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Year 143 (CXLIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Torquatus and Hipparchus (or, less frequently, year 896 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 143 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Events[link]

By place[link]

Roman Empire[link]

• Antoninus Pius as Roman Consul.
• A revolt of the Brigantes tribe in Britannia is suppressed by Quintus Lollius Urbicus.

By topic[link]

Medicine[link]

• The Roman doctor Antyllus performs the first arteriotomy.

Births[link]

• Emperor Chong of Han China (d. 145)

Deaths[link]

References[link]

Ray J
Ray J, Hollywood, CA on December 4, 2011
Background information
Birth name	William Ray Norwood Jr.
Also known as	Willie Norwood, Jr.
Born	(1981-01-17) January 17, 1981 (age 31)[1] McComb, Mississippi, United States
Origin	Carson, California, United States
Genres	R&B, hip hop, pop
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, rapper
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1995–present
Labels	Atlantic, Knockout/Deja 34, E1, Koch Entertainment, Elektra
Associated acts	Brandy, Diplo, Gucci Mane Kim Kardashian
Website	www.rayj.com

William Ray Norwood Jr. (born January 17, 1981),^[1] better known by his stage name Ray J, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and actor.

Early life[link]

William Ray Norwood Jr. was born in McComb, Mississippi to Willie Norwood and Sonja Bates-Norwood. His older sister Brandy is an award-winning, multi-platinum recording artist. His first cousin, Snoop Dogg, is a multi-platinum recording rapper.^[2]

Early in Ray J's career, he was known for wearing a Pacers headband.

Music career[link]

Everything You Wanted (1997)[link]

Elektra Records in 1995 and recorded his debut album Everything You Want the next year. "Let It Go" appeared on the Set It Off soundtrack. It peaked number 25 in the U.S. and number 11 in New Zealand. The second single peaked at number 54 on the U.S. R&B chart. In 1997, he was dropped from the label. He produced, putting together the music for several commercials and a few of the demos for his second record.^[1]

This Ain't a Game (2001)[link]

Ray J recorded "Another Day in Paradise" with Brandy, which was a Top Ten success in Austria, UK, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Belgium, Norway, Ireland, the Netherlands and number 11 in Australia and France. The song was the lead single of the R&B/Hip Hop tribute Urban Renewal, in which he co-produced and performed songs. Norwood also worked with The Neptunes, Rodney Jerkins and Lil' Kim, and several other producers and singers for his second studio album This Ain't A Game. The album was released in 2001. The lead single "Wait A Minute" peaked at #30 on the U.S. Hot 100 chart and #8 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. "Formal Invite" followed at #54 on the R&B chart.^[3]

Raydiation (2005)[link]

After a two year break, Norwood returned to recording studios, adding the finishing touches on his third studio album Raydiation with help from producers such as Rodney Jerkins, Timbaland, R. Kelly, and Rob Egerton. A joint venture by Sanctuary Records and Ray-J's own label, independent Knockout Entertainment, the album was finally released on September 27, 2005 in North America after several delays, debuting at number forty-eight on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 18,321 copies in the first week. The album's lead single "One Wish" was a top 20 success in the US, UK, Ireland, and New Zealand. Raydiation eventually sold over 400,000 copies domestically.^[4]

All I Feel (2008)[link]

Knockout Entertainment announced a multi-million dollar album deal with Koch Records and Shaquille O'Neal's "Deja 34" entertainment company.^[4] The first album for this deal is Ray J's fourth album All I Feel, which features The Game and Yung Berg among others. It was released on April 1, 2008.^[5] The album's first single is "Sexy Can I" featuring rapper Yung Berg peaked at number three on the Top Singles (Hot 100) for six weeks. A video for the track, directed by R. Malcolm Jones, was shot in December 2007.^[4] J stars in the Black Christmas movie Dark Christmas under the direction from Deon Taylor.^[6]

Raydiation 2 (2010-present)[link]

Ray J is currently working with his sister Brandy Norwood on their collaboration album Trust, Knowledge & Opportunity & his upcoming solo album Raydiation 2 with his first single "Last Wish" The sequel to his 2005 smash hit "One Wish" both produced by hit maker Rodney Jerkins.

