Taalib Hassan Johnson (born September 16, 1977), better known by his stage name Musiq Soulchild (or simply Musiq; pronounced "music") is an American singer-songwriter. His music blends R&B,

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

, and

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

influences fused with

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

. He signed with

Def Soul Def Soul Records was an R&B-based division of American multinational record label Def Jam Recordings. It was formed in 1996 by Russell Simmons and Kevin Liles to expand R&B and soul music through Def Jam's said genre-related roster following the ...

to release his debut studio album, ''

Aijuswanaseing ''Aijuswanaseing'' (pronounced as ''"I Just Wanna Sing"'') is the debut studio album by American singer Musiq Soulchild. It was released on November 14, 2000, through Def Soul Recordings and Island Def Jam Music Group. The album debuted at numbe ...

'' (2000). It moderately entered the ''Billboard'' 200, while his second album, ''

Juslisen ''Juslisen'' (pronounced ''Just Listen'') is the second studio album by American singer Musiq Soulchild, simply known at the time as Musiq. It was released on May 7, 2002, under the Def Soul subsidiary of Def Jam Recordings. It debuted at number ...

'' (2002), peaked atop the chart and spawned the single "

Halfcrazy "Halfcrazy" is a song performed by Musiq Soulchild (then credited as Musiq), issued as the lead single from his second studio album '' Juslisen''. The single was released only on vinyl; and it contains a sample of Charlie Byrd's cover of Franci ...

", his highest entry—at number 16—on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. He released third album, '' Soulstar'' (2003), before parting ways with the label in favor of

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

. The label released his fourth album, '' Luvanmusiq'' (2007), which peaked atop the ''Billboard'' 200 once more.

Early life

Musiq was born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, and raised in a strict Muslim household. During his teenage years he built a reputation for being musically gifted, beat boxing for MCs freestyling 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 inspirations such icons as

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He helped shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player an ...

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

, and

Donny Hathaway Donny Edward Hathaway (October 1, 1945 – January 13, 1979) was an American soul singer, keyboardist, songwriter, backing vocalist, and arranger who ''Rolling Stone'' described as a "soul legend". His most popular songs include " The Ghetto" ...

. Billboard: Musiq Soulchild/ref> He dropped out of high school to pursue a career in music.

Career

1998–2004: Def Soul

In 1998, Musiq Soulchild signed with Def Soul Records, the contemporary R&B division of

Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum ...

Def Jam Recordings Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The l ...

. He later released his debut album, ''

'', in late 2000. Its lead single was "Just Friends (Sunny)". His second single "Love" spent 22 weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 charts. Musiq's second album, 2002's ''

'', debuted at number one on both the ''Billboard'' 200 and

R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip-hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Luminate. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated January 30, ...

, reaching platinum-sales status. The singles were "Halfcrazy" and "Dontchange", which were top ten hits. In 2003, Musiq released his third album, '' Soulstar'', which went gold. It included the singles "Forthenight" and "Whoknows". Musiq took a four-year break and changed his management to Solqi Management. In 2006, media outlets circulated that Musiq was involved in a ''de facto'' record label trade, transitioning from

's master label Def Jam Recordings to

, and sending rapper

Fabolous John David Jackson (born November 18, 1977), known professionally as Fabolous, is an American rapper. Raised in Brooklyn, he first gained recognition for his ability upon performing live on DJ Clue's WQHT, Hot 97 radio show. Jackson then signed ...

from Atlantic to Def Jam.

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, "Teachme", and "Makeyouhappy." His fifth album ''

OnMyRadio ''OnMyRadio'' is R&B singer-songwriter Musiq Soulchild's fifth studio album. It was released on December 9, 2008. The album entered the ''Billboard'' 200 chart at number 11, selling 91,498 copies its first week. It entered the ''Billboard'' To ...

'' 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 "Ifuleave" is the second single from Musiq Soulchild's fifth studio album, ''OnMyRadio'', his second full-length release on Atlantic Records. The song features R&B singer Mary J. Blige. Charts Weekly charts Year-end charts References

...

" featuring

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, actress, and entrepreneur. Often referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Qu ...

, and the ballad "SoBeautiful". The latter marked the first collaboration between Musiq and producer

JR Hutson JR Hutson (born Lee Hutson Jr.) is an American record producer, executive producer, songwriter and talent developer. He has collaborated with several notable artists including Jill Scott, Musiq Soulchild, Stevie Wonder, George Duke, Trick Daddy, ...

, after Hutson had spent "about eight months" trying to get Musiq to come by his studio. According to Hutson, the two planned to work together again. In May 2010, he changed management to Victor Grieg. 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 Kasseem Daoud Dean (born September 13, 1978), known professionally as Swizz Beatz, is an American rapper and record producer. Born and raised in the Bronx borough of New York City, Dean embarked on his musical career as a DJ in 1994. At the age ...

, followed by "Yes".

2013–present My Block Records, Soulstar Music Company, eOne Records

In September 2013, Musiq released a duet album with Syleena Johnson, titled ''9ine''. This album was a compilation of nine reggae songs recorded in nine days on the independent Shanachie label. Also in September 2013, Musiq announced his departure from Atlantic Records and becoming an independent artist. He revealed he is now signed to record producer

Warryn Campbell Warryn Stafford Campbell, Jr. (born August 21, 1975) is an American record producer. He has worked with a number of contemporary gospel, gospel, hip hop and Contemporary R&B, R&B artists. Campbell originally got his start as a session musician a ...

's label My Block Records. Musiq previously worked with Campbell on his first two albums on Atlantic – 2007's '' Luvanmusiq'' and 2008's ''

''. He released an EP titled ''The Husel'' through DatPiff on July 30, 2014. In April 2016, he released his first independent solo album through My Block/

E1 Music MNRK Music Group (pronounced "monarch"), formerly known as Koch Records and Entertainment One (eOne) Music/Records, is an American independent record label and music management company based in New York City. It was formed in 1987 as a music div ...

, '' Life on Earth''. 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. He premiered music videos for the tracks in April 2017.

Other music

Musiq Soulchild has featured on *the song " Nothing at All" from

Carlos Santana Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán (; born July 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, best known as a founding member of the Rock music, rock band Santana (band), Santana. Born and raised in Mexico where he developed his musical background, he r ...

's October 2002 album ''

Shaman Shamanism is a spiritual practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with the spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritual energies into ...

''; *

The Roots The Roots are an American Hip-hop, hip hop band formed in 1987 by singer Black Thought, Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and drummer Questlove, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''T ...

's November 2002 ''

Phrenology Phrenology is a pseudoscience that involves the measurement of bumps on the skull to predict mental traits. It is based on the concept that the Human brain, brain is the organ of the mind, and that certain brain areas have localized, specific ...

'' on the song "Break You Off"; *rapper Skillz's December 2002 ''

I Ain't Mad No More ''I Ain't Mad No More'' is the second album by Virginia–native rapper Skillz. The album featured guest appearances by Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott, Danja Mowf, Kandi, Pretty Ugly, Big Swells, Musiq Soulchild, AAries, Cee-Lo Green, Pretty Will ...

'' on the song "Wave Ya Hands!"; *" Are You Experienced?" in 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 Christopher Charles Lloyd (born April 30, 1982), better known by his stage name Lloyd Banks, is an American rapper. He began his career as a member of East Coast hip-hop, East Coast hip hop group G-Unit, which he formed with childhood friends ...

's October 2006 album '' Rotten Apple'' on the song "Addicted"; *"Reasons" on the March 2007 tribute album '' Interpretations: Celebrating the Music of Earth, Wind & Fire''; *on

Talib Kweli Talib Kweli Greene (; born October 3, 1975) is an American rapper. He first earned recognition through his collaboration with fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def (now known as Yasiin Bey) in 1997, when they formed the group Black Star. Kweli's music ...

's August 2007 album ''

Eardrum In the anatomy of humans and various other tetrapods, the eardrum, also called the tympanic membrane or myringa, is a thin, cone-shaped membrane that separates the external ear from the middle ear. Its function is to transmit changes in pres ...

