The Source.com

Login

The Magiq Behind The Musiq

Posted: May 3, 2011 by Selamawit "Sully" Mulugeta

MUSIQINTHEMAGIQ, the latest from Musiq Soulchild, is officially released today. Though it’s his 6th album, expectations are extraordinarily high – from breathless fans and anxiety driven execs alike. What could have easily been entitled, juslemmedomythang, the album is a testament to Musiq’s belief in himself and his determination to bask in the glory of his talent. He’s just that guy – painfully authentic, but perfectly appealing to everyone that matters. How does one deliver a national tour on a “niche artist” budget? How does one confine his musical inclination to 12 tracks? How does one then stretch those boundaries without alienating the core fans? How does one manage the business of music without a losing passion for it? He tells us. MAGIQ.

 

What was your goal musically with this album? I’m hearing – definitely Hip-Hop Soul – but I felt that I got some alternative-rock type of R&B and then more of a doo-wop sound with “Love Contract.” Was that intentional?

My music has basically been kinda like geared towards a focused group of people whereas though on this project I was pickin songs, or whenever songs were submitted to me, I had in mind that whole appeal that you get from songs that would usually be considered pop music but trying to incorporate the whole R&B, Hip-Hop Soul element into it as well.

Everything that you hear, as far as the songs that were picked, have a particular purpose in contributing to the overall scope of things which is to broaden people’s perspective insofar as what to expect from me musically. I want to expose people to other parts of my creative ability so I can show them that I have more to offer them than just what they’ve been getting. 

 

What’s your favorite track on the album?

Aww man, right now my favorite track is “Like the Sun.” I like it because it has those big digital drums, big symphony keyboard sounds, and it just sounds huge. And I really like that sound. But I don’t think that people would have expected me, according to what they have been exposed to musically from me, that I would like music that’s more like a Kanye West kind of feel.

 

What do you want the expectation of you to be?

That’s the thing. There’s no particular aim that I have. [I want] to be able to do whatever I feel natural to do and that be appreciated for what it is rather than “That’s not the Music Soulchild sound so I’m not even interested in giving it a chance.”

To  try to do something different - it’s a tricky thing because everybody is not willing to make that adjustment because they just like what they like, and they just want what they want. And I want to be able to give them that.

But I mean, I’ve always said throughout my career that I’ve personally never been genre specific. It’s just that the industry and the people that I’ve been dealing with have always put me in a certain category because that’s where they feel I would gain the most attention, or whatever the case may be, according to my abilities, you know, they just want me to do ballads and romantic love songs and things like that which are cool. I have no problem with that, but it’s just that it’s so much more to what I have to offer, what I would like to do, and what’s here to be done then just what people have been exposed to from me.

 

I know you linked up with Swizz on this album, but I’d be interested to know if there were any other artists burning on your mind that you’d like to work with.

In Hip-Hop alone, it’s a long list. I had an opportunity to not just have Swizz Beats hoppin on a record as a feature, [but] really going into the studio and just workin on beats and working on songs. Together. Just me and him seeing what’s really good, what we could do. But that’s just one person, and a whole multitude of things could come out of that one person.

I mentioned Kanye earlier. I’m extremely interested in what could come out of me and him being in the studio and just locking out and just going hard.

I would love to work with Lupe Fiasco. That’s definitely a favorite of mine.

I would love to work with – I know this counts, but it kinda doesn’t but it does – the whole Young Money enterprise. I’d like to work with them and see what comes out of that. Musiq Soulchild and pretty much anybody Young Money. Because they’re building an empire, they’re building a sound of their own in Hip-Hop. They’re building a sub-genre on their own which is not something easy to do and win with it. Because you got a lot of people doin a whole bunch of stuff but don’t nobody really care, but they doin it and they winnin with it so that’s something to be respected and appreciated.

Jay-Z. That would be fresh to work with him. Nas. It would be awesome to work with Nas.

I really don’t have no particular order or particular favorites. It’s anybody that’s passionate and good at what they do, I’m willing to work with them.

 

So what can we expect from your tour. When does your tour start?

I’m about to actually get on another tour [this summer]. I don’t know who’s going to be on the bill with me, but it’s going to be underplayed markets. I think I’ll have a stripped down band. As a matter of fact, today is the first day of rehearsal so we’re gonna try to figure out what’s the best mode of operation considering the circumstance, you know, because it’s a limited budget, and the time that it was put together, the routing that it was put together, every venue won’t be able to accommodate a full band so we’ll see what really works the best. No matter what the circumstance is the show won’t be compromised and you guys will still be able to have a good time and enjoy yourselves without feeling like you didn’t get as much as you could’ve gotten for your money.

 

By Selamawit "Sully" Mulugeta (@SullySeliSel)

 

 

Posted In: R&B Section, Features, musiq soulchild, musiqinthemagiq, rb, hip-hop soul, atlantic records, kanye west, nas, lupe fiasco, jay-z, young money, swizz beatz

blog comments powered by Disqus