Other Ventures[link]

Acting career[link]

Early in his life, he moved with his family from McComb, Mississippi to Carson, California, and in 1989 started appearing in television commercials for different companies. In 1989, at the age of eight, Norwood began auditioning for and appearing in television commercials; he played the foster son in "The Sinbad Show, from 1993-1994. This period in Norwood's life would shape his acting career to come. According to Bradley Torreano of allmusic, "his easygoing image and boyish looks appealed to the producers of Brandy's television show, Moesha", giving him a role on the UPN series starting in 1999 as Dorian "D-Money". In 2005, Norwood joined the cast of UPN's One On One,^[7] where he played the character of D-Mack for the final season. On both shows, Ray's character was related to Brandy's (cousin/half-brother on Moesha, brother on One on One).

Reality Television[link]

In 2009, Norwood starred in his own VH1 reality dating show, For the Love of Ray J. The show premiered on February 2, 2009. For his show on March 24, 2009 he released the soundtrack/studio album called For The Love Of Ray J. On November 2, 2009, the show's second season premiered. In 2010, Norwood and his sister Brandy Norwood premiered the VH1 reality series Brandy and Ray J: A Family Business along with their parents. He also played the role of Roberto in the movie Christmas at Water's Edge in 2004.The show debuted in April 2010 and chronicled the backstage happenings of both siblings, while taking a bigger role in their family's management and production company, R&B Productions.

Personal life[link]

This section called "Personal Life" needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2011)

Ray J is the brother of singer Brandy Norwood and first cousin of rapper Snoop Dogg.^[8] He has dated Kim Kardashian, and in February 2007, a pornographic home video he made with her in 2003 was made public.^[9] Kardashian sued Vivid Entertainment for ownership of the tape. In late April 2007, Kardashian dropped the suit and settled with Vivid Entertainment for $5 million.^[10]

Discography[link]

Studio albums

• Everything You Want (1997)
• This Ain't a Game (2001)
• Raydiation (2005)
• All I Feel (2008)
• Raydiation 2 (2012)

Soundtrack albums

• For the Love of Ray J (2009)

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

	Book: Ray J
Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print.

• Official website
• Ray J on Myspace
• Ray J on Twitter
• Ray J at the Internet Movie Database
• On Set of Ray J’s Video Last Wish

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. It relies largely or entirely upon a single source. Tagged since April 2008. It may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Tagged since November 2008. Its factual accuracy is disputed. Tagged since August 2007. It may contain original research. Tagged since April 2008.

Musiq Soulchild
Musiq Soulchild at WGCI Coca Cola Lounge
Background information
Birth name	Taalib Johnson
Also known as	Musiq Soulchild
Born	(1977-09-16) September 16, 1977 (age 34) 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.

Biography[link]

Musiq was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and is the oldest of nine children. At an early age, Musiq decided he would drop out of high school, and left home at 17. It was during that time Musiq started to sell dope in the hood and 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. We all know how hard it can be for an African American to get by and Muisq protected his dream with a compact 9mm. 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.

Name origin[link]

"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]

Career[link]

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]

Guest appearances[link]

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)".

Other interests[link]

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.

Awards and recognition[link]

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.

Personal life[link]

He dated singer Kameelah Williams (of 702) in 2009. They welcomed the birth of their son in August 2009.^[5] She is the inspiration for his song "SoBeautiful."^[6]

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Singles[link]

Featured singles[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Website
• Musiq Soulchild on Myspace
• Antigua Music Festival
• Musiq Soulchild Black Planet page
• Musiq Preps Atlantic Records Debut
• Musiq at rnbkings.net
• Musiq Soulchild's AllMusic page
• Exclusive Musiq Soulchild Interview
• Luvanmusiq Album Review