'' on the song "Oh My Stars"; *

Ice Cube O'Shea Jackson Sr. (born June 15, 1969), known professionally as Ice Cube, is an American rapper, songwriter, actor, and film producer. His lyrics on N.W.A's 1989 album '' Straight Outta Compton'' contributed to gangsta rap's widespread popu ...

's August 2008 album ''

Raw Footage ''Raw Footage'' is the eighth studio album by American rapper Ice Cube. It was released on August 19, 2008, by his record label Lench Mob Records and EMI. The album features guest appearances from The Game, Butch Cassidy, Musiq Soulchild, Youn ...

'' on the song "Why Me?"; *

Rapsody Marlanna Evans (born January 21, 1983), better known by her stage name Rapsody, is an American rapper. After signing with music producer 9th Wonder's music label It's a Wonderful World Music Group, she released a series of mixtapes and collab ...

's November 2017 album ''

Laila's Wisdom ''Laila's Wisdom'' is the second studio album by American rapper Rapsody, released on September 22, 2017, by Jamla Records and Roc Nation. It is Rapsody's first album released under her partnership with Roc Nation. The album features collaboratio ...

'' on the song "A Rollercoaster Jam Called Love"; *

Kehlani Kehlani Ashley Parrish ( ; born April 24, 1995) is an American singer, songwriter and dancer. She is originally from Oakland, California, and achieved initial fame as a member of the teen pop group PopLyfe in 2011. Kehlani's debut mixtape, '' ...

's February 2019 mixtape ''

While We Wait ''While We Wait'' is the second commercial and third mixtape by American singer Kehlani. The album was released on February 22, 2019, by Atlantic Records. ''While We Wait'' features guest appearances from Musiq Soulchild, Dom Kennedy, Ty Dolla $i ...

'' on the song "Footsteps"; *

Smif-N-Wessun Smif-N-Wessun, also known as Cocoa Brovaz and Tek-N-Steele, is an American hip hop duo from Brooklyn, New York City. It is composed of rappers Tekomin "Tek" Williams (born June 3, 1973) from Bedford–Stuyvesant and Darrell "Steele" Yates (born ...

's March 2019 album ''The All'' on the song "Ocean Drive''.

Soundtrack songs

Soulchild has also appeared on the soundtrack to

Tyler Perry Tyler Perry (born Emmitt Perry Jr., September 13, 1969) is an American actor, filmmaker, and playwright. He is the creator and performer of Madea, Mabel "Madea" Simmons, a tough elderly woman, and also portrays her brother Joe Simmons and her ...

's February 2007 movie ''

Daddy's Little Girls ''Daddy's Little Girls'' is a 2007 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Tyler Perry, produced by Perry and Reuben Cannon, and starring Gabrielle Union, Idris Elba, Louis Gossett Jr., and Tracee Ellis Ross. It tells the sto ...

''. He also lent a song from his March 2007 album '' Luvanmusiq'' to the soundtrack for Perry's later movie ''

Why Did I Get Married? ''Why Did I Get Married?'' is a 2007 American comedy-drama film adaptation written, produced, directed, and starring Tyler Perry. It was inspired by Perry's play of the same name. The film also stars Janet Jackson, Jill Scott, Malik Yoba, Sharo ...

'', released October 2007. He then recorded a remake of

Arrested Development ''Arrested Development'' is an American satire, satirical television sitcom created by Mitchell Hurwitz. It follows the Bluths, a formerly wealthy, dysfunctional family and is presented in a Serial (radio and television), serialized format, inco ...

's song " People Everyday" with British rapper and singer Estelle for the soundtrack to Tyler Perry's March 2008 '' Meet the Browns'' titled "People Everyday (Metamorphosis Mix)".

Television and books

Musiq guest starred as himself in the

UPN The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that operated from 1995 to 2006. It was originally a joint venture between Chris-Craft Industries (later sold to News Corporation)'s subsidiary, United Television, ...

sitcom ''

Half and Half "Half and half" is the name of various beverages and foods made of an equal-parts mixture of two substances, including dairy products, alcoholic beverages, and soft drinks. Alcoholic beverages Belgium In some cafés in Brussels, a "half en ...

