Musiq Soulchild was born and raised in Philadelphia and grew up with his family--including eight brothers and sister]. As a teenager, he began plans for a career in music. He released his debut album, ''Aijuswanaseing'' (read: "I Just Want to Sing"), in 2000, which was well-received by critics and audiences. Musiq did much of his own songwriting, and most of the record was produced and co-written by Ivan "Orthodox" Barias and Carvin "Ransum" Haggins, then of the A Touch of Jazz production company headed by Jazzy Jeff, now of Karma Productions. The singles "Just Friends (Sunny)", "Love", and "Girl Next Door" received exposure in America mainly on the more underground music video network, MTV2, as well as on BET. His singles also received a good amount of airplay on urban and urban contemporary radio stations.
In 2002, he released his sophomore album, ''Juslisen'' (read: "Just Listen"), as simply ''Musiq''. He had continued urban and MTV2 success with its singles, "halfcrazy" and "dontchange", the former of which was one of the most played music videos on MTV2 in the summer of 2002 and during the year overall. Both videos also got substantial play during the year on VH1 Soul. The singles had heavily amounts of airplay on both urban and urban contemporary radio sations in 2002. He also gained exposure during that year by opening concerts for Alicia Keys.
In late 2002, Musiq contributed guest vocals to "Break You Off", the first single from The Roots' ''Phrenology'' album. Once again, its video got heavy play on MTV2 and VH1 Soul, as well as on MTV Jams. He also appeared in Santana's song "Nothing at All" which is featured in his 2002 album ''Shaman''.
In 2003, the singles and videos "forthenight" and "whoknows" from his third LP, ''Soulstar''. "forthenight" was one of VH1 Soul's most played videos of 2004, and also had a very successful run on American urban radio stations.
Recently, Musiq Soulchild (who has added the "Soulchild" to his moniker again) has parted ways with Def Soul and has signed with Atlantic Records. A new Musiq Soulchild album is slated for a spring 2007 release. He will be making guest appearances on rapper Lloyd Banks's ''Rotten Apple'', Talib Kweli "Eardrum", Black Ice "The Death of Willie Lynch", pay tribute to Soul music legends Earth Wind and Fire and appear on the soundtrack "Daddy's Little Girls".
Musiq Soulchild released his debut album, Aijuswanaseing (I Just Want to Sing), in 2000, which included the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip Hop single, "Just Friends (Sunny)". Musiq's second single, "Love", spent 22 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. Musiq’s sophomore album, 2002's Juslisen (Just Listen), debuted at number 1 on the Billboard Charts and went platinum; "Halfcrazy" and "Dontchange". In 2003, Musiq released his 3rd album, Soulstar. It included the singles "Forthenight" and "Whoknows".
After a four year break and changing his management to Solqi Management and his record label to Atlantic Records, in 2007, Musiq's released his fourth album Luvanmusiq (Love and Music) which included the singles "B.U.D.D.Y.", "Teachme", and "Makeyouhappy". His fifth album OnMyRadio was released on December 2, 2008. The lead single, "Radio" has posted on both Musiq's MySpace page and official website.
Musiq Soulchild has had 2 platinum albums, 2 gold albums and 7 hit singles. He has received awards from Billboard, BET, ASCAP, BMI, and Soul Train. Musiq has also earned award nominations from MTV, American Music Awards, NAACP, and 9 Grammy nominations, including 3 for his 2007 album Luvanmusiq. Besides being a successful recording artist, Musiq is notable for his creative and unique way of titling his albums and songs by ignoring the rules of capitalization, punctuation and spelling.
He recently performed at the Antigua & Barbuda first Romantic Rhythms Music Festival in the Caribbean which was held from June 12-15,2008 which features legendary artists such as Kenny Rogers, Brian McKnight, Lionel Richie, Keyshia Cole, Maxi Priest, Destra, Heather Headly, Shaggy and many other local artist from the island including The Burning Flames.
He has also made guest appearances on rapper Lloyd Banks's album Rotten Apple, Talib Kweli's Eardrum, The Roots's Phrenology (album), Black Ice's The Death of Willie Lynch and pays tribute to soul music legends Earth Wind and Fire, appearing on the soundtrack to Tyler Perry's movie Daddy's Little Girls. And Ice Cube announced that Musiq will appear on his upcoming 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 Estelle for the soundtrack to Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns entitled "People Everyday (Metamorphosis Mix)".
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 also made a special appearance in The CW's #1 comedy The Game on Monday, October 29, 2007.
