Musiq Soulchild’s personal twerking of Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie and the Native Tongue influences inside his Philly home has made him neo-soul’s most beloved male singer since D’Angelo. It was 6 years ago that he debuted with his first album Ajuswannasing which earned a platinum sales status at a time when most R and B fans were used to an urban formula of chintzy pop hooks and bland guest rapper appearances. Musiq’s mining of unaffected soul singers within the landscape of hip-hop and a syntactical allegiance to the funk has produced some of the best songs to enter the pop lexicon. For the fourth outing named Luvanmusiq the singer returns with more of what his fans have come to expect without any of the contrivances associated with the average successful singer. No five to ten-year lapses between recording, criminal conduct or substance abuse has Musiq sounding clear and returning to the public in a timely fashion after consistently touring at home and abroad. And yes he is reclaiming the Soulchild moniker reminiscent of a certain artist who trashed the symbol to began using his royal-sounding birth name again.
“Buddy” is the first single from Luvanmusiq and it takes a Golden Age hip-hop sample of De La Soul’s “Buddy” as a backing track for a song about the prospects of a definition-free relationship. His fans know him to be a unpretentious thoughtful kind of romantic in the studio and the headnodding qualities of the song summarizes his pressure-free approach to dating with a dance. On his press junket of numerous interviews and appearances Musiq manages his weariness with the routine by digging into his cache of honesty and giving unscripted answers about his appeal and the possibilities of life beyond neo-soul.
How does Luvanmusiq compare to your past albums?
I actually really wouldn’t I don’t know I just I like to think I’ve done the best work that I can do and I let the people decide to say how it compares I don’t think I’m in the position to say.
read more
