Halfcrazy

Background:

Philadelphia, PA-born R&B/soul singer-songwriter Musiq, also credited as Musiq Soulchild, has released six studio albums since entering the music industry in 2000. His debut album, “Aijuswanaseing” (2000), reached No. 2 on the US R&B chart and gave a then novice artist his first platinum record. Musiq got his second consecutive platinum status through the follow up “Juslisen” (2002), which reached the top spot at both the Billboard 200 and the Top R&B/Hip-Hop albums. “Juslisen” received a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Album in 2003. His third and fourth albums “Soulstar” (2003) and “Luvanmusiq” (2007) were both certified gold by the RIAA. “Luvanmusiq” marked his first album with Atlantic Records after he parted ways with Def Soul Records in 2005 following a five year partnership. The album, which reached No. 1 on both the Billboard 200 and the Top R&B/Hip-Hop albums, also was hailed as his comeback after a four year hiatus. “OnMyRadio” (2008) reached No. 1 on the R&B Albums chart. His latest album, “MusiqInTheMagiq” (2011), made the top ten on both the Billboard 200 and the R&B Albums chart. Musiq has collected five Grammy nominations in the category of Best Male R&B Vocal Performance thanks to the hit singles “Love” (2000), “Halfcrazy” (2002), “Teachme” (2007), “SoBeautiful”(2009) and “We're Still Friends” (2011). Along with Teddy Pendergrass, he becomes the most nominated artist in the category.

Talib Johnson

Childhood and Family:

Talib Johnson, who would later be popular as Musiq or Musiq Soulchild, was born on September 16, 1977, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is the oldest of nine children. His parent is a die-hard fan of '70s soul music. He quit school early and left home when he was 17 years old. His musical inspirations include Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Billie Holiday, James Brown, Patti LaBelle, and Sly & the Family Stone.

B.U.D.D.Y.

Career:

Musiq performed at Philly showcases such as the Five Spot and Wilhemina's before he caught the attention of Def Jam Records, thanks to help of his management team, Mama's Boys (Jerome Hipps and Michael McArthur). He was signed to the Def Soul Recordings in 2000.

Musiq's first studio album, “Aijuswanaseing,” was launched on November 14, 2000. The album spent over 40 weeks on the Billboard 200 with a peak of No. 24 and nearly 70 weeks on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop albums chart with a peak of No. 2. The album eventually received platinum certification from the RIAA. “Aijuswanaseing” spawned three singles. Released on August 29, 2000, the lead single “Just Friends (Sunny),” which was penned for and featured on the soundtrack to the 2000 film “Nutty Professor II: The Klumps,” reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and No. 31 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was later rerecorded by Prince for his 2002 live album, “One Nite Alone... Live!.” The second single “Love,” which was released on December 11, 2000, became the most successful single from the album. It peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and No. 24 on the Billboard Hot 100, and received a 2002 Grammy nomination for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. The third and last single “Girl Next Door” (featuring Ayana) (2001) reached No. 28 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and No. 85 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Musiq enjoyed even bigger success with the spiritual and personal sophomore record “Juslisen, which was released on May 7, 2002. The album debuted at No. 1 on both the Billboard 200 and Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop albums chart and was nominated for a 2003 Grammy in the category of Best R&B Album. Like its predecessor, the album also went platinum. The first single “Halfcrazy” peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100, marking his biggest pop hit to date. The song was nominated for a 2003 Grammy for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. The follow up single “Dontchange” peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Still in 2002, Musiq was featured on the hip hop/neo soul band The Root's fifth studio album, “Phrenology,” on the single “Break You Off,” which healso co-wrote. The song misses the top 40 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

Musiq resurfaced with his third studio album, “Soulstar,” on December 9, 2003. The album peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard 200 and No. 3 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop albums chart. The lead single “Forthenight” (2003) spent 20 weeks on the the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and peaked at No. 18. It spent 17 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 but failed to hit the Top 40, peaking only at No. 53. The second and last single “Whoknows” peaked at No. 23 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and No. 65 on the Billboard Hot 100. “Soulstar” eventually received gold certification from the RIAA.

Musiq took a four year hiatus and changed his management to Solqi Management. He also signed a new record contract with Atlantic Records in 2006.

Musiq's fourth album, “Luvanmusiq,” hit the music stores on March 13, 2007. The album reached No. 1 on both the Billboard 200 and the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop albums chart, becoming his second album to do so. The lead single “B.U.D.D.Y.” (2007) debuted at No. 75 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and went on to peak at No. 2. It entered the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 100 and reached its peak position at No. 36. The song was nominated for a 2008 Grammy for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. The second single “Teachme” (2007) peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and No. 42 on the Billboard Hot 100. The third and last single “Makeyouhappy” charted at No. 68 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. “Luvanmusiq” eventually went gold in the United States.

In 2008, Musiq made a guest appearance on “Why Me?,” the third single of Ice Cube's No. 1 hit album, “Raw Footage.” The same year, he also was featured on India.Arie's fourth studio album, “Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics,” on the single “Chocolate High,” which peaked at No. 19 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.

On December 9, 2008, Musiq released the fifth studio album “OnMyRadio” through Atlantic Records. The album debuted at No. 82 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart and rocketed to No. 1 in ist second week of its release. It debuted and peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard 200. The lead single “Radio” charted at No. 55 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, while the second single “IfULeave” (featuring Mary J. Blige) reached No. 6 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, No. 71 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Adult Top 40. It was the third single “SoBeautiful”(2009) that brought Musiq another Grammy nomination for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance in 2010. The song, which he co-wrote with producer JR Hutson, reached No. 8 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and No. 81 on the Billboard Hot 100.

In 2010, Musiq chaned management to Victor Grieg. The same year, he launched a single titled “Silky Soul,” but it did not chart. He also was featured on the English Neo-soul duo The Floacist's song, “Forever.”

On May 3, 2011, Musiq released his sixth studio album, “MusiqInTheMagiq,” his third record with Atlantic. The album debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 chart for selling 33,000 units in its first week. The album reached No. 3 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart. The first single “Anything” (featuring Swizz Beatz) charted at No. 31 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. The video of the song was officially released on May 3, 2011 on iTunes and was directed by Phillip “Taj” Jackson. The second single “Yes” charted at No. 24 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.

In 2011, Musiq received his fifth Grammy nomination in the category of Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for the song “We're Still Friends,” with jazz saxophonist Kirk Whalum.

Awards:
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