Solong
Musiq Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Not formally introduced
But I've been watching her watching me all night
And then she disappeared for a few
Must have got herself a drink or two
To work up a nerve to come and say hi
She politely spoke her name
Like a gentleman I did the same
She told me she'd be pleased to be
The lucky lady leaving with me
That sounds nice but I'd hate to hurt my woman
[Chorus]
So what, so what, it's all love, it's all love, show love
That's what she said to me, yeah
It's alright, it's alright, goodbye, goodbye
But for now you gotta live for the moment
Now what I look like deceiving my lady
The future mother of my babies
And lose a love that took years to build
To do that I must be crazy
And right now I don't feel crazy
Even though you're killing me with your sex appeal
And on the real she may never know
But the problem is I'll know
But how can I look into my baby's eyes
Now it just might be cool for some
But I refuse to be the one
To let a moment ruin my life
[Chorus]
I must admit you look remarkable
But my woman puts you to shame
Cause what we have is more than physical, yeah
More like spiritual souls intertwining.
Intertwining like a braid.
[Chorus]
The lyrics of Musiq's song Solong tells the story of the inner struggle that a man faces when he is attracted to another woman, while he is already in a relationship. The lyrics open with the man noticing a woman in a crowded room, and after a brief introduction, she expresses her interest in leaving with him. However, the man is hesitant to act on his desires as he fears he will betray his significant other. The chorus of the song has the woman telling the man that it's all love, and he should live for the moment, but the man cannot tolerate the thought of losing his long-term partner.
The second verse of the song delves deeper into the man's reluctance to cheat on his partner. The man acknowledges the woman's sexual appeal but reminds himself that he has a bigger responsibility towards his future children and the love that took years to build with his partner. While the man admits that he is tempted by the woman's offer, he cannot bring himself to cheat on his partner, as it may have long-lasting adverse effects on his relationship with his partner.
The message behind the song Solong is clear- it's easy to be lured by momentary attractions, but it's essential to remember the bigger picture and one's responsibility towards their significant other. Musiq communicates this message through his soulful voice and the simple yet profound lyrics of the song.
Line by Line Meaning
See we both shared a crowded room
There were a lot of people in the room.
Not formally introduced
We didn't introduce ourselves to each other.
But I've been watching her watching me all night
We were checking each other out.
And then she disappeared for a few
She went somewhere else.
Must have got herself a drink or two
She probably went to the bar.
To work up a nerve to come and say hi
She was nervous about talking to me.
She politely spoke her name
She introduced herself.
Like a gentleman I did the same
I introduced myself like a gentleman.
And she sat down and we talked for a moment, yeah
We chatted for a bit.
She told me she'd be pleased to be
She said she would love to be the one leaving with me.
The lucky lady leaving with me
She wanted to go home with me.
That sounds nice but I'd hate to hurt my woman
I can't cheat on my girlfriend.
[Chorus]
It's all good, no hard feelings, gotta live in the moment.
Now what I look like deceiving my lady
I can't cheat on my girlfriend, it's not worth it.
The future mother of my babies
My girlfriend is the one I want to have children with.
And lose a love that took years to build
I don't want to ruin my long-term relationship.
To do that I must be crazy
Cheating would be insane.
And right now I don't feel crazy
I'm not going to cheat on my girlfriend.
Even though you're killing me with your sex appeal
You're tempting me, but I won't act on it.
And on the real she may never know
My girlfriend may never find out.
But the problem is I'll know
But I'll know what I did.
But how can I look into my baby's eyes
I couldn't face her if I cheated.
Now it just might be cool for some
Some people might think it's okay to cheat.
But I refuse to be the one
But I won't be one of those people.
To let a moment ruin my life
I won't let a moment of temptation ruin my life.
[Chorus]
It's all good, no hard feelings, gotta live in the moment.
I must admit you look remarkable
You look amazing.
But my woman puts you to shame
But my girlfriend is more amazing than you.
Cause what we have is more than physical, yeah
Our relationship is deeper than just physical attraction.
More like spiritual souls intertwining.
Our souls are intertwined like a braid.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: KRAIG JARETT JOHNSON, KIRK JUSTIN JOHNSON, TERRENCE JAMES FISHER, DANIEL MORGAN DAVIS, KYLE JAY JOHNSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Bear Madrid
People be sleepin on this track , musiq is a fuckin beast
Adrian Collins
All these years later and this is still my favorite song.
Golden Graham
This album brings back so many good memories.
RealJCoop
This man is what a living legend is. He has a song to explain every male emotion we can't say in words
Danny Martin
My favorite song on the CD, in fact, my favorite song...ever!
Carlton McKnight
Love this song!
Paul Bunyan
love this song!!
Tvybe
Don't know how u do what u do Musiq...but I'm sooo glad u do it!!
CTemptation H
The best and favorite song!
Jorge Montanez
I f@#$ing love this song and will forever.