul Train.[1] Musiq Soulchild has had 2 platinum albums, 2 gold albums and 7 hit singles. He has received awards from BillbMTV, American Music Awards, NAACP, and 11 Grammy nominations, including 3 for his 2007 album Luvanmusiq.
"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."[1] The nickname Soulchild came from two ideas. Musiq quotes it as, "Musiq Soulchild is technically 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."[1]
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 Charts and went platinum. The singles were "Halfcrazy" and "Dontchange".
In 2003, Musiq released his 3rd 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".
His fifth album OnMyRadio was released on December 2, 2008. The lead single "Radio" was a complete contrast to the usual smooth soul and R&B 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.[3] According to Hutson, the two plan to work together again.[3]
In May 2010, he changed management to Victor Grieg.[3]
His latest album Musiqinthemajiq was released on May 3, 2011, available on CDs and also as a digital download. The first single is Anything featuring Swizz Beatz.[4]
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, 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/singer Estelle for the soundtrack to Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns entitled "People Everyday (Metamorphosis Mix)".
Outside of music, he has 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.
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.
He has been dating singer Kameelah Williams (of 702) since 2009. They welcomed the birth of their son in August 2009.[5] She is the inspiration for his song "SoBeautiful."[6]
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
Certifications (sales threshold) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [7] |
US R&B [8] |
|||
| Aijuswanaseing |
|
24 | 2 | |
| Juslisen |
|
1 | 1 |
|
| Soulstar |
|
13 | 3 |
|
| Luvanmusiq |
|
1 | 1 |
|
| OnMyRadio |
|
11 | 1 | |
| MusiqInTheMagiq |
|
8 | 3 | |
| Year | Song | U.S. Hot 100[2] | U.S. R&B[2] | 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 |
| Year | Song | U.S. [2] |
U.S. R&B [2] |
UK [1] |
Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | "Break You Off" (The Roots featuring Musiq Soulchild) | 99 | 55 | 59 | Phrenology |
| 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 |
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