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	R&B
Occupation(s)	Singer songwriter
Years active	1998–present
Labels	Def Soul (1999–2005) Atlantic (2005–2013) My Block E1 Music (2013–present)
Website	www.musiqsoulchild.com
Notable instruments
Vocals

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

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.

Biography and personal life

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]

In August 2009, his son Zachary was born with 702 singer Kameelah Williams.^[4] Zachary was diagnosed with ASD (autism spectrum disorder) in 2013.^[5]

In 2017, it was confirmed he was dating wellness influencer Ashley "Tiyumba" Wright. She announced they were expecting their first child together in April.^[6][7] However, they separated the following month in May.^[8]

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

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".

2000–2004: Def Soul Recordings

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; it also debuted number one on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and all-genre Billboard 200 charts.^[9] The singles were "Halfcrazy" and "Dontchange", which were top tens.

In 2003, Musiq released his third album, Soulstar, which went gold.^[9] 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.

2006–2012: Atlantic Records

In March 2007, Musiq's released his fourth album Luvanmusiq. Its singles were "B.U.D.D.Y.". an uptempo track,^[9] "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 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.^[10] According to Hutson, the two plan to work together again.^[10]

In May 2010, he changed management to Victor Grieg.^[10]

His last album for Atlantic MusiqInTheMagiq was released on May 3, 2011, available on CDs and also as a digital download. The first single was "Anything" featuring Swizz Beatz,^[11] followed by "Yes".

Independent music

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 on the independent Shanachie^[9] label.

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.^[12][13][14] Musiq previously worked with Campbell on his first two albums on Atlantic - 2007's Luvanmusiq and 2008's OnMyRadio.

He released an EP titled The Husel through DatPiff on July 30th, 2014.^[15]

In April 2016, he released his first independent solo album through My Block/E1 Music, Life on Earth.^[16] The lead single is "I Do". Shortly after, he moved to a new label, with eOne/SoulStar Music Company.

In 2017, he released two new singles "Simple Things" and "Start Over" set for a new album titled Feel the Real due on September 15, 2017.^[17][18] He premiered music videos for the tracks in April 2017.^[19]

Other music

Musiq Soulchild has featured on

• the song "Nothing at All (Santana song)" from Carlos Santana's October 2002 album Shaman;
• The Roots's November 2002 Phrenology on the song "Break You Off";
• rapper Skillz's December 2002 I Ain't Mad No More on the song "Wave Ya Hands!";
• "Are You Experienced? (song)" on March 2004's Power of Soul: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix album;
• Black Ice's September 2006 The Death of Willie Lynch on the song "Takeyatime";
• rapper Lloyd Banks's October 2006 album Rotten Apple (Lloyd Banks album) on the song Addicted;
• "Reasons" on the March 2007 tribute album Interpretations: Celebrating the Music of Earth, Wind & Fire;
• on Talib Kweli's August 2007 album Eardrum on the song "Oh My Stars";
• Ice Cube's August 2008 album Raw Footage on the song "Why Me?".

Soundtrack songs

Soulchild has also appeared on the soundtrack to Tyler Perry's February 2007 movie Daddy's Little Girls.

He also lent a song from his March 2007 album Luvanmusiq to the soundtrack for Perry's later movie Why Did I Get Married?, released October 2007.

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 March 2008 Meet the Browns (film) entitled "People Everyday (Metamorphosis Mix)".

Discography

Studio albums

EPs

Singles

Featured Singles

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 12 Grammy nominations.

Grammy Awards

References

External links

• Official website
• Musiq Soulchild's AllMusic page