Bio
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”. According to the singer himself, via his September 18 concert at the Warfield in San Francisco, his fifth album On My Radio will be 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.
takeyouthere
Musiq Soulchild Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I can't see you like
All the other girls
I knew that I didn't treat right
But then
There are times when I just need what I need, babe
And I know you can give it all to me
[Chorus]
We don't have to go
All the way, no (no)
But if you want
I still take you there
There (yeah)
There (uh huh)
Hey, baby, how about it?
We don't have to go (no) all the way no
But, girl, I'm sure you still can get me there
Hey (yeah)
Babe
If only you knew
What I'm willing to do (for)
For a fair exchange, baby
From me to you
But I know
I know you've got your own reasons
For making me wait
And I know
(I know there's a way that)
We can free ourselves
[Chorus]
It's all right, you can
Admit that you want it (it's all right)
As bad as I
It's so natural
We all have our days and our sleepless nights
When we wanna get some
I just wanna get some
It's all right, you can
Admit that you want it (it's all right)
As bad as I
It's so natural
We all have our days and our sleepless nights
When we wanna get some
I just wanna get some
Hey, hey
Hey, hey
Hey, hey
Hey, hey
In the beginning of Musiq Soulchild's "TakeYouThere," he admits how different this girl is from all the other women he's been with before. He acknowledges past relationships that he didn't treat right and how things are different with this particular woman. However, there are still times where he just needs what he needs from her, but assures her that she can give it all to him. In the chorus, he reassures the woman that they don't have to go all the way, but if she wants to, he'll take her there. The second verse sheds light on how much he's willing to do for her, and even though she has her own reasons for making him wait, there's still a way for them to free themselves. The song is essentially about wanting someone physically, but also being willing to wait for them and respecting their boundaries.
One interesting fact about this song is that it was released on Valentine's Day in 2000, and became one of Musiq Soulchild's most popular tracks. It was included on his debut album, "Aijuswanaseing," which peaked at number eight on the Billboard 200 chart. "TakeYouThere" was also featured on the soundtrack for the film "Brown Sugar." Musiq Soulchild, whose real name is Taalib Johnson, has been nominated for 11 Grammy Awards throughout his career, and has won one for his collaboration with Robert Glasper and Lalah Hathaway on the song "Jesus Children."
Another interesting fact is that Musiq Soulchild is often credited with helping to usher in the neo-soul movement of the early 2000s. He was heavily influenced by the likes of Stevie Wonder, Donnie Hathaway, and Marvin Gaye. Musiq Soulchild has stated in interviews that he creates music based on what he's feeling at the time, and doesn't like to confine himself to a specific genre. He's released several albums throughout his career, and is known for his smooth vocals and introspective lyrics.
The chords for "TakeYouThere" are as follows:
Verse: Dm7, F7, Gm7, Bb7
Chorus: Dm7, F7, Bbmaj7, Gm7, C7
Line by Line Meaning
Oh, when I think of you
Whenever I think about you
I can't see you like
I don't see you the same way as
All the other girls
I don't see you like the other girls
I knew that I didn't treat right
Who I didn't treat as well as I should have
But then
However
There are times when I just need what I need, babe
Sometimes I have certain desires that I need to fulfill
And I know you can give it all to me
And I believe that you can fulfill those desires
[Chorus]
Refrain
We don't have to go
We don't have to take this too far
All the way, no (no)
We don't have to go all the way, no
But if you want
But if you do want to
I still take you there
I can still provide that fulfilling experience for you
There (yeah)
That place
There (uh huh)
That place
Hey, baby, how about it?
Hey, would you be interested?
We don't have to go (no) all the way no
We don't have to take this too far
But, girl, I'm sure you still can get me there
But I'm confident that you can fulfill my needs
Hey (yeah)
Hey, yeah
Babe
Honey
If only you knew
If you only knew
What I'm willing to do (for)
What I would be willing to do for you
For a fair exchange, baby
In exchange for something fair and reasonable from you, honey
From me to you
From me to you
But I know
But I understand
I know you've got your own reasons
I know you have your own motivations and logic
For making me wait
For causing me to wait
And I know
And I understand
(I know there's a way that)
(I know there's a method that)
We can free ourselves
We can liberate ourselves
It's all right, you can
It's okay, you're allowed to
Admit that you want it (it's all right)
Acknowledge that you desire it, it's okay
As bad as I
Just as strongly as I do
It's so natural
It's completely natural
We all have our days and our sleepless nights
We all experience situations where we can't sleep
When we wanna get some
When we want to fulfill our desires
I just wanna get some
I just want to fulfill my desires
Hey, hey
Hey, hey
Hey, hey
Hey, hey
Hey, hey
Hey, hey
Hey, hey
Hey, hey
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: SHAWN CAMPBELL, JOHN JENNINGS, MARSHALL LEATHERS, MAKEBA RIDDICK
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
MsShatey
Verse 1]
Oh, when I think of you
I can't see you like all the other girls I knew
That I didn't treat right but then
There are times when I just need what I need babe
And I know you can give it all to me
So how about
[Hook]
We don't have to go all the way, no
But if you want I still can take you there
(There, there)
Hey, baby, how about?
We don't have to go all the way, no
But girl, I'm sure you still can get me there
(There, there)
[Verse 2]
Oh, if only you knew what I'm willing to do (for)
For a fair exchange, baby from me to you
But I know, I know you've got your own reasons
For making me wait and I know
I know there's a way that we can free ourselves
[Hook]
We don't have to go all the way, no
But if you want I still can take you there
(There, there)
Hey, baby, how about?
We don't have to go all the way, no
But girl, I'm sure you still can get me there
(There, there)
6364ist
Musiq is underestimated....but if people really listen to his music they would notice he's very brilliant
Taylor Downing
I totally agree
Reagan Ibeh
EXTREMELY!!!
Kay123
He’s def a musical genius
headache
Factz
Rose Pitts
This CD was the bomb!!!! It got me through some things in 2007/2008! This song here is so beautiful from the first time I heard it used to play it so much. My first time listening to it since about 2009 or 2010. Braiding my hair listening to some Musiq, that's life right here...lol...Love me some Musiq!
Julius W.
Rose Pitts yessss this song got me through alot back in 07' and i haven't heard it since that rainy chill night cruising home from work back in 2010. .. love this song
Katleho Manoto
I think i'm gonna have this song on repeat all day! I'm enchanted
Michael Lewis
Serious Vibe
Ronnie Shepherd
This joint is off the charts! Lyrics and rhythm is beautiful