'' in May 2004 and

The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...

comedy '' The Game'' in October 2007. On June 25, 2012, Musiq released a book on love and relationships, titled ''143 – Love According To Musiq''.

Personal life

When Musiq was a young child, he developed a lazy eye from an accident that occurred while being fed by his uncle. In 2009, he had a son with 702 singer Kameelah Williams. He also has a daughter named Satori, born in 2017, with Ashley "Tiyumba" Wright. Musiq resides in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Discography

Studio albums

Collaboration albums

EPs

Singles

As featured artist

Accolades

Soulchild has two platinum as well as two gold albums altogether. He has also received awards from BET and the ASCAP among others. Soulchild has also received 13 Grammy nominations, including three for his 2007 album '' Luvanmusiq''.

ASCAP Awards

, - , align="center" , 2002 ASCAP Awards , Musiq Soulchild , Best Male R&B Artist , , -

BET Awards

, - , align="center" ,

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, Musiq Soulchild , Best Male R&B Artist , , - , align="center" ,

, Musiq Soulchild , Best New Artist , , - , align="center" ,

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, Musiq Soulchild , Best Male R&B Artist , , - , align="center" ,

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, Musiq Soulchild , BET Centric Award , , - , align="center" ,

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, Musiq Soulchild , BET J Award , , -

American Music Awards

, - , align="center" ,

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, Musiq Soulchild , Favorite Soul/R&B New Artist , , -

Grammy Awards

, - , align="center" ,

, "

Love Love is a feeling of strong attraction and emotional attachment (psychology), attachment to a person, animal, or thing. It is expressed in many forms, encompassing a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most su ...

" ,

Best Male R&B Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance was awarded between 1968 and 2011. The award has had several minor name changes: *In 1968 it was awarded as Best R&B Solo Vocal Performance, Male *From 1969 to 1994 it was awarded as Best R&B ...

, , - , align="center" rowspan="2",

, "

" , Best Male R&B Vocal Performance , , - , ''

'' ,

Best R&B Album The Grammy Award for Best R&B Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality works on albums in the Contemporary R&B, R&B mus ...

, , - , align="center" ,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, "

Forthenight "Forthenight" is the lead single from Musiq's third album '' Soulstar''. It was released as a 12" single on October 7, 2003. It debuted on the ''Billboard'' Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and ...

" ,

Best Urban/Alternative Performance The Grammy Award for Best Urban/Alternative Performance was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality urban/alternative performance ...

, , - , align="center" ,

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, "Are You Experienced?" , Best Urban/Alternative Performance , , - , align="center" rowspan="2",

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, " B.U.D.D.Y." , Best Male R&B Vocal Performance , , - , '' Luvanmusiq'' , Best R&B Album , , - , align="center" rowspan="3",

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, "

SoBeautiful "SoBeautiful" is the third single from Musiq Soulchild's fifth studio album, '' OnMyRadio''. It was sent to US radio stations for airplay consideration in January 2009. It was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of Best Male R&B Vocal Per ...

" , Best Male R&B Vocal Performance , , - , "

...

" (feat.

) , rowspan="2",

Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals The Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as th ...

, , - , " Chocolate High" (with

India.Arie India Arie Simpson (born October 3, 1975) is an American singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence with her debut album, ''Acoustic Soul (2001),'' which was a commercial and critical success. She has since released the albums ''Voyage to In ...

) , , - , align="center" ,

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, "We're Still Friends" , Best Male R&B Vocal Performance , , - , align="center" ,

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

, "I Do" ,

Best R&B Performance The Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. According to the 54th Grammy Awards description guide it is designed for s ...

, , - , align="center" rowspan="1",

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, '' Feel the Real'' , Best R&B Album , , -

References

External links

Official website
* Musiq Soulchild's AllMusic page {{DEFAULTSORT:Musiq Soulchild 1977 births Living people 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers American neo soul singers Singers from Philadelphia Atlantic Records artists American contemporary R&B singers American ballad musicians 21st-century American singers 21st-century American male singers 21st-century African-American male singers