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.
You & Me
Musiq Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You would bare what you hold so dear to life
And share with me all your innermost fantasies baby
And afterwards in my arms you cried
Had me feeling some kind of way on the inside
Then I knew it was going to be me and you
So if the world was to believe that what we share weren't meant to be
And if our friends and family if our friends and family
Can't bear to see us both happy
Then it will be just you and me against the world, yeah
Now I'm not the kind that kiss and tell
But my man said that he really knows you well
But I don't care cause I want to know you for my damn self
And even if my sister said you scandalous
Said that you're known to go from one man to the next
But I don't care what she say
'Cause you're going to forever be my lady
So if the world was to believe that what we share weren't meant to be
Then it would be just you and me against the world
And if our friends and family if our friends and family
Can't bear to see us both happy
Then it will be just you and me against the world
I wouldn't care if you were a prostitute
And that you hit every man that you ever knew
You see it wouldn't make a difference if that was way before me and you
And you don't ever have to worry about me
As long as you keep it real
Whatever is on your mind
You speak on how you feel
Stay truthful to me
Never lie to me
And don't ever keep no secrets
No matter whatever, whatever no
Girl you know what I mean
They could say what they want
But it will never change my views
'Cause they'll never know you the way that I know you
See I'm trying to share the rest of my whole life with you
And if we got to be alone, so be it baby
If they can't understand our love
Then we don't need them baby
We can go against the whole world
Even our friends turn on us
Even our family turns on us
That's alright
'Cause as long as we got each other baby
Then we can make it baby
Through whatever
Musiq's "You & Me" is a declaration of unwavering love and loyalty between two people in the face of potential opposition. The song begins with the singer expressing his surprise that on the first night of their relationship, his partner was willing to open up and share her deepest desires with him. This moment of intimacy leads to the realization that they are meant to be together. The chorus validates their commitment to each other in the face of anyone who may try to tear them apart. The verses further explore the singer's protective nature towards his partner, even in the face of others' judgments about her past. He assures her that he accepts her fully and wants to build a life with her, no matter what anyone else thinks.
One of the most striking things about "You & Me" is the way it allows the singer to acknowledge potential flaws in his partner's past or in other people's perceptions of her, while simultaneously insisting that these things do not matter to him. This is a common theme in love songs, but it is rare for a male artist to be so openly accepting of a partner's sexual history, as Musiq is in the verse about his partner's past with other men. His refusal to judge his partner based on the opinions of others emphasizes the deep trust and respect they have for each other.
Line by Line Meaning
I never thought on the first night
I never expected you to open up to me so quickly
You would bare what you hold so dear to life
You shared your most personal aspirations with me
And share with me all your innermost fantasies baby
You shared your deepest desires with me
And afterwards in my arms you cried
You felt vulnerable with me and I comforted you
Had me feeling some kind of way on the inside
I was overwhelmed with emotion
Then I knew it was going to be me and you
I knew we had a special connection
So if the world was to believe that what we share weren't meant to be
If people don't believe in our love
Then it would be just you and me against the world
We'll stick together no matter what
And if our friends and family if our friends and family
Even if the people closest to us don't approve
Can't bear to see us both happy
Can't bear to see us together and happy
Then it will be just you and me against the world, yeah
We'll stick together despite any obstacles
Now I'm not the kind that kiss and tell
I'm not the type to gossip about my love life
But my man said that he really knows you well
But a friend of mine claims to know you
But I don't care cause I want to know you for my damn self
I don't care what others say, I want to get to know you for myself
And even if my sister said you scandalous
Even if my sister thinks you're promiscuous
Said that you're known to go from one man to the next
Said that you have a reputation of being with many men
But I don't care what she say
I don't care about her opinion
'Cause you're going to forever be my lady
I love you and will always love you
I wouldn't care if you were a prostitute
I don't care about your past, it doesn't change my love for you
And that you hit every man that you ever knew
Even if you've been with many men
You see it wouldn't make a difference if that was way before me and you
It doesn't affect our relationship now
And you don't ever have to worry about me
You can always count on me
As long as you keep it real
As long as you're honest with me
Whatever is on your mind
Whatever you're thinking or feeling
You speak on how you feel
You can talk to me about anything
Stay truthful to me
Always be honest with me
Never lie to me
Never keep secrets or lie to me
And don't ever keep no secrets
Always be open and honest with me
No matter whatever, whatever no
No matter what the situation, always be honest
Girl, you know what I mean
You understand what I'm saying
They could say what they want
People may say negative things about us
But it will never change my views
Their words won't change my love for you
'Cause they'll never know you the way that I know you
They will never know the real you like I do
See I'm trying to share the rest of my whole life with you
I want to spend the rest of my life with you
And if we got to be alone, so be it baby
If it's just the two of us, that's all we need
If they can't understand our love
If people don't understand our relationship
Then we don't need them baby
Then we don't need those people
We can go against the whole world
We can face anything together
Even our friends turn on us
Even if our friends betray us
Even our family turns on us
Even if our family doesn't approve
That's alright
It's okay
'Cause as long as we got each other baby
As long as we have each other
Then we can make it baby
We can overcome any obstacle
Through whatever
No matter what challenges we face
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: PATRICK B. METHENY, CARVIN HAGGINS, ANDRE HARRIS, TAALIB JOHNSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind