Musiq (Soulchild)
a.k.a.
Talib Johnson
MUSIQ TO OUR EARS
With His Sophomore Disc, Philly Soul Man Musiq Invites Fans to Juslisen
On his stellar debut disc, Aijuswanaseing, 24-year-old Musiq blended old-school R&B sensibilities with a contemporary hip-hop attitude and garnered comparisons to both Stevie Wonder and D'Angelo. But with the 2002 release of his sophomore disc, Juslisen, the artist formerly known as Musiq Soulchild takes bolder creative strides to forge his own identity. Prior to the album's release, Barnes & Noble.com's R&B/Hip-Hop editor, Tracy E. Hopkins, chatted with the hipster at a fashionable hotel in New York's Times Square about his new disc, Philly's neo-soul scene, spirituality, and, of course, music.
Barnes & Noble.com: You've said before that the name Musiq Soulchild chose you. How so?
Musiq: I found it, and it became my name. It wasn't really a conscious effort. People were calling me [Music Boy] anyway, so I figured I'd just stick with it. It suited me in the respect that I do everything in life as creatively and as artistically as possible. I'm an artist. That's how God made me. Music has always made itself prevalent in my life. I've always expressed myself through music, whether I was singing or beat-boxing, or learning how to learn to play piano, bass, or guitar, hanging around musicians and listening to my Pops' record collection.
B&N.com: Tell me about the song "Religious" from Juslisen.
Musiq: It's a song about a guy trying to talk to this straight-laced church girl. Depending on their upbringing, [that] dictates how you should approach a girl. A girl that was raised in the church is not all that accustomed to worldly things and worldly ways. She's pretty much conservative, so if you want to get her attention you better come correct. I made the song out of how it could be getting to know this type of girl.
B&N.com: Did you grow up in the church?
Musiq: No, but I grew up around it. I was raised Christian and also Muslim. I was also raised Hebrew. I've experienced different religions.
B&N.com: Do you draw on those religious teachings in your music?
Musiq: I do, a lot. There was a point when I got out of religion altogether. [But I] knew that there is a God, [even if I didn't] necessarily know what to call him until I got back into religion and found my way. I know about Jesus and I know there is a God.
B&N.com: How do you feel about the label neo-soul?
Musiq: The concept of neo-soul or neo-classic soul is that you're doing a new version of something old. What James Brown did is classic. For you to do a new version of that would be neo-classic soul. I don't necessarily take it as an insult, because there are people out there who do that and they take pride in it because that's how they're paying their respects to the artists who inspired them. But I'm not necessarily doing a new version of someone else. Everyone knows that I love Stevie Wonder and Donny Hathaway, but I'm not trying to be them. I learned a lot from them, and I take the formula they used to express themselves musically and I apply it to myself and translate it in my own way. I don't entirely know why people label or categorize things. I guess they need things to help them identify with it. As long as they spell my name right, I'm good.
B&N.com: When I spoke with Lionel Richie, he made reference to the fact that so many young singers sing like Stevie Wonder.
Musiq: There are people out there who can't help but to sound like [Stevie or other legends] because they have similar vocal tones. [But] it's not like they actually aspire to be like those people. For instance, I have a good friend, Glenn Lewis. He sounds like Stevie, but that's his natural vocal tone. It just so happens that he identified with Stevie and learned a lot from him, and it rubbed off. I learned from Stevie and Donny, and I also learned from Sly and the Family Stone, Marvin Gaye, and George Clinton. I have a lot of teachers, so that's what shows in my music.
B&N.com: You performed with a lot of Philly's neo-soul all-stars like Jill Scott, Bilal, and Jaguar before you all blew up. Did you sense, back then, that this was the start of a new music movement?
Musiq: Man, I'm gonna be real with you. It wasn't like, "Yeah, we gonna start some shit. It's gonna be some Philly shit now." It wasn't like that. Jill [Scott] was doing her thing at the same time I was trying to do my thing. At the same time B [Bilal] was doing his thing and Jaguar [Wright] was doing hers. And it just so happened we were working towards the same goals. It's not like we had little soul conference meetings. I definitely want to give a lot of love and respect to the Roots because they helped generate that authenticity. A lot of people don't understand why they are so legendary and why they're screaming so strong. They play a pinnacle part in this whole [Philly neo-soul] situation.
