When Musiq Soulchild recently stopped in London for the Indigo2 gig as part of his European tour, I was determined to interview the man whom I consider to be one of the most talented yet under-rated artists of our time. Although Musiq was here to promote his new album, what I was really interested in finding out about was the true man behind the soulful songs and the tender lyrics. I was keen to discover how he keeps evolving as an artist, to explore the motivation behind his songs and to unearth his future desires.
Already five albums into his career, the musical maturation of his latest album “OnMyRadio” is demonstrative of Musiq’s personal desire to constantly take his sound to a new level and reveal his increasing range of musical abilities. This album is different to Musiq’s previous work - it is apparent that his continuous research and absorbtion of ‘the current climate of humanity’ as he likes to call it, is a huge influence on his musical creativity. How does he manage to do this you may ask? Well despite the doubts of many as to whether it is the true artist or merely an artist’s representative that uses social networks such as Facebook or Myspace, Musiq assures me that these very sites aid his ‘research’ and are responsible in helping broaden his musical horizons. They keep him in touch with the public and what they are listening to from all genres, thus constantly develop his worldwide perspective of music. He informed me that: ‘I like to make music for anyone who is willing to listen so if I keep my ear close to what’s going on in the world I can pretty much be up to speed with what people are concerned about and that way I can soundtrack it.’ This in turn enables him to contribute to the legacy of Soul music and help broaden its perspective of it.
Whilst it is apparent that Musiq’s songs are synonymous with love and relationships, the deeper insights within his art are what keep him on top of his game, for example, the song ‘Money Right’ on the current album reflects the current economic situation. Living in a time where recession and financial strain prevail, the lyrics of this song: ‘as soon as i get my money right I’m gonna take good care of you, just like I’m supposed to’ are applicable to a wider audience than ever before and echo the thoughts and worries of millions of people in the world right now. Musiq, in only the way this man can, turns this song into a hopeful up-tempo track because if anyone is going to encourage positivity and optimism it is this man – it just seems to ooze from his personality (even in a twelve minute interview!)
So what else does Musiq Soulchild want to achieve in life? Well as an Ambassador of the ‘Share the Dream Campaign’ (which focuses on inspiring young minds) this seems to be just the tip of the iceberg. This is usually the part of the interview where the artist’s ego takes over or where the self promotion of various movies, books, clothes etc. take over but not here and not today. Musiq doesn’t even give it a second thought before informing me of his desire to take a much more active part in the lives of others in the future - ideally envisioning a musical or creatively focused project geared towards both the young ‘because they are very impressionable’ and the older generation who may feel ‘that their time has passed and they still have this dream that they want to accomplish but it has been sideswiped by the responsibilities of life.’
His basic ethos is to help and inspire; to pass on what he has learnt whether that’s through singing a story from a new perspective, visually standing as a positive role model or rebuild the confidence of an older generation, it seems Musiq is here to help us all: ‘as long as you stick around you still have a choice, you still have a chance to make certain choices to effect humanity and you can choose humanity.’
I ask myself not as a fan or as a woman but as a human being, could this extremely cool, talented and yet incredibly down to earth and sincere man get any better? I think not.
Posted In Festivals, Apr 21 2009.
Words - Lori