2021 Soul Train Awards: 5 Things To Know About ‘Soul Cypher’ Performer Musiq Soulchild
Musiq Soulchild’s ability to effortlessly blend R&B, funk, blues, and jazz, just to name a few, is unmatched. With musical inspirations including Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, and Donny Hathaway, it’s no\ wonder music fans were delivered classic records such as “Just Friends (Sunny)” and “Love,” which by the way, spent an impressive 22 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 charts following their release in 2000 and subsequent appearances on the singer’s debut album, Aijuswanaseign.
Since then, his sound has influenced a generation of R&B and soul singers to come including Soul Train nominee Lucky Daye who recently sampled Musiq’s hit record, “Halfcrazy” for his latest single “Over.” This year, Musiq is being featured in the 2021 Soul Train Awards Soul Cypher and in honor of the musical celebration we’ve made a short list of things you need to know about this year’s performer.
The origin of his stage name
Musiq Soulchild, whose real name is Taalib Johnson, coined his stage name primarily because people who weren’t too familiar with him would often refer to him as that music guy. Eventually he went by the stylistically written Musiq and later added the Soulchild.
Half of his stage name once took a sabbatical
In 2001, the Neo-soul singer dropped the "Soulchild" part of his name during a moment when he felt uninspired. However, fearing it would be bad for the music market, he brought the moniker back in 2007.
His album titles often disregard grammar rules.
Musiq is notorious for ignoring rules for spelling, grammar and capitalization in his song and album titles. This is an example that can be seen in projects such as Luvanmusiq (pronounced love and music) and Aijuswanaseign (pronounced as "I Just Wanna Sing")
Big brands love him
Musiq’s records have often been licensed and used in television and print ads for McDonald's, Nike, Inc., Coca-Cola, Levi Strauss & Co. and The Gap. He also made a special appearance on The Game during a 2007 episode.
He once had an rap alter ego
In 2014, the Grammy-nominated artist decided to take a break from making love centered songs and pursued a brief career in rap music, under the moniker The Husle. Musiq’s rap alter ego released a few songs, including a trap-inspired, heavily auto-tuned track titled, “Grindin.”
Watch the 2021 Soul Train Awards on Sunday, November 28 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on BET and BET Her.
