Taalib Hassan Johnson (born September 16, 1977), better known by the stage name Musiq Soulchild or simply Musiq (pronounced "music") is an American singer and songwriter whose style 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 mi ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...

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, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

, and

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

influences fused with hip hop. Soulchild has released several successful studio albums that went platinum in the United States. He is regarded as one of the best R&B male singers of the 21st century.

Early life

Musiq was born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

, 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 Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, pop, s ...

, and

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

. 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 just Universal Music) is a Dutch–American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and it ...

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, '' Aijuswanaseing'', 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 '' Juslisen'', 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 Nielsen SoundScan. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated ...

, 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 Def Soul's master label Def Jam Recordings to

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 its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most im ...

, and sending rapper Fabolous from Atlantic to Def Jam.

2006–2012: Atlantic Records

In March 2007, Musiq's released his fourth album ''

Luvanmusiq ''Luvanmusiq'' (Lovin' Musiq) is the fourth release by the singer-songwriter Musiq Soulchild, the first under his contract with Atlantic Records. The lead single, " B.U.D.D.Y.", was released to U.S. radio in late November 2006; it reached number ...

''. Its singles were "B.U.D.D.Y.," an uptempo track, "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''. 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 plan to work together again. In May 2010, he changed management to Victor Grieg. His last album for Atlantic ''

MusiqInTheMagiq ''MusiqInTheMagiq'' is the sixth studio album by the R&B singer Musiq Soulchild. It was released on April 29, 2011, on Atlantic Records. The album entered the ''Billboard'' 200 chart at number eight, selling 34,000 copies in its first week. As ...

'' 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 record producer, rapper, disc jockey (DJ) and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, Dean embarked on his musical career as a DJ. At the ag ...

, followed by "Yes".

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

In September 2013, Musiq 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 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 gospel, hip hop and R&B artists. Campbell originally got his start as a session musician and producer under the tutelage of DJ ...

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

'' and 2008's OnMyRadio''. 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 eOne Music) is a New York City-based independent record label and music management company. It was formed in 2009 from the music assets of Koch Entertainment, which had ...

, '' 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 who rose to fame in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band Santana, which pioneered a fusion of Rock and roll and Latin American jazz. Its sound feature ...

's October 2002 album ''

Shaman Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spir ...

''; *

The Roots The Roots are an American hip hop band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy F ...

's November 2002 ''

Phrenology Phrenology () is a pseudoscience which involves the measurement of bumps on the skull to predict mental traits.Wihe, J. V. (2002). "Science and Pseudoscience: A Primer in Critical Thinking." In ''Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience'', pp. 195–203. C ...

'' 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 Wil ...

'' on the song "Wave Ya Hands!"; *"

Are You Experienced? ''Are You Experienced'' is the debut studio album by the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Released in 1967, the LP was an immediate critical and commercial success, and it is widely regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time. The album feature ...

" 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'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 earned recognition early on through his collaboration with fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def in 1997, when they formed the group Black Star. Kweli's musical career continued with ...

'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 sound from the ...

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

Ice Cube An ice cube is a small piece of ice, which is typically rectangular as viewed from above and trapezoidal as viewed from the side. Ice cubes are products of mechanical refrigeration and are usually produced to cool beverages. They may be p ...

's August 2008 album '' Raw Footage'' on the song "Why Me?"; * Rapsody'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 collaboration ...

'' on the song "A Rollercoaster Jam Called Love"; * Kehlani'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 $ig ...

'' on the song "Footsteps"; * Smif-N-Wessun'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, comedian, filmmaker, and playwright. He is the creator and performer of the Madea character, a tough elderly woman. Perry's films vary in style from orthodox filmma ...

's February 2007 movie '' Daddy's Little Girls''. He also lent a song from his March 2007 album ''

'' 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, Shar ...

'', 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

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

Television and books

Musiq guest starred as himself in the UPN sitcom '' Half and Half'' in May 2004 and

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

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

Personal life

Musiq resides in

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

. In 2009, he had a son with 702 singer Kameelah Williams. When Musiq was a young child he developed a lazy eye from an accident that occurred while being fed by his uncle.

Discography

Studio albums

Collaboration albums

EPs

Singles

As featured artist

Accolades

Soulchild has two platinum as well as two gold albums altogether. He's as well been bestowed with awards from BET and the ASCAP among others. Soulchild has also received 13 Grammy nominations, including 3 for his 2007 album ''

''.

ASCAP Awards

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

BET Awards

, - , align="center" ,

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...

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

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

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A ...

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

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...

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

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...

, Musiq Soulchild , BET J Award , , -

American Music Awards

, - , align="center" ,

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

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

Grammy Awards

, - , align="center" ,

, "

Love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest Interpersonal relationship, interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of ...

" ,

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",

, " Halfcrazy" , Best Male R&B Vocal Performance , , - , '' Juslisen'' , Best R&B Album , , - , 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 ...

, "

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 , , - , align="center" ,

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; " Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discover ...

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

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, " B.U.D.D.Y." , Best Male R&B Vocal Performance , , - , ''

'' , Best R&B Album , , - , align="center" rowspan="3",

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, " SoBeautiful" , Best Male R&B Vocal Performance , , - , " IfULeave" (feat. Mary J. Blige) , rowspan="2",

Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals The Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal was awarded between 1970 and 2011. From 1967 to 1969 and in 1971 the award included instrumental performances. The award had several minor name changes: *From 1967 to 1968 th ...

, , - , " Chocolate High" (with India.Arie) , , - , align="center" ,

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrates ...

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

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

, "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 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, '' 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 American neo soul singers Musicians from Philadelphia Atlantic Records artists Singers from Pennsylvania American contemporary R&B singers Ballad musicians 21st-century American singers 21st-century American male singers 21st-century African-American male singers