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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

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (September 2010)

Chrisette Michele
Michele performing in Brooklyn in August 2007
Background information
Born	(1982-12-08) December 8, 1982 (age 29) Central Islip, New York
Origin	Patchogue, New York, U.S.[1]
Genres	R&B, soul, jazz, hip-hop soul
Occupations	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, piano
Years active	2006–present
Labels	Def Jam
Website	www.thisischrisettemichele.com

Chrisette Michele Payne (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Chrisette Michele, is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter. She is signed to the Island Def Jam Music Group^[2] and won a Grammy Award for Best Urban/Alternative Performance in 2009 for her song "Be OK".

Biography[link]

Michele was born in Central Islip, New York, and grew up in Patchogue. Her father was a deacon and her mother a choir director. Michele led gospel choirs in high school. She attended Five Towns College in Dix Hills, New York, and graduated with a vocal performance degree.

Music career[link]

Beginnings[link]

Michele has been featured on several hip hop albums. She is on The Game's album LAX on "Let Us Live". On Jay-Z's Kingdom Come she was featured on the second single "Lost One", while on Nas' Hip Hop Is Dead, she was featured three times: on the album's second single "Can't Forget About You", the Kanye West-produced "Still Dreaming", and the final track "Hope". She also appeared on the bonus track "Slow Down", from Ghostface Killah's The Big Doe Rehab.

[edit] I Am (2007)

Michele's debut album, I Am, was released on June 18, 2007. The song "Your Joy" was released on iTunes as a free single of the week. The album spawned four singles: "If I Have My Way", "Best of Me", "Be OK", and "Love Is You". The album's lead single "If I Have My Way" charted at number four on US Billboard's Hot Adult R&B Airplay and number twenty-four on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. "Best of Me" charted on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks at number twenty-one. In December 2007, "Be OK" was released as the third single, charting at number sixty-four on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and number twenty-one on the Hot Adult R&B Airplay. In 2008, "Love Is You" was released as the album's fourth and final single; it reached number ninety on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and number twenty on the Hot Adult R&B Airplay.

[edit] Epiphany (2009)

In 2008, Michele appeared on the track "Rising Up" from The Roots' album Rising Down. Michele guest starred as herself in The CW's Girlfriends, in the episode entitled "What's Black-a-Lackin'?", which originally aired on February 11, 2008. She also wrote a song for Tyler Perry's House of Payne entitled "I've Gotta Love Jones". From May to July 2008 Michele embarked on a nationwide co-headlining tour with fellow soul singer Raheem DeVaughn called the Art of Love Tour; Solange Knowles served as the opening act.^[3] In September 2008, Michele performed twice at the Evening of Stars: A Tribute to Patti Labelle.

In mid-2008, Michele began recording for her second album, Epiphany. In January 2009, the album's title track was released as the lead single.^[4] Released on May 5, 2009, the album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 selling 83,000 copies in its opening week.^[5]

Michele has worked with rapper Rick Ross and Canadian rapper/singer Drake on the fourth single of Ross's album Teflon Don called "Aston Martin Music". The song was released on October 5, 2010.^[6]

[edit] Let Freedom Reign (2010)

Michele released her third studio album, Let Freedom Reign, in 2010. The album includes the singles, "I'm a Star" and "Goodbye Game". The album features Michele performing hip-hop, R&B, as well as the dance-pop influenced "So Cool". The album debuted at number 25 on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 42,000 copies in its first week.

Discography[link]

Studio albums

• 2007: I Am
• 2009: Epiphany
• 2010: Let Freedom Reign

Mixtapes

• 2010: Love Thy Brother

Tours[link]

• The Art of Love Tour (with Raheem DeVaughn) (2008)
• The Epiphany Tour (2010)

Awards and nominations[link]

Vibe Music Award

• 2008, Breakthrough Artist of the Year (Nominated)

Grammy Award

• 2008, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance: "If I Have My Way" (Nominated)
• 2009, Best Urban/Alternative Performance: "Be OK" (Won)

BET Award

• 2010, Centric Award: (Nominated)
• 2008, Best New Artist: (Nominated)

BET J/Centric

• 2008, Virtual Awards: Soul Approved: (Won)
• 2008, Female Artist of the Year: (Nominated)

NAACP Image Awards

• 2008, Outstanding New Artist: (Nominated)

Soul Train Awards

• 2009, Best R&B/Soul Female Artist: (Nominated)

Urban Music Awards

• 2009, Best Female Act: (Nominated)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Chrisette Michele on Def Jam Recordings
• Chrisette Michele at Allmusic
• Chrisette Michele at the Internet Movie Database