Musiq is the stage name of Taalib Johnson, a singer and songwriter from Philadelphia, United States, born in 1977. He works in contemporary R&B, hip hop and neo soul, and is associated with the Def Jam/Def Soul and Atlantic Records labels.

Career

He is born and raised in Philadelphia and begins planning a music career as a teenager. From 2001 he performs under the single-name style “Musiq”, after previously using Musiq Soulchild. He later returns to the Soulchild name. He is known for unusual spelling, capitalisation and punctuation in his song and album titles.

His debut album, Aijuswanaseing in 2000, is well received and includes “Just Friends (Sunny)”, “Love” and “Girl Next Door”. Musiq writes much of the material himself, while much of the album is produced and co-written by Ivan “Orthodox” Barias and Carvin “Ransum” Haggins of A Touch of Jazz. “Love” spends 22 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100.

His second album, Juslisen in 2002, is released under the name Musiq, debuts at number one on the Billboard chart and goes platinum. Its singles include “halfcrazy” and “dontchange”, both of which receive substantial radio and video play. He also opens concerts for Alicia Keys in 2002.

In late 2002 he contributes guest vocals to The Roots’ “Break You Off” from Phrenology, and appears on Santana’s “Nothing at All” from Shaman. In 2003 he releases Soulstar, which includes “forthenight” and “whoknows”.

After a break and changes in management and label, he signs with Atlantic Records and releases Luvanmusiq in 2007. The album includes “B.U.D.D.Y.”, “Teachme” and “Makeyouhappy”, and earns three of his Grammy nominations. He releases OnMyRadio in 2008, with “Radio” as the lead single.

Collaborations and other work

He makes guest appearances on Lloyd Banks’ Rotten Apple, Talib Kweli’s Eardrum and Black Ice’s The Death of Willie Lynch. He also appears on soundtrack work connected to Tyler Perry films, including Daddy’s Little Girls, Why Did I Get Married? and Meet the Browns. For Meet the Browns, he records a remake of Arrested Development’s “People Everyday” with Estelle.

He performs at the first Romantic Rhythms Music Festival in Antigua and Barbuda in 2008. Outside music, he appears in advertising for McDonald’s, Nike, Coca-Cola, Levi Strauss & Co. and The Gap, and makes a special appearance on The Game.

Recognition

Musiq has two platinum albums, two gold albums and seven hit singles. He receives awards from Billboard, BET, ASCAP, BMI and Soul Train, and earns nine Grammy nominations. He is also nominated by MTV, the American Music Awards and the NAACP.