B&N.com: What do you think it is about Philly and soul music?
Musiq: It's like saying what was it about Motown? What was it about West Coast rap or New York hip-hop? Places have their own thing. It's just a matter of folks tapping into it and bringing it out. Like George Clinton said on Chocolate City, everybody's got their own funk. You just dig on whoever got some good funk and either you dig it or you don't. It's a cool thing if you can respect other people's funk. It just so happens that Philly's got a lot of it.
B&N.com: How much of your potential would you say you've reached?
Musiq: Right now, as Kevin Liles [Def Jam CEO] would say, I'm at level three. I think this album is going to level five, whereas I'm trying to be at level nine. But that's just me. I'm going to try to skip a level and push things along. I understand that you can't go from three to nine, 'cause people will be looking at you like you're outta your damn mind.
B&N.com: That may have been what D'Angelo did with Voodoo.
Musiq: The thing is, I got it completely. I was waitin' on some more shit. But I guess the average person doesn't feel obligated to think creatively or artistically all the time. But some artists, like myself, can't help but to think creatively. The second I put something out, I'm already working on something new. So while you're still chewing on that, I'm five steps ahead of you on some ole' next shit. And it doesn't always cut through to some people. So it's like you have to pace yourself and make sure everyone gets what you're doing.
B&N.com: Your ring says Virgo. Is that your sign?
Musiq: That's my sun sign.
B&N.com: And your backup singers are Aaries. You must be into astrology.
Musiq: [laughs] Actually, Aaries don't sing background for me anymore. They're working on their project and it should be out by late summer, early fall. My production team, Carmui, is working on it and it's real dope. In life, I started getting into a lot of things, and astrology was one of them. I got into astrology to help me find myself, really. Being an artist you kinda look at life kinda twisted. I used to be an open-heart and people kept shittin' on me. I was like, "God, why do people do this?" So I sought out ways to understand the human condition. That's why I wrote "Love," 'cause I couldn't understand why people do or say the things that they do and say. How could you tell someone that you love them and don't really mean it? So, [yes] I'm into astrology. The thing about me is that I have a Scorpio moon. Scorpio governs your emotions, and it's a very sensitive, sensual, and intuitive sign. It deals with indulgences and extremes. Here it is I have a Virgo sun and a Scorpio moon. Those signs completely contradict each other. So there's always some conflict, which is why I'm half-crazy now.
B&N.com: Thus, the name of the song "HalfCrazy."
Musiq: Wow, I didn't even mean to do that. Which is why I'm half-crazy now [repeats to himself]. I thank God and pray to God to keep my sanity. The Virgo helps a lot 'cause it helps me to analyze and prioritize. But sometimes the Scorpio is like, "Later for all that trying to figure it out. F**k that."
B&N.com: On Juslisen you do a cover of the Beatles' "Something." Why'd you pick that song?
Musiq: Kevin Liles picked that song, and I didn't know why until after I did it. George Harrison wrote the song, and it was after he passed away. And that's primarily the reason he chose the song. After I recorded it, though, I surprised myself. Not that I didn't think I would like it, 'cause it was a dope song and I wanted to do it in [the same] rock element [as the original]. But if I did it that way, I don't know how well it would have been accepted. So I put some Soulchild-ism in there and did it that way. Then afterwards, I was like, "Damn, dog, you killed it." I'm pretty proud of that song.
B&N.com: What artists would you love to work with?
Musiq: Stevie. Prince -- I met him and he was real cool. D'Angelo -- I want to work with him super bad. India [Arie], I want to do something with her. Lenny Kravitz. George Clinton. I could go on for hours. Outkast. Cee-Lo! [exclaims] Oh God, thank-you Jesus for Cee-Lo Green. Lord have mercy. People ain't ready for that man, but he's coming out. He's a Gemini. He's my superhero. The whole Dungeon Family are my superheroes. If there was a comic book, the Dungeon Family would be like the Justice League. [They're] like the Parliament-Funkadelic of my generation.
April, 2002
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