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06/17/2002 The Queen's Scene |
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It must be the Musiq
R&B Soul sensation does it again with follow up smash album
by Michelle Muhammad
Musiq never sounded so good! The man who hails from the newly crowned Mecca of soul music, Philadelphia, is back and better than ever.
When Musiq (a.k.a. Taalib Johnson) burst upon the scene in 2000 with the song "Just Friends (Sunny)," he had people wondering: ��What is the name of that song and who is that cat singing?�� The song was infectious and you could not get it out of your head. That song from the Nutty Professor II soundtrack launched his professional music career and got him a recording contract with Def Jam/Def Soul. He has just released the long awaited follow-up to his 2000 platinum debut, Aijuswanaseing. The stellar debut CD was packed with hits like "Just Friends," "Love" and "Girl Next Door" just to name a few.
The days of being a starving artist and sleeping from couch to couch where ever he could are over. When he first came out with the instant hit song "Just Friends," many compared him to D�Angelo; and that�s cool with Musiq since he is a fan and admirer of D�Angelo. But like any musician/artist he has honed his skills and developed his own musical style.
Since first appearing on the music scene he has received an impressive amount of accolades for someone new in the industry. He received awards from the NAACP, Soul Train, Source, Billboard, BET and a Grammy for 2002 Best Male R&B vocal performance.
This time out, Musiq was given complete creative control. With this he was able to be very creative and distinctive about the message he wanted to relay to listeners of his album. He definitely studied the masters of soul music (i.e. Sly Stone, Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder) well. This 24-year-old phenom is poised to shake up the industry like no other recent male soul artist has ever done before him.
Juslisen, a 16-track disc, is the true essence of soul music. Musiq has embodied the perfect blend of love, understanding and classic soul. One thing that places Musiq apart from his counterparts is that he has sequels to his songs from the previous album, something that is oft times done only in hip hop. You can just about pick up where you left off on "Seventeen" with this album�s "Caughtup." This album also includes "ifiwouldaknew" which is a remix of "Girl Next Door" with up and coming artist Aries.
The lead song "Halfcrazy" is a dreamy and romantic tale of how two friends decided to become more than that, and it didn�t quite work out. Urban stations worldwide have had thousands of requests for the song since it first hit the airwave a few months ago.
"Don�t Change" has Musiq once again the envy of all men and the hero of women everywhere. In the song he exemplifies an example of what women want in a mate. He starts off by talking about how over the years both parties will change and that she is the most beautiful woman in his eyes. It features the chorus: "I�ll love you when your hair turns gray/ Girl, I�ll still want you if you gain a little weight/ Yeah, the way I feel for you will always be the same/ Just as long as your love don�t change."
Other great songs on the disc include "Time," "Religious," "Previouscats" and "One Night" a song that would make any Marvin Gaye fan proud. Another hit and the bonus track is "Something" written and previously recorded by the late Beetle�s member George Harrison. Musiq does a moving rendition of the classic song.
In the months prior to the release of his sophomore album, Musiq dropped Soulchild from his name. Many were wondering what was the reason for that. Recently on an episode of the long running music show Soul Train, he explained why he decided to drop it. "The reason why I dropped the Soulchild was because there�s a lot of things that Soulchild represents. Not just a name, but what comes with what the name represents and in the early stages of my career it�s kind of difficult for me to live up to at this time. So I�m just taking it one thing at a time."
He has been making the news a lot lately, not because he�s a great artist but for the company that he chooses to keep. He has been seen around town escorting the lovely India.Arie to various awards shows leading some to speculate about their relationship. Being the true gentlemen that he is he declines to go into whether or not they are more than friends.
If you loved his last release, you�ll love this one. You can catch Musiq on his world tour with Cee-Lo Green of Goodie Mob fame in a town near you.
Whatever the case may be, if you want to transport yourself to an era when soul music really had soul, Juslisen delivers. Put in the disc, lay back and listen to the soulful sounds of some good Musiq.
(Michelle Muhammad may be reached via her email address at [email protected].)