Musiq Soulchild | |
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Musiq Soulchild, 2016.
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Background information | |
Birth name | Taalib Johnson |
Also known as | The Husel |
Born |
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
September 16, 1977
Genres | |
Occupation(s) |
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Years active | 1998–present |
Labels | |
Website | www.musiqsoulchild.com |
Notable instruments | |
Vocals |
Taalib Johnson, professionally known as Musiq Soulchild or Musiq (/ˈmjuːsɪk/; born September 16, 1977) is an American singer and songwriter whose style blends R&B, funk, blues, jazz, gospel influences fused with hip hop.
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.
He has also earned award nominations from MTV, the American Music Awards, the NAACP, and 11 Grammy nominations, including 3 for his 2007 album Luvanmusiq.
Musiq was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, built a reputation for being musically gifted, beat boxing for MC's free styling on the open mic circuit,scatting at jazz clubs or just performing an a cappella for strangers on the streets, which is where he got the name "Musiq" and later added "Soulchild". He cites as his inspiration such icons as Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, and Donny Hathaway as his most influential musical icons.
In August 2009 his son Zachary was born with 702 (group) singer Kameelah Williams.
"There were people who knew of me but they didn't really know me; they just knew me as 'that music dude.' So after getting that so much, I was like 'Just call me Musiq.' It was so fresh to me because if I had to be called anything, I would have wanted to be called Music. That's how much I dug it; when you see me, I want you to automatically think of music." The stage name "Musiq Soulchild" is techinally two ideas. 'Musiq' is the front man and 'Soulchild' is the idea behind it. It's basically me as an artist in this generation, representing the traditions and the legacies of the past soul stars."