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.
befriends
Musiq Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
'Cause sometimes, they get me through the day
And whenever I start to feel alone
I just play your voicemails
That I saved before things changed
Now I read the message you sent tryna tune out
When you say I know you love me but
You should just forget about us
You try to tell me I'll make someone happy some day
But I don't understand how you can just throw away
This heart I gave to you
Right in front of my face, oh
No, I don't wanna be friends
'Cause I done already started lovin' you
Hey, uh, listen
I wanna take a drive to where you live, but I won't
But I still feel like ain't nobody supposed to be there but me with you
It should be me there wakin' up next to you
It should be me takin' 'em showers with you
And I should be the one you want
Why you wanna go and mess up everything, baby?
Now the only thing to make it better, is if you say you wanna be mine, hey
Now don't you get it, baby, a good man like me is hard to find, yeah
Look, I don't wanna hear no maybes in the future
See, there you go puttin' me last, when I put you first
You got me listenin' to songs, but they don't work
'Cause they only remind me of how much love hurts
So no, I don't wanna be friends
'Cause I done already started lovin' you, whos-oh
Oh, whoa-oh, yeah, hey
Look here
See, I got a problem with this whole friend thing
And uh, here's my reasons why
Number one, you kiss me like you love me
Number two, you touch me like you love me (yeah, hey)
And number three, you make love to me like you love me
Yeah
So that's why I don't wanna be friends
'Cause I done already started lovin' you, oh, whoa-oh
Ayy
I don't wanna be friends, no (wanna be friends)
'Cause I already started lovin' you, yeah
Oh, whoa-oh, ooh
The first verse of Musiq's song "Befriends" portrays a person who, after a break-up or falling out, is left with pictures, voicemails and messages from their former lover. They use these things to try and fill the void created by the absence of the person they love. However, the messages they have access to convey a message of finality: the singer tells them to forget about the "us" that they once were. The singer also tells them that they'll find someone else someday, but the singer can't accept that. They're emotionally invested and don't want to start again with someone new. The refrain of the chorus, "No, I don't wanna be friends/'Cause I done already started lovin' you," reveals the singer's feelings. They have already fallen in love with the person and don't want to settle for just being friends.
The second verse is more lyrical in nature and presents the singer's internal struggle. They want to visit the subject's home, be close to them, and share everyday rituals like showers. However, they're acutely aware of the distance between them now, and how far their relationship has fallen. They lament the lost opportunity to be in a relationship with someone they love so deeply. The singer expresses their feelings of betrayal, explaining how their love and affection seem to have been cast aside. They emphasize that they put this person first but they now seem to be only an afterthought. The song concludes with the singer expressing their difficulties with being just friends with someone they've already given their heart to.
Line by Line Meaning
I go through your pictures in my phone
Looking at your pictures in my phone is one way I cope up with my loneliness
'Cause sometimes, they get me through the day
Your pictures give me hope and joy to get through some days
And whenever I start to feel alone
Feeling alone is a common emotion that I experience
I just play your voicemails
I listen to the voice mails you sent me before everything changed
That I saved before things changed
I cherish the memories that we shared before everything went bad
Now I read the message you sent tryna tune out
I tend to ignore the messages that you sent me
When you say I know you love me but
When you say that you know I love you but
You should just forget about us
I should forget about us according to you
But I done swam to deep to come up now
But I am too deep into this relationship and cannot come out now
You try to tell me I'll make someone happy some day
You tell me that I will make someone happy someday
But I don't understand how you can just throw away
I cannot understand how you can just throw away
This heart I gave to you
The love and care that I gave to you
Right in front of my face, oh
And break my heart right in front of my eyes
No, I don't wanna be friends
I don't want to just be friends
'Cause I done already started lovin' you
Because I have already fallen in love with you
Hey, uh, listen
Listen to me
I wanna take a drive to where you live, but I won't
I want to visit you, but I won't
But I still feel like ain't nobody supposed to be there but me with you
I strongly feel that I should be the only one with you
It should be me there wakin' up next to you
I should be the one waking up next to you
It should be me takin' 'em showers with you
I should be the one taking showers with you
And I should be the one you want
I should be the one you want in your life
Why you wanna go and mess up everything, baby?
Why do you want to ruin our relationship like this, my love?
Now the only thing to make it better, is if you say you wanna be mine, hey
The only solution to our problem is if you become mine
Now don't you get it, baby, a good man like me is hard to find, yeah
Don't you understand that a good man like me is rare to find?
Look, I don't wanna hear no maybes in the future
I don't want any vague response for our future
See, there you go puttin' me last, when I put you first
You are putting me last even though I prioritized you
You got me listenin' to songs, but they don't work
You made me listen to some songs but they are not helping me at all
'Cause they only remind me of how much love hurts
These songs are just constant reminders of how much love hurts
So no, I don't wanna be friends
So, once again, I don't want to just be friends
'Cause I done already started lovin' you, whos-oh
Because I am deeply in love with you already
Oh, whoa-oh, yeah, hey
Oh, whoa-oh, yeah, listen
Look here
Look at me
See, I got a problem with this whole friend thing
I have a slight issue with the whole concept of being just friends
And uh, here's my reasons why
And, here are my reasons why
Number one, you kiss me like you love me
Firstly, you kiss me like you genuinely love me
Number two, you touch me like you love me (yeah, hey)
Secondly, you touch me like you truly love me
And number three, you make love to me like you love me
Lastly, you make love to me like you are passionately in love with me
So that's why I don't wanna be friends
So, this is why I don't just want to be friends
'Cause I done already started lovin' you, oh, whoa-oh
Because I have already fallen deeply in love with you
Ayy
Ah
I don't wanna be friends, no (wanna be friends)
I don't want to just be friends in any way
'Cause I already started lovin' you, yeah
Because I have already fallen in love with you
Oh, whoa-oh, ooh
Oh, whoa-oh, yeah
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Phillip Jackson, Matthew Kahane, Taalib Johnson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind